Charles Frederick "Boots" Day (born August 31, 1947) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. Day was bench coach for the

Evansville Otters The Evansville Otters are a professional baseball team based in Evansville, Indiana. They compete in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division. Since their establishment in 1995, the Otters have played at historic Bosse Field ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

, and was in professional baseball for 55 years before retiring in 2021. A native of

Ilion, New York Ilion is a village in Herkimer County, New York, United States. Located in the Mohawk Valley region, the population was 7,646 at the 2020 census. The village is at the northern edge of the town of German Flatts, though a tiny portion is in th ...

, Day played

for all or parts of six seasons (1969–74), with the bulk of that time spent with the

. He threw and batted left-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Early life

Day was born on August 31, 1947, in

. He attended Ilion High School, where he was well known for his basketball and baseball prowess. As a pitcher on the baseball team he won all of his games but one (a 1–0 loss); and he was a phenomenal hitter. Day's elementary school principal, Bart Shelley, was a regional scout for the St. Louis Cardinals, who signed Day in 1965. Even though he played in the Cardinals system in 1965, it has also been stated he signed with them on January 1, 1966. Day is a member of the inaugural class of the Ilion High School Alumni Hall of Fame (2017). He also attended

Mohawk Valley Community College Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) is a Public college, public community college in Oneida County, New York. It is part of the State University of New York system. MVCC was founded in 1946 as the first community college established in New Y ...

. In 2012, he was inducted into the Mohawk Valley Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1993, he was inducted into the Greater Utica Sports Hall of Fame.

Minor league player

In 1965, Day was assigned to the Cardinals

Florida Instructional League The Florida Instructional League (FIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. The league was founded in 1958. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the FIL, while experienced players may ...

team. From 1966-68, he played in the Cardinals minor league system. In 1968, with the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, Day played in 137 games with a .295

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 ...

, 17

home runs 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 ...

, 26 doubles, 67

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(RBI) and 68 runs scored. He also had 24 assists and was part of five double-plays as an

. In 1969, he played 93 games for the Triple-A

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 Tulsa ...

, hitting .262, and played 11 games for the National League Cardinals. In 1970, after two trades, he played the majority of the season for the

Triple-A affiliate, the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

/ Winnepeg Whips, hitting .294 with 10 home runs in 313

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

, and 13 assists from the outfield. The team had moved from Buffalo to Winnipeg on June 11, 1970.

Major league player

Day received a major league trial with the Cardinals in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, playing in 11 games and going hitless in six

. At the close of the season, in December 1969, he was traded to the

for left-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Rich Nye Richard Raymond Nye (born August 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player who was a left-handed pitcher in the Major Leagues from 1966–1970. Nye was drafted by the Cubs in 1966 while still at the University of California, B ...

. He made the Cubs' opening day

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

roster, but only played in 11 games before being traded, in May, to Montreal for veteran

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 catc ...

Jack Hiatt. After further seasoning in Triple-A, at Buffalo and Winnipeg, he was recalled by the Expos in 1970, hitting .269 in 41 games; and played the next three-plus seasons as Montreal's

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

. In

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, his best major league season, he reached career highs in

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

(105), home runs (4), RBI (33), and batting average (.283) in 122 games played. He was tied for second in the league in

sacrifice hits In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

(16). Although he only played in 118 games in

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the cen ...

, he tied for the league lead in assists by a center fielder (9), with

Cito Gaston Clarence Edwin "Cito" Gaston (; born March 17, 1944) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and manager. His major league career as a player lasted from 1967 to 1978, most notably with the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Brave ...

who played 125 games in center field that year. Day was also second in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

(.983). After slumping 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 Solar time, ...

where he hit .233 in 128 games (though he was second in the league in double plays by a center fielder), he returned to form the following season, batting .275 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 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

, with 13 pinch hits, but in only 207 at bats and 101 games. The Expos were in the division championship race until the last week of the 1973 season. Before the 1974 season, the Expos acquired veteran center fielder Willie Davis in an offseason blockbuster trade with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

for star relief pitcher Mike Marshall (who would win the

Cy Young award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

for the Dodgers in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

). Day lost his semi-regular job. After only 52 games and 72 at-bats in

, he returned to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

for the remainder of his playing career. His #8 uniform was then issued to rookie

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "Kid" for his youth ...

in 1975; Carter went on to a

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

career and the Expos retired the number in his honor. Day appeared in 471 MLB games (449 of them with Montreal), and batted .256 with 295

, 28 doubles, eight home runs and 98 runs batted in, in 1,151 at-bats.

Return to minor leagues

Day finished the 1974 season playing for the

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. He played four years for the Detroit Tiger affiliate Triple-A

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for ...

(1975-78), never hitting above .266 or having more than 314 at bats. Other than one at bat at age 74 for the Evansville Otters in 2021, he finished his professional career at age 32, in 1980, playing sparingly for the Triplets and the Single-A

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia *Lakeland, Queensland Canada *Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta *Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of La ...

. He began the 1980 season as Lakeland's hitting coach, before finishing his playing career in Evansville.

Coaching career

After finishing his playing career, the Tigers kept him in their organization. From 1981-83, he was an

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

and then

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

Bristol Tigers Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. From 1984-89, he worked as an advance scout for the Tigers; the Tigers winning the World Series in 1984. He worked in the

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

system (1990-91), and scouted for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

(1992-94). He became the first ever manager for the

of the

in 1995. In 1996, he became hitting coach for a newer incarnation of the Buffalo Bisons, a Triple-A affiliate of 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in the American Association; and in 1997 was the hitting coach for Cleveland's Single-A affiliate, the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Kin ...

. From 1998-2003, Day coached in the Cardinals organization, serving as a hitting coach for the Single-A Prince Williams Cannons and the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbird ...

, and assistant coach for the Cardinals. One of the players he coached was

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (, ; born December 11, 1985) is a Dominicans, Dominican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Domin ...

, a member of the 2000 Redbirds championship team. He spent 2002-03 as an assistant coach under Hall of fame manager

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager (baseball), manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis C ...

with the Cardinals before returning to the minor leagues as a hitting coach from 2004-14 with various teams. In 2010, he was the hitting coach of the

Calgary Vipers The Calgary Vipers were a professional baseball team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They were part of the Western Division of the independent North American League. The Vipers played all of their home games at Foothills Stadium. Previously, ...

of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

and in 2011 he held the same position with the Normal CornBelters of the

. In 2012, Day returned to the Otters as a hitting coach, and he won the Frontier League’s Darren Bush Coach of the Year Award for excellence in player development. Day later becoming the Otters bench coach in 2015, and remained with the club through the 2021 season. Day retired from coaching on September 13, 2021, age 74, after a winning game with the Evansville Otters against the Lake Erie Crushers with a final score of 3–1. Day was lead off batter for the game. At retirement, he had been in professional baseball for 55 years.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Boots 1947 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from New York (state) Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Chicago Cubs players Detroit Tigers scouts Evansville Triplets players Florida Instructional League Cardinals players Kansas City Royals scouts Lakeland Tigers players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente outfielders Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Ilion, New York Rock Hill Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Tigres de Aragua players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Whips players Baseball coaches from New York (state) American expatriate baseball people in Canada Evansville Otters players Baseball designated hitters 20th-century American sportsmen