Edwin Albert Brinkman (December 8, 1941 – September 30, 2008) was an American professional baseball player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

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. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a shortstop, for the Washington Senators (1961–1970),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1971–1974), St. Louis Cardinals (1975), Texas Rangers (1975), and New York Yankees (1975). Brinkman led the American League in

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

twice, won a

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

at shortstop, and had a career batting average of .224. He was named to the American League All-Star team in 1973.

Early life

Brinkman was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended Western Hills High School, where he played alongside Pete Rose on the school's baseball team. Paul "Pappy" Nohr, the baseball coach at Western Hills, described Rose as "a good ball player, not a Brinkman." Based on their performance in high school, scouts saw Brinkman rather than Rose as the future superstar. When he was a senior, Brinkman batted .460 and also won 15 games as a pitcher including a perfect game. Brinkman was paid a large (for the time) bonus of $75,000 by the Washington Senators in 1961. Brinkman later said: "Pete always kidded me that the Washington Senators brought me my bonus in an armored truck. Pete said he had cashed his at the corner store."

Major league playing career

Brinkman began the 1961 season playing for the Senators' minor league teams in Middlesboro and Pensacola before making his major league debut with the Senators on September 6,

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

, at age 19. Although Brinkman was known as a good defensive player, he seldom provided much of an offensive contribution for a Senators team that routinely finished near the bottom of the final standings. His best batting average in the first eight years of his career was a .229 average posted in 1966 when he led American League shortstops with a 3.3 defensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR). In

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

, Ted Williams was named as the Senators' manager and, he worked to improve Brinkman's hitting skills. Brinkman responded with a career-high .266 batting average as well as 71 runs scored, also a career-high. Brinkman once again led the league's shortstops with a 3.3 defensive WAR rating in 1969. He continued to improve in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

with a career-high 162

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in 152 games. He also led the league's shortstops in assists and in

putout In baseball statistics, a putout (denoted by ''PO'' or ''fly out'' when appropriate) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out by one of the following methods: * Tagging a runner wit ...

s. In 1971, Brinkman was part of an eight-player trade which sent himself, third baseman

Aurelio Rodríguez Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. (December 28, 1947 – September 23, 2000), sometimes known by the nickname "Chi Chi", was a Mexican professional baseball player, who spent the bulk of his Major League career with the Detroit Tigers. Known ...

and pitchers Joe Coleman and Jim Hannan from the Senators to the

in exchange for Denny McLain, Don Wert, Elliott Maddox, and Norm McRae. He had his best season defensively in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. Playing in all of the Tigers' 156 games, he set American League fielding records for shortstops with the most consecutive games without an error (72), most consecutive

chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...

without an error (331), fewest errors in 150 games or more (7) and the highest

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

in 150 games or more (.990). He also produced a career-high 49 runs batted in, helping the Tigers clinch the

American League Eastern Division The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before ...

championship by a half game over the Boston Red Sox. Brinkman only appeared in one game of the

1972 American League Championship Series The 1972 American League Championship Series was held October 7–12, and matched the Oakland Athletics () and Detroit Tigers () for the right to go to the 1972 World Series. The first two games were played at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseu ...

before he was ruled out for the rest of the season due to a ruptured disc in his lower back. The Tigers lost the championship series to the eventual world champions, the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

, in five games. Brinkman's efforts during the regular season earned him the 1972

and he was named the recipient of the "Tiger of the Year" award by the Detroit baseball writers. He also finished ninth in voting for the 1972 American League Most Valuable Player Award. Brinkman earned his first and only All-Star Game appearance when he was named as an American League reserve in the 1973 All-Star Game. He hit a career-high 14 home runs in the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

season. He was involved in a three-team deal on November 18, 1974 in which he was first traded along with

Bob Strampe Robert Edwin Strampe ( ; born June 13, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher in for the Detroit Tigers. Baseball career Strampe was born in Janesville, ...

and Dick Sharon from the Tigers to the San Diego Padres for Nate Colbert and then sent to the St. Louis Cardinals for

Sonny Siebert Wilfred Charles "Sonny" Siebert (born January 14, 1937) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher from 1964 to 1975. He finished with a record of 140-114 and a 3.21 ERA. He threw a no-hitter on June 10, 1966, against the Washingt ...

, Alan Foster and

Rich Folkers Richard Nevin Folkers (born October 17, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Mil ...

. Danny Breeden went from the Padres to the Cardinals to subsequently complete the transactions. Brinkman appeared in 24 games with the Cardinals before being traded along with Tommy Moore to the Texas Rangers for Willie Davis on June 4, 1975. After only one appearance with the Rangers, his contract was purchased by the New York Yankees on June 13,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He played in 44 games for the Yankees before they gave him his unconditional release on March 29, 1976 as, he continued to be hampered by his back injury. Brinkman played his final major league game on September 28, 1975 at the age of 33.

Career statistics

In a fifteen-year major league career, Brinkman played in 1,845

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

, accumulating 1,355 hits in 6,045 at bats for a .224 career batting average along with 60 home runs, 461 runs batted in and an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

of .280. Defensively, he recorded a .970

as a shortstop. Brinkman holds the American League record for the fewest hits in a season while playing a minimum of 150 games, with 82 hits in 1965.

Coaching career

After his playing career he was hired by the Tigers as a minor league roving fielding instructor in 1976. Brinkman then became a minor league manager in the Detroit organization, leading the 1977 Montgomery Rebels to a first-place finish in the Southern League. He spent on the Tigers' MLB coaching staff. Later, he was a coach and scout with the Chicago White Sox for 18 years (1983–2000), initially as the ChiSox' MLB infield coach (1983–1988) and then special assignment scout. He retired after the 2000 season. Ed Brinkman died on September 30, 2008 at the age of 66, due to complications from

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

. His younger brother, Chuck Brinkman also played in Major League Baseball as a catcher.

Notes

* William A. Cook, "''Pete Rose: Baseball All-Time Hit King'

* David M. Jordan, "''Pete Rose: A Biography''" (Greenwood Press 2004

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brinkman, Ed 1941 births 2008 deaths American League All-Stars Baseball coaches from Ohio Baseball players from Cincinnati Birmingham Barons managers Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery Chicago White Sox coaches Chicago White Sox scouts Cincinnati Bearcats baseball players Deaths from lung cancer in Ohio Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers players Gold Glove Award winners Lakeland Flying Tigers managers Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Middlesboro Senators players New York Yankees players Pensacola Senators players Raleigh Capitals players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres coaches Texas Rangers players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players