Richard Joseph Tracewski (born February 3, 1935), nicknamed "Trixie", is an American former

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, coach, and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. During his playing career, he was an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

and

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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, appearing in 614

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

over eight seasons, from 1962 to 1969. Tracewski was a four-time

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

champion as a player and coach. He participated in three Fall Classics as a player: two with Los Angeles (

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

) and one with Detroit (

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

). He was the starting second baseman in the Dodgers' four-game sweep of the Yankees in 1963, and also started four games at second during the seven-game 1965 classic. He also served as first-base coach for the

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is a large cat and a member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Asia. It has a powerful, muscular body with a large head and paws, a long tail and orange fur with black, mostly vertical stripes. It is tradition ...

in the

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

Early life

Tracewski was born in Eynon, Pennsylvania to Polish immigrant parents, the youngest of four children. He attended Archbald High School where he was a star athlete. After his high school graduation in 1953, Tracewski was signed by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

organization. He spent six years in 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 Nort ...

and it took him almost a decade to reach the majors. Tracewski also performed two years of military service during this period (1958-59); along with other baseball players, he was posted at

Fort McPherson Fort McPherson was a U.S. Army military base located in Atlanta, Georgia, bordering the northern edge of the city of East Point, Georgia. It was the headquarters for the U.S. Army Installation Management Command, Southeast Region; the U.S. Ar ...

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Baseball career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Tracewski made his major league debut as a pinch-runner, on April 12, 1962. His debut coincided with the first ever series played at the newly-opened

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

. After early and late-season trials with the 1962 Dodgers, Tracewski earned a spot as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player or utility man is a player who has the ability to play more than one position in the field and is primarily used as a substitute. The term super utility player may be used to refer to a player who can play all or mos ...

, getting into more than 100 games in both 1963 and 1964. In the

1963 World Series The 1963 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1963 season. The 60th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the American League (AL) champion and two-time defending World Se ...

, Tracewski started at second base after regular third baseman Ken McMullen was injured during the final days of the season and

Jim Gilliam James William "Junior" Gilliam (October 17, 1928 – October 8, 1978) was an American second baseman, third baseman, and coach in Negro league and Major League Baseball who spent his entire major league career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Do ...

was moved to third. He played all four games in the four-game sweep of 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) Am ...

. Tracewski was on the field on August 22, 1965, when

Juan Marichal Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937), nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1975, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. Known ...

of the

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

struck Dodgers catcher

John Roseboro John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 – August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A four ...

on the head with a baseball bat, resulting in a 14-minute brawl. A few weeks later, on September 9, 1965, he was the second baseman when

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; né Braun; born December 30, 1935), nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 195 ...

completed his perfect game against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, having replaced

Jim Lefebvre James Kenneth Lefebvre ( ; born January 7, 1942) is an American former professional infielder, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1962. Baseball career Playing ...

at the start of the ninth inning. In the

1965 World Series The 1965 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1965 season. The 62nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the Amer ...

against 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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, Tracewski appeared in six of the seven games. In Game 2, he pinch-hit for pitcher Bob Miller. He replaced second baseman

who was injured during Game 3 and subsequently started in Games 4 to 7.

Detroit Tigers

After the 1965 season, Tracewski was traded to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Phil Regan. He was initially disappointed and frustrated with the trade as he realized his playing time would be limited. However, he later referred to it as best thing that ever happened to him and he spent the rest of his career in the Detroit organization. In 1968, Tracewski appeared in 90 games for the pennant-winning Tigers. He won his third World Series when the Tigers defeated the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in seven games in the

1968 World Series The 1968 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1968 season. The 65th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National Lea ...

. Tracewski appeared in Game 1 as a third baseman, replacing Don Wert who had been pinch-hit for, and then as a pinch-runner for

Willie Horton William R. Horton (born August 12, 1951), commonly referred to as "Willie Horton", is an American convicted murderer who was the subject of a major political controversy in the 1988 presidential election. Horton had committed violent crimes whi ...

in Game 7, scoring a run in the ninth inning. When his playing career ended, after the 1969 season, Tracewski became a manager in the Detroit

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

for two seasons (1970–71). In 1972, he began a 24-year stint as a coach for the Tigers, longer than any other coach in the history of the team. On two occasions, Tracewski filled in as the Tigers' interim manager. He managed the club for two games in 1979 (with the Tigers winning both) before

Sparky Anderson George Lee "Sparky" Anderson (February 22, 1934 – November 4, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1970 to 1978 and the American League's Detroit Ti ...

arrived, and from May 20, 1989, to early July while Anderson recovered from exhaustion. He retired from baseball after the season, along with Anderson.

Career overall

During his eight-year major league career, Tracewski batted .213, with eight

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 91 RBIs. His 262

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(in 1,231

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s) also included 31 doubles and nine

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

. He played 205 games as a shortstop, 202 games as a second baseman, and 115 games as a third baseman. Overall, he had a fielding percentage of .958 in 769 chances.

Later life

Tracewski lives near

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

with his wife Delores, whom he married in 1963. The couple have a daughter, Joy Ann, and two grandchildren. He is one of the seven principle subjects of author Michael Leahy's award-winning book, '' The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers''. The book examines the social and political changes of the 1960s through the eyes of its principle subjects.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tracewski, Dick 1935 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Colombia American expatriate baseball players in Panama American people of Polish descent Asheville Tourists players Atlanta Crackers players Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania Cedar Rapids Raiders players Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers managers Detroit Tigers players Fort Worth Cats players Hornell Dodgers players Lakeland Flying Tigers managers Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Minor league baseball managers Omaha Dodgers players Pueblo Dodgers players Sheboygan Indians players Spokane Indians players Thomasville Dodgers players United States Army reservists Military personnel from Pennsylvania 20th-century American sportsmen