Charles Edward Allen Diering (February 5, 1923 – November 23, 2012) was an American

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 professiona ...

player who appeared in 752 games 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) ...

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 c ...

and

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 u ...

over all or part of nine seasons between and 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

and

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 ...

. He batted and threw right-handed and was listed as tall and . Born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, Diering attended Beaumont High School and began his pro career in the Cardinals' organization in 1941, then missed the 1943–1945 seasons performing

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

service in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. Diering returned to baseball in 1946, and made the Cardinals' roster at the outset of the 1947 season. But he didn't win a regular job until , when he was the Redbirds' starting

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 ...

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score r ...

a career-high .263 in 131

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Baseball ...

. He only held that job for 1949 and part of , then reverted to a backup role. He was traded to the Giants with

Max Lanier Hubert Max Lanier (August 18, 1915 – January 30, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He led the National League in earned run average in 1943, and was th ...

for

Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston Bra ...

on December 11, 1951. He hit only .174 in sparse duty for the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

, and spent much of that campaign and all of 1953 with Triple-A

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

. Selected by the transplanted former St. Louis Browns in the 1953 Rule 5 draft, Diering resumed a regular role for the brand-new Baltimore Orioles in and , getting into 265 total games. He was selected the club's first-ever Most Valuable Player in 1954. By the middle of , however, his offensive struggles cost him his regular and

MLB 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), ...

status. After playing his final game as an Oriole on June 24, 1956, as a defensive replacement against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Briggs Stadium Tiger Stadium, previously known as Navin Field and Briggs Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit. The stadium was nicknamed "The Corner" for its location at the intersection of Michigan and Trumbul ...

, he continued his pro career in 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 N ...

into 1957. In his 752-game, nine-season major league tenure, Diering collected 411

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 ...

, with 76 doubles, 14

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo activities, as chos ...

and 14

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 is ...

. He batted .249 lifetime with 141

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 ...

. After his playing days were over, Diering owned a car dealership in

Alton, Illinois Alton ( ) is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 25,676 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the River Bend area in the Metro-East region of the ...

.Former Cardinals outfielder Chuck Diering dies
/ref> He died in

Spanish Lake, Missouri Spanish Lake is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. The population was 18,413 at the 2020 census. Geography Spanish Lake is located at (38.785849, -90.212879). The Spanish Lake community is located in ...

, at 89 on November 23, 2012.

References

External links

1923 births 2012 deaths Albany Cardinals players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from St. Louis Daytona Beach Islanders players Major League Baseball outfielders Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Montreal Royals players New York Giants (NL) players Omaha Cardinals players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players United States Army personnel of World War II Vancouver Mounties players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1920s-stub