Ted Lyle Simmons (born August 9, 1949) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player and coach. A switch-hitter, Simmons was a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

for most of his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) career with 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1968–1980), the Milwaukee Brewers (1981–1985) and the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

(1986–1988). Although he was often overshadowed by his contemporary, Johnny Bench, Simmons is considered one of the best hitting catchers in MLB history. While his power numbers paled in comparison to Bench, Simmons still managed to hit for a higher

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

despite playing home games in a notoriously tough hitter's park. At the time of his retirement, Simmons led all catchers in career hits and doubles and ranked second in RBIs behind Yogi Berra and second in total bases behind Carlton Fisk. He also retired with the National League record for home runs by a switch-hitter despite playing several years in the American League. Simmons hit .300 seven different times, hit 20 home runs six times, and caught 122 shutouts, eighth-most all-time. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in December 2019, and was formally enshrined in 2021. On July 31, 2021, he was honored by the Cardinals with the retirement of his jersey number (23) along with a statue.

Playing career

Simmons attended

Southfield High School Southfield High School is a public high school located in Southfield, Michigan, United States. The school was founded in 1951. It serves grades 9-12 for the Southfield Public Schools. Notable alumni * Bill Adler (c/o 1969), writer and hip-hop a ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...

, a suburb northwest of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, and graduated in 1967. The

selected Simmons in the first round, with the tenth overall selection, of the

1967 Major League Baseball draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the prof ...

. He received a $50,000 signing bonus from St. Louis to bypass his commitment to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He made his professional debut in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

, where he batted 7-for-20 (.350), before the Cardinals promoted him to the

Cedar Rapids Kernels The Cedar Rapids Kernels are Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and play their home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Kernels are owned ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. In 1968, he played for the

Modesto Reds Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

of the Class A California League, where he batted .331, with 28

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 117

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs) in 136 games played. Simmons made his major league debut with the Cardinals at the age of 18, appearing in two games during the

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

pennant-winning season. Simmons spent another year in Triple-A with the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

before returning to the major leagues in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

where he platooned with

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

. In 1971, the Cardinals converted Torre into a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and Simmons took over as their starting catcher, posting a .304 batting average with seven home runs and 77 RBIs. He finished 16th in balloting for the 1971

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

as the Cardinals finished in second place behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the National League Eastern Division. Simmons refused to sign a contract for the amount of salary offered by the Cardinals in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

, electing to play without a contract. He ultimately signed a contract well into the season during which he was recognized as one of the top catchers in the league by earning a spot as a reserve on the 1972 National League All-Star team. He finished the year with a .303 batting average with 16 home runs and 96 RBIs, breaking

Walker Cooper William Walker Cooper (January 8, 1915 – April 11, 1991) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1940 to 1957, most notably as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals with whom h ...

's team record for RBIs by a catcher and set the team record for home runs by a catcher, previously held jointly by Gene Oliver and

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardina ...

. His defense began to improve as well, posting a .991 fielding percentage and leading National League catchers in assists and in putouts. Despite the Cardinals finishing the season in fourth place, Simmons would finish in 10th place in the National League Most Valuable Player Award balloting. Simmons continued to produce offensively in

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...

with a .310 batting average, along with 13 home runs and 91 RBIs. He also led the league's catchers in putouts and finished second in assists, earning his second All-Star berth as the Cardinals again finished the season in second place. In

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, Simmons hit 18 home runs along with 100 RBIs and posted a career-high .332 batting average, finishing second in the National League batting championship behind

Bill Madlock Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League b ...

. He also set a National League single-season record for most hits by a catcher with 188. He finished in 6th place in the National League Most Valuable Player Award balloting as the Cardinals ended the season in fourth place. Simmons broke Johnny Bench's nine-year stranglehold as the starting catcher for the National League All-Star team when he was elected to be the starting catcher for the National League in the 1978

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

. Simmons led the Cardinals in

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

every year from 1972 until 1978. In 1979, Simmons hit a career-high 26 home runs, setting the record for most home runs in a season by a Cardinals catcher. He had another strong year in 1980, hitting .303 with 21 home runs and 98 RBIs to win the inaugural

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

which is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position. By the late-1970s, Simmons was throwing out less than one-third of potential basestealers.Posnanski, Joe. "Oft-overlooked Simmons has case for Hall," MLB.com, Saturday, November 25, 2017.
Retrieved August 20, 2018 During the 1980 season, Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog wanted Simmons moved to first base and

Keith Hernandez Keith Hernandez (born October 20, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played the majority of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets. Hernandez was a five-time All-Star who shared the 1979 NL MVP ...

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

for the first six innings, with the latter often reverting to his original position at the end of games. Simmons' refusal and the ensuing feud with Herzog led to him being traded along with Rollie Fingers and Pete Vuckovich to the Milwaukee Brewers for

Sixto Lezcano Sixto Joaquin Lezcano Curras (born November 28, 1953) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 12 seasons (1974–1985). He played for five MLB teams and won a Gold Glove during ...

, Lary Sorensen, Dave LaPoint and

David Green David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

at the 1980 Winter Meetings on

December 12 Events Pre-1600 * 627 – Battle of Nineveh: A Byzantine army under Emperor Heraclius defeats Emperor Khosrau II's Persian forces, commanded by General Rhahzadh. *1388 – Maria of Enghien sells the lordship of Argos and Nauplia t ...

. His batting average fell to .216 in his first season in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

but, he rebounded in 1982 with a .269 batting average with 23 home runs and 97 RBIs and led American League catchers with a .995 fielding percentage in 121 games. The Brewers clinched the American League Eastern Division title, then defeated the California Angels in the

1982 American League Championship Series The 1982 American League Championship Series was played between the Milwaukee Brewers and the California Angels from October 5 to 10, 1982. Milwaukee won the series three games to two to advance to the franchise's first World Series, where they ...

. Simmons met his old team, the

in the

1982 World Series The 1982 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1982 season. The 79th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion St. Louis Cardinals and the Am ...

, hitting two home runs before the Brewers lost in a seven-game series. Simmons had one more good year in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...

when he hit for a .308 batting average with 13 home runs and 108 RBIs and earned his eighth and final All-Star berth. His batting average fell to .221 in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, although Simmons rebounded in 1985 with a .273 average and 76 RBIs, and in March

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

he was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He spent three seasons with the Braves as a utility player and pinch hitter before retiring as a player in

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

at the age of 38. From an equipment standpoint, Simmons used a Rawlings brand catcher's mitt and Adirondack bats.

Career statistics

In a 21-year major league career, Simmons played in 2,456 games, accumulating 2,472 hits in 8,680

at bats 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 during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a .285 career batting average along with 248 home runs, 1,389

and a .348 on-base percentage. He ended his career with a .986 fielding percentage. An eight-time All-Star, he batted above .300 seven times, reached 20 home runs six times, and eight times exceeded 90 runs batted in. He switch-hit home runs in a game three times and established a since-broken National League career record for home runs by a switch-hitter (182). Simmons held major league records for catchers with 2,472 career hits and 483 doubles, since broken by

Iván Rodríguez Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...

. He ranks second all-time among catchers with 1,389 runs batted in and 10th with 248 home runs. He caught 122

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

in his career, ranking him eighth all-time among major league catchers. In his book, ''

The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract ''The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract'' is a reference book written by Bill James featuring an overview of professional baseball decade by decade, along with rankings of the top 100 players at each position. The original edition was publi ...

'', baseball historian Bill James ranked Simmons 10th all-time among major league catchers.

Highlights

*8-time All-Star (1972–1974, 1977–1979, 1981, 1983) *

(1980) *7-times hit .300 or more (1971–1973, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1983) *Caught two no-hitters as a Cardinal:

Bob Gibson Robert Gibson (born Pack Robert Gibson; November 9, 1935October 2, 2020) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Gibby" and "Hoot" ( ...

in 1971; the first of

Bob Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

's two career no-hitters in 1978. *Twice led the

in intentional walks (1976–1977). He ranks 15th in the All-Time list with 188.

Baseball executive and coaching career

In 1992, Simmons was hired as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He served in that position for only a year, retiring after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

in June 1993. He also was Director of Player Development for both the Cardinals and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, and a scout at the Major League level for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. He was named the bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers starting with the 2008 season. On September 15, 2008, he was reassigned to another position within the organization. In November 2008 Simmons was named bench coach for the Padres under manager

Bud Black Harry Ralston "Bud" Black (born June 30, 1957) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Colorado Rockies. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1981 through 1995, most notably ...

, replacing Craig Colbert. He was hired on November 5, 2010 as a senior advisor to general manager

Jack Zduriencik John A. “Jack” Zduriencik (; born January 11, 1951) is an American radio broadcaster and former professional baseball executive, scout, and player. He currently works as a radio host for KDKA-FM, which is affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates ...

of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

. Simmons rejoined the Braves in October 2015, as a scout.

Hall of Fame candidacy

Simmons first became eligible for election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

, but received less than 5% of the vote on his first ballot, thus becoming ineligible for future election by the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...

. In December 2017, he missed being elected to the Hall of Fame via the

Veterans Committee The Veterans Committee is the popular name of various committees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum that elect participants other than recently retired players. Originally, it referenced the National Baseball Hall of Fame Committee ...

by one vote, but was elected in December 2019 for the Class of 2020. He was formally enshrined on September 8, 2021, as the 2020 ceremony was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

References

External links

*
Ted Simmons
at th
Baseball Hall of Fame

''Ted Simmons: Losing Drives Me Crazy!''
Baseball Digest, June 1973
''Ted Simmons: The National League's Other Catcher''
Baseball Digest, October 1977

Sports Illustrated, June 5, 1978
''Ted Simmons Talks About The Challenges of Hitting''
Baseball Digest, March 1983
''How Ted Simmons Compares with Hall of Fame Catchers''
Baseball Digest, August 2002 {{DEFAULTSORT:Simmons, Ted 1949 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball designated hitters St. Louis Cardinals players Milwaukee Brewers players Atlanta Braves players National Baseball Hall of Fame inductees National League All-Stars American League All-Stars Silver Slugger Award winners Baseball players from Michigan Cedar Rapids Cardinals players Modesto Reds players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Major League Baseball executives Major League Baseball general managers Major League Baseball bench coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches San Diego Padres coaches Atlanta Braves scouts Cleveland Indians scouts San Diego Padres scouts Seattle Mariners scouts People from Highland Park, Michigan