Albert John Weis (born April 2, 1938) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played in

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), ...

as an infielder from 1962 to 1971 for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. A light-hitting batter with only seven career home runs, he is notable for hitting a dramatic

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 ...

in Game 5 of the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. He was a switch hitter until the end of the 1968 season, after which he batted exclusively right-handed.

Early years

Weis grew up in Bethpage, New York, and graduated from

Farmingdale High School Farmingdale High School is a public high school located in Farmingdale, Nassau County, New York, and is the only high school operated by the Farmingdale Union Free School District. The school also serves East Farmingdale and a portion of North ...

in 1955. He was a high school teammate of

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Jack Lamabe, with whom he was teammates on the

in and . Weis joined the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

after high school. It was playing

Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...

where Weis caught the eye of the White Sox, with whom he signed as an amateur free agent in . After four years in their farm system, in which he batted .266 with fifteen home runs and 159

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 ...

, Weis received a September call-up in , batting only .083 in seven games.

Chicago White Sox

Weis played 99 games as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

in his rookie season of , with 48 of those games at second base and 27 at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. Following the trade of

Nellie Fox Jacob Nelson “Nellie” Fox (December 25, 1927 – December 1, 1975) was an American professional baseball player. Fox was one of the best second basemen of all time, and the third-most difficult hitter to strike out in Major League Baseball (M ...

during the off-season, Weis became more of a second baseman in , although he still made nine appearances at shortstop, including 4 starts. He batted .247 and established career highs with 81 hits and 22 stolen bases, second 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 ...

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

. That year, the White Sox finished second in a tight

pennant race, one game behind the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

and one game ahead of the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

. Don Buford was named the everyday White Sox second baseman for the season, with Weis returning to utility infield duties. He remained in that role for the remainder of his tenure with the White Sox, which ended on June 27, 1967 when the

’

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

broke Weis' leg while sliding into second to break up a double play. After the season, he and former Rookie of the Year center fielder Tommie Agee were traded to the

for Tommy Davis, Jack Fisher,

Buddy Booker Richard Lee "Buddy" Booker (born May 28, 1942) is an American former professional baseball catcher who appeared in 23 games in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox. The native of Lynchburg, Virginia, batted lef ...

and Billy Wynne.

New York Mets

Though Mets manager

Gil Hodges Gilbert Ray Hodges (''né'' Hodge; April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. He was widely regarded as t ...

acquired Weis primarily for his glove, he earned the dubious distinction of being the player whose

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

ended the longest game by time in Major League Baseball history on April 15, in his Mets debut. In the bottom of the 24th inning against the Houston Astros in the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

, Weis allowed

Bob Aspromonte Robert Thomas Aspromonte (born June 19, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball in and then from to , most prominently as a member of the newly for ...

's bases-loaded ground ball to go through his legs, scoring Norm Miller with the lone run of the game. For the season, Weis batted .172 with one home run and twelve RBIs, backing up

Bud Harrelson Derrel McKinley "Bud" Harrelson (born June 6, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He is a coach and part-owner of the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He played for the New York Mets, Philadelphia ...

and

Ken Boswell Kenneth George Boswell (born February 23, 1946) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. Early life Ken attended William B. Travis High School (Austin, Texas) and then the Mets drafted the Sam Houston State University student in the ...

at the middle infield positions. On July 15 1969, facing the first place Chicago Cubs at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago ...

, he hit a three-run home run off former Met Dick Selma to lead the second place Mets to a 5–4 victory. Weis hit his second of two home runs for the season the following day, and the Mets won again to close the gap to just four games in the

National League East The National League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. Along with the American League Central it is one of two divisions to have every member win at least one World Series title. The division was created when the National Leag ...

. The Cubs widened that gap back up to ten games before the Mets began the improbable surge that saw them take first place on September 10, and win the division by eight games to face 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 ...

in the first ever

National League Championship Series The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...

. Ken Boswell was the star of the 1969 National League Championship Series, hitting two home runs, and leading his team with five RBIs. Weis, meanwhile, only logged one at bat, reaching first on a Clete Boyer error in the ninth inning of game two. However, he received far more playing time in the World Series. The

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 ...

and American League's Cy Young Award winners faced off in game one of the World Series. The Orioles scored four runs in five innings off

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

. Meanwhile,

Mike Cuellar Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana (; May 8, 1937 – April 2, 2010) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in 1959 and from 1964 through 1977, most prominently as a memb ...

pitched a complete game, with Weis' sacrifice fly in the seventh inning accounting for the only Mets run. In Game 2 , Weis came to the plate with two

outs In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. When a batter or runner is out, they lose their ability to score a run and must return to the dugout until their next turn at bat. When three outs are recorded in a ha ...

in the ninth inning. With runners on first and third, Weis singled to

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 ...

to drive in the game winning run. Koosman and McNally faced each other again in game five, with the Mets holding a commanding three-to-one game lead. McNally got his team on the board first with a two-run home run in the third. Three batters later, Frank Robinson hit a solo home run to bring the Orioles' lead to 3–0.

Donn Clendenon Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from to . He is most notable for his performance during the 1969 World Series when he ...

's two run shot in the sixth brought the score to 3–2. Leading off the seventh, Weis took McNally deep to left field to tie the game. The Mets scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth to seal their improbable World Series win. For the series, the career .219 hitter batted .455 with three RBIs. Clendenon was named

World Series MVP The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The aw ...

, while Weis received the Series'

Babe Ruth Award The Babe Ruth Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player with the best performance in the postseason. The award, created in honor of Babe Ruth, was first awarded in 1949 to New York Yankee pitcher, Joe Page, the MVP of the W ...

. Weis' playing time in the second half of the season diminished substantially when former first overall draft pick

Tim Foli Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950), is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Pi ...

was brought up to the majors. He was released by the Mets midway through the season, having appeared in just eleven games that year.

Career statistics

As the weather got hot, so did Weis. He batted .260 with two home runs and 25 RBIs in the month of July for his career, far better than any other month. Weis fared far better against lefties than righties, having hit five of his seven career home runs with a .235 average against southpaws. All seven of his regular season home runs were hit as a visiting player. The only home run he ever hit in a home stadium was the World Series home run off McNally at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

. McNally is also the only pitcher Weis has hit two home runs against, serving up his second career home run on June 18, 1964.

References

External links

Al Weis
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Al Weis
at Ultimate Mets Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weis, Al 1938 births Chicago White Sox players New York Mets players Holdrege White Sox players Lincoln Chiefs players Charleston White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Baseball players from New York (state) Living people People from Bethpage, New York People from Franklin Square, New York People from Farmingdale, New York Farmingdale High School alumni Florida Instructional League White Sox players