Robert Lee "Red" Worthington (April 24, 1906 – December 8, 1963) was an American 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

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, a native of

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately east from the downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 11, 190 ...

, appeared in 292

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and four seasons in

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with the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

(1931–1934) and

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 ...

(1934).Career statistics and history
a
Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> Worthington 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 ...

, and was listed as tall and . Worthington's 13-year professional career began in 1925. Acquired by the Cardinals'

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 ...

in 1927, he put up three outstanding seasons in the upper levels of 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 ...

from 1928 to 1930, with seasons of 212, 202 and 175

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, and batting averages of .352, .327 and .375; in the last of those years, 1930, he missed the batting title of the top-level

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 ...

by .001 to his Rochester teammate, Ripper Collins.Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors, ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,'' third edition;

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, 2007. Despite his minor-league production, he could not earn a roster spot on the major-league Cardinals, and his contract was sold to the Boston Braves on September 15, 1930. He was the Braves' regular

left fielder 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 ...

in both and , batting .291 and .303, and leading

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

left fielders in assists in 1932, a testament to his powerful throwing arm.Jimmy Keenan, ''Red Worthington,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

Biography Project Then injury and illness struck: he broke his ankle while sliding on August 7, 1932, putting him out of action for the remainder of that campaign; and in ,

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limited him to only 17 games played all year. The season saw him play in only 41 games for Boston, and—after he was sold back to St. Louis in September—one game for the Cardinals. He played in the top-level

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

for three more years, 1935–1937, before leaving the game, and after his baseball career he served in the

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In his four MLB seasons, Red Worthington batted .287 lifetime, and collected 298 hits, with 69 doubles, 18

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and 12

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 ...

. He was credited with 111

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 ...

. He died in

Sepulveda, California North Hills, known previously as Sepulveda, is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. North Hills was originally part of an agricultural community known as Mission Acres. After World War II, the newly dev ...

, at the age of 57.

References

External links

1906 births 1963 deaths Boston Braves players Houston Buffaloes players Major League Baseball left fielders Mission Reds players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players Sportspeople from Alhambra, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Waterloo Hawks (baseball) players United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-outfielder-1900s-stub