James Edward "Pete" Runnels (January 28, 1928 – May 20, 1991) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder for the Washington Senators (1951–57), Boston Red Sox (1958–62) and Houston Colt .45s (1963–64). Runnels was a five-time All-Star player during his tenure with the Red Sox and, is notable for being a two-time American League batting champion. He was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004.[1]
| Pete Runnels | |
|---|---|
 Runnels c.1953 | |
| Infielder / Manager | |
| Born: January 28, 1928 Lufkin, Texas, U.S. | |
| Died: May 20, 1991 (aged 63) Pasadena, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 1, 1951, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 14, 1964, for the Houston Colt .45s | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .291 |
| Home runs | 49 |
| Runs batted in | 630 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player
As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Major League playing and coaching career
editBorn in Lufkin, Texas, the 6 ft (1.8 m), 170 lb (77 kg) Runnels batted left-handed and threw right-handed. A master at handling the bat, he was a notorious singles hitter who had one of the best eyes in the game, compiling an outstanding 1.35 walk-to-strikeout ratio (844-to-627). Altogether, he batted over .300 six times, once with the Senators, five with the Red Sox. Despite winning the batting title in 1960, he drove in just 35 runs, a record low for a batting title winner.
Solid and versatile with the glove, Runnels started as a shortstop with the Senators, but ultimately played 644 games at first base, 642 at second, 463 at shortstop, and 49 at third. Twice he led the American League in fielding percentage, at second base in 1960 (.986), and at first base in 1961 (.995). He was not a good base stealer: in 1952 he set the record for most attempted steals with no successes, at 10. In his career he stole 37 bases and was caught 51 times.
In five seasons with Boston, Runnels never hit less than .314 (1959), winning two batting crowns in 1960 (.320) and 1962 (.326), and just missed the 1958 American League Batting Crown by six points to his teammate Ted Williams on the final day of the 1958 season (.328 to .322). On August 30, 1960, in a double-header against the Tigers, Runnels hit 6-for-7 in the first game (including a game-winning RBI–double in the 15th inning) and 3-for-4 in the second, tying a Major League record for hits in a double-header (9). In 1962, Runnels played in his third All-Star Game for the American League and hit a home run off the Philadelphia Phillies' Art Mahaffey.[2] He went on to win the American League batting title that year. But after the season, Runnels was traded to the Houston Colt .45s (forerunners of the Astros) in exchange for outfielder Román Mejías.[3] Runnels was released by Houston early in the 1964 season.
Runnels was a career .291 hitter (1854-for-6373) with 49 home runs, 630 RBI, 876 runs, 282 doubles, 64 triples, 37 stolen bases, and a .375 on-base percentage in 1799 games. He was selected an All-Star in 1959, 1960 and 1962. He also coached for the Red Sox in 1965–1966, serving as an interim manager for the last 16 games of the 1966 season. Under Runnels, the Sox played .500 baseball and escaped last place by one-half game. However, he was replaced by Dick Williams for the 1967 season.
Managerial record
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BOS | 1966 | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 9th in AL | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
Post-baseball life
editAfter leaving Major League Baseball, Runnels returned to his native state and opened a sporting goods store in Pasadena, Texas He helped found and operate a co-ed camp, Camp Champions in Marble Falls, Texas, which is still in existence.[4]
After suffering a stroke while golfing on May 17, 1991, Pete Runnels died three days later at Bayshore Hospital in Pasadena, Texas. He was buried at Forest Park East Cemetery in Houston.[5]
Honors
editRunnels was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1982.[6] He was also inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in November 2004.[1]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame". mlb.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- ^ The Baseball Page.com, "Pete Runnels". http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/runnepe01/bio . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ Baseball-Reference.com, "Pete Runnels". https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/runnepe01.shtml . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
- ^ The Baseball Page.com, ibid.
- ^ Baseball Page.com, ibid; Associated Press, "Pete Runnels" (obituary), The New York Times, May 21, 1991.
- ^ Texas Sports Hall of Fame, "Inductees: Pete Runnels". http://tshof.org/inductees/?staff_id=245 . Retrieved September 2, 2013.
External links
edit- Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Pete Runnels managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- Pete Runnels at Baseball Biography
- Baseball Page
- Camp Champions