Fritz Darrell Brickell (March 19, 1935 – October 15, 1965) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

player who played in parts of three seasons for 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 ...

(1958–59) and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

(1961) of

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 ...

. He was the son of former Major League

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 ...

Fred Brickell. Brickell was born and raised in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. He attended East High School in Wichita, where he appears in its yearbook on both the football and basketball teams, but not on the baseball team, then graduated in 1953.

Tom Greenwade Thomas E. Greenwade (August 21, 1904 – August 10, 1986) was an American baseball scout. After a brief minor league career as a pitcher and manager, Greenwade scouted for the St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees of Major League ...

, the local scout for the Yankees, signed Brickell in 1953. An

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, Brickell stood tall and weighed ; he batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. His eight years in the Yankee

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

(1953–1960) were interrupted by two trials with the Bombers. After a two-game stint as a defensive replacement at the start of the season, Brickell received a more extended audition with the Yanks in the middle of , getting into 18

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

, including nine starts at

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

, in June and July. His ten

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included his only MLB

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

, a two-run shot off former Yankee Tom Morgan, then with 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 club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. After spending 1960 in Triple-A, Brickell was traded to the

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Angels on the eve of the season. He was the first starting shortstop in Angels' franchise history: on April 11, 1961, at Memorial Stadium, he went one-for-four at bat and handled nine chances in the field, turning a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

but committing two errors, as the Angels shocked the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

, 7–2.

Retrosheet Retrosheet is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores fr ...

br>box score: 1961-04-11
/ref> But Brickell struggled on both offense and defense, batting only .122 in 49

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 making seven errors in 71 total chances (for a .901

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 ...

). He started his last game on May 8, and spent most of 1961 with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

of the

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 ...

. All told, In 41 MLB games, Brickell collected 16 hits, including two for extra bases. He played in the minors through 1962. Brickell retired to

, where he was working in the sporting goods industry. In 1964, he played for a local semi-pro baseball team before being diagnosed with cancer. On August 29, 1965, "Fritz Brickell Night" was held in Wichita to help raise money for Brickell's medical expenses. Dick Sanders, who managed the semi-pro team, had

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

flown in to help raise money for the cause at Lawrence Stadium. Mantle hit four home runs for those in attendance before the National Baseball Congress Tournament. There were 2,500–3,000 envelopes of various donations for Brickell's health. After the game, Mantle continued to

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

so he could visit his wife out of surgery. Brickell died on October 15, 1965 in Wichita.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brickell, Fritz 1935 births 1965 deaths Baseball players from Wichita, Kansas Binghamton Triplets players Birmingham Barons players Deaths from cancer in Kansas Denver Bears players Joplin Miners players Los Angeles Angels players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball shortstops New York Yankees players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players St. Joseph Saints players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen

See also

References

External links