Lee Willie Tate (born March 18, 1932) 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 ...

player. The

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 ...

had a 15-year (1951–1965) career in

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, appearing briefly in the Major Leagues for parts of the and seasons 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 ...

. Tate was born in Black Rock, Arkansas; he stood tall, weighed and 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 ...

. Tate played in 51 games for the Cardinals: ten (eight as a starting shortstop) at the end of the 1958 season, and 41 during the first three months of the 1959 campaign. He started 12 games in relief of regular shortstop Alex Grammas between May 23 and June 6, 1959, and collected half of his 14 Major League

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 ...

over that time, including his only Major League

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 ( ...

, off

Johnny Antonelli John August Antonelli (April 12, 1930 – February 28, 2020) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed starting pitcher who played for the Boston / Milwaukee Braves, New York / San Francisco Giants, and Cleveland Indians bet ...

of the

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

on May 27."The 1959 STL N Regular Season Batting Log for Lee Tate"

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Overall, he batted .165 (14 for 85) in the Major Leagues, with three doubles and one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

his other

extra-base hits In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

. As a minor leaguer, he appeared in over 1,600 games.

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1932 births Living people Austin Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Arkansas Bradford Phillies players Dallas Eagles players Denver Bears players Elizabethton Phils players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball shortstops Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Nashville Vols players Oklahoma City 89ers players Omaha Cardinals players People from Lawrence County, Arkansas Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players Salina Blue Jays players Salt Lake City Bees players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players {{baseball-shortstop-stub