Many great baseball players made the game interesting and memorable. These athletes have made important contributions to why so many young people want to play. One of the baseball hall of famers who made such an impact is Howard Earl Averill. He was nicknamed, Rock.
Averill was born on May 21, 1902 in Snohomish, Washington. He played with the Boston Braves and the Detroit Tigers. However, he went with the Cleveland Indians where he stayed the longest. Here he stayed for ten years.
He leads the Indians in many offensive statistics, including RBIs, total bases, triples, and runs. He is also one of the best Indians in terms of doubles, hits, walks and home runs. He also made an appearance on the All Stars six times, from 1933 to 1938. Although this was the case, the Indians never got higher than 3rd place when Averill was playing for the team.
He also made history in 1930 when he became the first player to have four home runs in doubleheader play. He surprised everyone when he hit a home run in his first major league debut in his 1929.
He also had the best year of his career in 1936 when he led the American League in terms of hits. He made 232. He came up short and was second in terms of hitting. He trailed Luke Appling at 0.388 while his was at 0.378. He also finished third in the MVP race that year.
After a decade with the team, Indio traded him to the Detroit Tigers. Being with the Tigers was the closest he could get to the World Series. However, he lost it to the Cincinnati Reds. After his brief stay with the team, he played for the Boston Braves. This was the last team he played for before retiring.
His journey didn’t end after baseball. When he retired, he returned to Washington where he managed his own motel. This lasted twenty years.
He was ranked number fourteen of the top fifty center fielders of all time according to the baseball page .com. His career was short but it was surely enough to earn him a place in the Hall of Fame. His induction into the Hall of Fame took place in 1975.
What’s surprising is that Averill began his major league career in his late twenties, much older than the other Hall of Famers. Although he was relatively old, he managed to do his fellow Cleveland Indians proud. His age didn’t stop him from competing with much younger stars from other teams. His six appearances in the All Star reinforce it.
Ear Averill is one of the true inspirations on the baseball field. His major league career began when he was twenty-seven years old. However, he did not stop him from becoming one of the best Indian players of all time. He is also one of the best center fielders in league history. This just goes to show that he is never too old to make his dreams come true.
