OK,OK-I know that Dick Stuart was not a superstar,but two of the regular readers have wanted Dick Stuart involved in this recurring series and their wish is granted.
But for all the shortcomings and limitations that Dick Stuart had,he could do one thing better than most-Pound the ball over the fence!
Stuart smacked 117 homers for the Pirates in his first five years in the big leagues and nailed 35 in 1961 and knocked in 117 runs in that season as well.
After a drop off in production in 1962,the Pirates sent Stuart to Boston in a four trade and Stuart had two tremendous offensive years in Beantown in taking advantage of the looming "Green Monster".
Stuart hit 75 homers in those two years and finished with two seasons of over 118 and 114 on the RBI side,leading the league in 1963.
Boston sent the slugger to Philadelphia after the 1964 season and Stuart responded with 28 more homers and 95 RBI,but the Phillies moved him along for 1966 and after a poor season was pretty much finished in the game.
Stuart went to Japan as a Taiyo Whale for two seasons before a career ending cameo with the Angels in 1969.
It shows the strength of the game in the 1960's that despite such impressive numbers,Stuart was named to just one All-Star team (1961 with the Pirates).
Or it could be his historically ridiculed defense was a hindrance as well.
Bill James rates Stuart as the worst percentage player EVER due to his lack of walks,speed and poor fielding.
Stuart owns three of the Worst five fielding percentages in the history of the game!
That is a lot of ground to cover!
Then there are the famous quotes on and by the character that was Dick Stuart.
"I had such a great year I didn't want to forget it."
"I know I'm the world's worst fielder, but who gets paid for fielding? There isn't a great fielder in baseball getting the kind of dough I get paid for hitting."
"One night in Pittsburgh, thirty-thousand fans gave me a standing ovation when I caught a hot dog wrapper on the fly."
How about Pirate skipper Danny Murtaugh's shot at Stuart with this one?
After the public address announcer warned fans that "Anyone who interferes with the ball in play will be ejected from the ballpark,"
Murtaugh replied, "I hope Stuart doesn't think that means him."
Or a Stuart appearance in Boston after his career year in 1963 which produced this gem.
Stuart acknowledged his wife by saying "behind every good man stands a woman".
A female Sox fan then responded with "If she is standing behind you,she better be wearing a first baseman's mitt"!!
Or the tale spun by Jim Bouton on Stuart in Ball Four?
BTW-If you haven't read Ball Four-what is wrong with you??
"It was Dick Stuart-story day today, and this one was about the time Johnny Pesky was managing the Red Sox and Stuart was playing for him and showing up late for a lot of things. For some reason this upset Pesky, so he called a meeting to talk about MORALE. Stuart was late for it. In fact he didn't show up until about half an hour before the game (three is considered about right) and he walked right into the middle of the meeting.
All eyes were on him as he opened the door to the clubhouse and, without missing a beat, opened his double-breasted jacket, paraded to the center of the room with his hips swinging, did a pirouette and said, "And here he is nattily attired in a black suede jacket by Stanley Blacker, with blue velvetine pants and shoes by Florsheim. The handkerchief is by Christian Dior."
Everybody went nuts. Even Pesky had to laugh."
Dick Stuart passed away in 2002 at the age of 70 and even though he was far from a superstar on the field,we remember him as one of our forgotten superstars!!!
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