Robert Lee "Red" Worthington (April 24, 1906 – December 8, 1963) was an American

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player. The

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, a native of

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from " Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains t ...

, appeared in 292

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and four seasons in

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with the

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(1931–1934) and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

(1934).Career statistics and history
a
Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> Worthington batted and threw

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, and was listed as tall and . Worthington's 13-year professional career began in 1925. Acquired by the Cardinals'

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in 1927, he put up three outstanding seasons in the upper levels of the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

from 1928 to 1930, with seasons of 212, 202 and 175

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, and batting averages of .352, .327 and .375; in the last of those years, 1930, he missed the batting title of the top-level

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

by .001 to his

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teammate, Ripper Collins.Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors, ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' third edition;

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, 2007. Despite his minor-league production, he could not earn a roster spot on the major-league Cardinals, and his contract was sold to the Boston Braves on September 15, 1930. He was the Braves' regular

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

in both and , batting .291 and .303, and leading

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

left fielders in assists in 1932, a testament to his powerful throwing arm.Jimmy Keenan, ''Red Worthington,''

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Biography Project Then injury and illness struck: he broke his ankle while sliding on August 7, 1932, putting him out of action for the remainder of that campaign; and in ,

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limited him to only 17 games played all year. The season saw him play in only 41 games for Boston, and—after he was sold back to St. Louis in September—one game for the Cardinals. He played in the top-level

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

for three more years, 1935–1937, before leaving the game, and after his baseball career he served in the

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In his four MLB seasons, Red Worthington batted .287 lifetime, and collected 298 hits, with 69 doubles, 18

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and 12

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. He was credited with 111

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. He died in

Sepulveda, California North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles. North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After WWII, the newly-developed s ...

, at the age of 57.

References

External links

1906 births 1963 deaths Boston Braves players Houston Buffaloes players Major League Baseball left fielders Mission Reds players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players Sportspeople from Alhambra, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Waterloo Hawks (baseball) players United States Army personnel of World War II {{US-baseball-outfielder-1900s-stub