Woodson George "Woodie" Held (March 25, 1932 – June 11, 2009)
/ref> was a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the

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 ...

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

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 ...

, Washington Senators,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

California 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 ...

and

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 ...

. He batted and threw right-handed. His last name was originally Heldt, but later changed it to Held due to confusion pronouncing his name. Born in Sacramento, California on March 25, 1932, Held served as a

batboy In baseball, a batboy or batgirl is an individual who carries baseball bats to the players on a baseball team. Duties of a batboy may also include handling and preparing players’ equipment and bringing baseballs to the umpire during the game. ...

for the hometown

Solons The Solon people () are a subgroup of the Ewenki (Evenk) people of northeastern Asia. They live in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang Province, and constitute the majority of China's Ewenki. Terminology and classification T ...

in the mid-1940s. Originally signed by the Yankees for a $6,000

bonus Bonus commonly means: * Bonus, a Commonwealth term for a distribution of profits to a with-profits insurance policy * Bonus payment, an extra payment received as a reward for doing one's job well or as an incentive Bonus may also refer to: Plac ...

prior to the season, he made his major league debut on September 5, 1954. After spending almost all of his 6 years with the Yankees in its minor league system, he was traded along with

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

Ralph Terry Ralph Willard Terry (January 9, 1936 – March 16, 2022) was an American baseball player who played as a right-handed starting pitcher for twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, ...

and

Bob Martyn Robert Gordon Martyn (August 15, 1930 – December 2, 2015) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Athletics in parts of three seasons spanning 1957–1959. Listed at 6' 0", 176 lb., Martyn batted left-handed ...

to Kansas City for

Ryne Duren Rinold George "Ryne" Duren (February 22, 1929 – January 6, 2011) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. He was known for the combination of his blazing fastball and his very poor vision. With his thick eyeglasses, few batters ...

Harry Simpson Harry Leon "Suitcase" Simpson (November 30, 1924 – April 3, 1979) was an American outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, and Pittsb ...

and

Jim Pisoni James Peter Pisoni (August 14, 1929 – February 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball player, a backup outfielder in Major League Baseball. Pisoni played mainly as a center fielder for four teams between 1953 and 1960. Listed at , , he ...

on June 15, 1957 (the MLB

trade deadline In professional sports within the United States and Canada, a trade is a sports league transaction between sports clubs involving the exchange of player rights from one team to another. Though player rights are the primary trading assets, draft p ...

at the time) in one of the many deals made between the two clubs during the late-1950s.Woodie Held (statistics & history) – Baseball-Reference.com.
/ref> Even though he had been primarily 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. ...

, Held became the Athletics' starting

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

, hitting 20 homers.Woodie Held
- BaseballBiography.com His time with the Athletics lasted exactly one year, as he was dealt to Cleveland, along with

Vic Power Victor Felipe Pellot (November 1, 1927November 29, 2005), also known professionally as Vic Power, was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican professional baseball first baseman. He played twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athl ...

, for

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new MLB single-season home run record with 61 ...

Dick Tomanek Richard Carl Tomanek (born January 6, 1931) is an American former professional baseball player, a pitcher who played for five seasons in Major League Baseball. He played for the Cleveland Indians from 1953 to 1954 and 1957 to 1958 and the Kansas C ...

and

Preston Ward Preston Meyer Ward (July 24, 1927 – June 2, 2013) was an American professional baseball first baseman who appeared in 744 games over nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1948 and 1959 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Pitts ...

on June 15, 1958. For five campaigns beginning in , Held was a regular in the starting lineup, first at shortstop before shifting to second base in . He was the first Indians' shortstop to hit at least 20 homers in a season, achieving it in each of three consecutive years (29 in , 21 in , 23 in ). He had possessed the team's career record for most home runs by a shortstop with 85 until he was surpassed by

Jhonny Peralta Jhonny Antonio Peralta (born May 28, 1982) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). The Cleveland Indians signed him as an amateur free agent in his native D ...

on May 1, 2009. Held's 6 seasons in Cleveland came to an end on November 1, 1964, when he was traded with Bob Chance to Washington for

Chuck Hinton Charles Edward Hinton Jr. (May 3, 1934 – January 27, 2013) was an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, Hinton played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators (1961–64), Cleveland Indians (1965–67, 1969–71) an ...

. Held spent his last four major league years as a versatile reserve who played each of the three outfield positions plus the middle and left side of the infield. After one campaign with the Senators, he was acquired by the Orioles on October 12, 1965, for

John Orsino John Joseph Orsino (April 22, 1938 – November 1, 2016) was a Major League Baseball catcher. He was signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before the 1957 season, and played for the San Francisco Giants (1961–1962), Baltimore ...

. Held was on Baltimore's

1966 World Series The 1966 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1966 season. The 63rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and National League ...

roster, but didn't see any action.Woodie Held (obituary) – ''The Associated Press''.
/ref> He was sent to the Angels on June 15, 1967, for

Marcelino López Marcelino Pons López (September 23, 1943 – November 29, 2001) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in and from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dynas ...

and a minor leaguer. He joined the White Sox on July 20, 1968, in exchange for

Wayne Causey James Wayne Causey (born December 26, 1936) is a retired American professional baseball baseball player. An infielder, he appeared in 1,105 games in Major League Baseball as a shortstop, second baseman and third baseman over 11 seasons for the ...

. Held's professional baseball career ended when he was released on October 15, 1969. In a 14-season career, he posted a .240

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 ...

with 179

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 and 559 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,390

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 ...

. Held died at his Dubois, Wyoming

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

on June 11, 2009, after a seven-month battle with

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

References

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Held, Woodie 1932 births 2009 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Sacramento, California Binghamton Triplets players Boise Yankees players California Angels players Deaths from cancer in Wyoming Neurological disease deaths in Wyoming Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Deaths from brain cancer in the United States Denver Bears players Kansas City Athletics players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball shortstops New York Yankees players Norfolk Tars players Quincy Gems players Twin Falls Cowboys players Washington Senators (1961–1971) players People from Dubois, Wyoming