Tommy McCraw

Tommy Lee McCraw (born November 21, 1940 in Malvern, Arkansas, United States) was a Major League first baseman and outfielder for the Chicago White Sox (1963–70), Washington Senators (1971), Cleveland Indians (1972 and 1974–75) and California Angels (1973–74).

Biography

In 13 seasons he played in 1,468 games and had 3,956 at bats, 484 runs, 972 hits, 150 doubles, 42 triples, 75 home runs, 404 RBI, 143 stolen bases, 332 walks, .246 batting average, .309 on-base percentage, .362 slugging percentage, 1,431 total bases, 42 sacrifice hits, 26 sacrifice flies and 48 intentional walks.

On September 30, 1971, McCraw made the last offensive play for the Washington Senators franchise, when he was caught stealing second for the Senators final out of their final game in the bottom of the 8th against the New York Yankees.

McCraw was also involved in a bizarre play against his future team, the Indians, at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium on May 17 of that year. Leading off the bottom of the 4th inning, he hit a 140-foot pop-up (some sources say it was 250 feet) for what should have been an out. Instead, shortstop Jack Heidemann, left fielder John Lowenstein and center fielder Vada Pinson collided going for the ball, which fell amongst the trio. All three players were injured and had to be replaced. McCraw circled the bases for what would be scored an inside-the-park home run.

McCraw was the first player in Angels history to serve as a designated hitter. He went 1-for-4 in the Angels' 1973 season opener, a 3-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals at Anaheim Stadium.

McCraw enjoyed a long career as a batting coach after his active career ended, logging 23 seasons on the Major League staffs of the Cleveland Indians, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, New York Mets and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals between 1975 and 2005. He served under manager Frank Robinson on four different teams.

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference