Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (August 7, 1927 – January 27, 2015) was a

middle infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and

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 ...

with an 11-year career in

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), ...

from 1951 to 1961. Bridges played for the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

Cincinnati Redlegs Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

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 ha ...

of the

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 ...

, and the Washington Senators,

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 ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

of the

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 ...

.Schudel, Matt (February 8, 2015) "A career bench warmer with a flair for repartee" ''The Washington Post'', page C

/ref>

Playing career

Bridges was a native Texan who attended

Long Beach Polytechnic High School Long Beach Polytechnic High School, founded in 1895 as Long Beach High School, is a four-year public high school located at 1600 Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach, California, United States. The school serves portions of Long Beach, including Bixby ...

in California. He became a journeyman ball player who made his big-league debut in 1951 with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a utility infielder, he backed up two future Hall of Famers,

Pee Wee Reese Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an Americans, American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 194 ...

and

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

and as a result, saw little playing time. Subsequently, he was traded to Cincinnati Redlegs (as the

Reds Reds may refer to: General * Red (political adjective), supporters of Communism or socialism * Reds (January Uprising), a faction of the Polish insurrectionists during the January Uprising in 1863 * USSR (or, to a lesser extent, China) during th ...

were known in the mid-1950s) and then eventually to the last place Washington Senators, where he obtained a starting position as a shortstop. In 1958, his first full season with the Senators, he was selected by

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 ...

manager

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New York ...

to the 1958

Major League Baseball All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

, one of the few highlights of his career. Bridges career continued until 1961, playing for several American League teams. His final career

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

was .247 with 16

home run 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 ...

s. Despite his unimpressive career statistics, Bridges became a well known and respected ball player because of his hard work, hustle, spirit, and sense of humor. In 1964, ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' described him as "...one of the best stand up comics in the history of baseball." Among his most famous quotes:

"It took me that long to learn how to spell it." ''-- after being traded from Cincinnati, where he played for four years.''

"That surprised everybody. They were close to launching an investigation." ''-- after being selected to the 1958 All-Star Team.''

"I'm in the twilight of a mediocre career ....I've had more numbers on my back than a bingo board." -''-- after being traded to the Detroit Tigers.''

Coaching career

Following his active playing career, he served two terms (1962–63; 1968–71) as the

third base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

of the Angels and one year (1985) in that role with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. Bridges also had a long career as a

minor league 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 ...

manager in the Angels, Giants,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

organizations. Over 21 seasons stretched between 1964 and 1989, Bridges' teams won 1,300 games and lost 1,358 (.489). His minor league managerial career is profiled in

Jim Bouton James Alan Bouton (; March 8, 1939 – July 10, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. Bouton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 1 ...

's collection of baseball articles and essays entitled ''

I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad ''I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad'' is a collection of essays, short stories and articles about baseball, combined with comments and articles written by ''Ball Four'' author and former major league pitcher Jim Bouton. The book's creat ...

''.Bouton, Jim and Offen, Neil. (1973) ''I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad''. New York; Dell Publishing, pages 2-16 Bridges also managed the Leones de Ponce to the pennant title of the

Puerto Rico Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

in the 1968–69 season.

Legacy

The title of Bouton's book was reportedly based on a quote from Bridges. The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book", said "Rocky Bridges looked like a ballplayer. In fact, he may have looked more like a ballplayer than any other ballplayer who ever lived."

"Rocky Bridges undoubtedly has been one of the most popular men ever to wear the Washington uniform. He's an example of what 'hustle', 'desire', and 'spirit' will do." ''--
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
sports columnist
Bob Addie Robert Addie (born Robert Richard Addonizio, February 6, 1910 – January 18, 1982) was an American sportswriter who covered baseball for ''The Washington Post'' and ''Washington Times-Herald''. Addie was known for his red socks, dark glasses, and ...
, 1958''

Bridges died of natural causes January 27, 2015, aged 87, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

References

External links

Rocky Bridges
at

SABR The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

(Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Rocky 1927 births 2015 deaths American League All-Stars Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Brooklyn Dodgers players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers California Angels coaches Cincinnati Redlegs players Cincinnati Reds players Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Greenville Spinners players Hawaii Islanders managers Los Angeles Angels coaches Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals players People from Coeur d'Alene, Idaho People from Refugio, Texas Santa Barbara Dodgers players San Francisco Giants coaches St. Louis Cardinals players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Long Beach Polytechnic High School alumni