Eric Thane Soderholm (born September 24, 1948) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

who played for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, Texas Rangers, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

from 1971 to 1980. Soderholm was selected with the 1st overall selection in the secondary phase of the 1968 Free Agent draft by the Twins. Soderholm won the Twins regular job at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

in 1974 and had two solid seasons as their starter. He then injured his knee and missed the entire 1976 campaign. The White Sox took a gamble and signed Soderholm as a free agent in November 1976. The move paid off as Soderholm responded with a career year in 1977, hitting .280 and slugging 25 home runs. Soderholm stroked 16 of his 25 homers after the All-Star break to help keep the South Side Hitmen, as the Sox were fondly known that year, in the AL West pennant race into September. Soderholm was named the AL Comeback Player of the Year by

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after the 1977 campaign. Soderholm followed up his comeback year by bashing another 20 home runs in 1978 for the White Sox. During the 1979 season, Soderholm was dealt to the Texas Rangers in exchange for

Ed Farmer Edward Joseph Farmer (October 18, 1949 – April 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight different teams, predominantly in the American League, between 1971 and 1983. The team h ...

. Soderholm was dealt again after the 1979 season to the

where he finished out his playing career as a part-time

Designated Hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. He was invited to

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

spring training in 1982, but after many surgeries his beat-up knees could no longer handle the stress of everyday playing. After retiring from baseball in early 1982, Cubs GM Dallas Green hired Soderholm to scout

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

teams for the Cubs. At the same time, Soderholm started his Eric Soderholm (youth) Baseball Camps, which led to him becoming a private hitting instructor. Eric also went on to own Soderworld, a healing arts center, in Willowbrook, Illinois, a western suburb of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Soderholm, Eric 1948 births Living people Baseball players from New York (state) Minnesota Twins players Chicago White Sox players Texas Rangers players New York Yankees players Chicago Cubs scouts Orlando Twins players Red Springs Twins players South Georgia Tigers baseball players Major League Baseball third basemen People from Cortland, New York