Theodore Stanley Kazanski (born January 25, 1934) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

who played from through for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. Listed at , 175 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. A native of

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ; ; ; ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Hamtramck is located roughly north of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 census, the city had a po ...

, Kazanski was a classic slick fielder, slap-hitter, who used the entire field to his advantage. One of the most highly rated schoolboy ballplayers of his time, he was given a reported $100,000 bonus to sign with the Phillies in 1951. He spent two and a half seasons in the Philadelphia

Minor League 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 ...

system before joining the big club in the 1953 midseason, at nineteen years of age. In his majors debut, Kazanski went 3-for-6 and drove in four runs from the top of the order, to lead the Phillies to a 13–2 victory over the

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 ...

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...

. Kazanski became the first player since – the first season runs batted in was recorded as an official statistic – to drive in at least four runs as a shortstop in his major league debut, according to the ''

Elias Sports Bureau The Elias Sports Bureau is an American privately-held sports data company providing historical and current statistical information for the major professional sports leagues operating in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1913, Elias is considere ...

''. He finished the season with a .217

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 ...

in 95 games. In 1954 Kazanski was relegated to backup and platoon infield duties, splitting time with Bobby Morgan and

Granny Hamner Granville Wilbur "Granny" Hamner (April 26, 1927 – September 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). Hamner was one of the key players on the "Whiz Kids", the National Leag ...

. He spent most of 1955 at Triple-A. His most productive season came in 1956, when he posted career-highs in

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 ...

(117),

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 ( ...

s (4), RBI (34) and hits (80), while hitting .211. In that season, he belted a three-run home run (on April 2

and an inside-the-park grand slam (on August 8), to provide two of the 19 victories of Phillies pitching ace Robin Roberts. He also started a

triple play In baseball or softball, a triple play (denoted as TP in baseball statistics) is the act of making three out (baseball), outs during the same play. There have only been 739 triple plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1876, an average of ju ...

in the same game as his inside the park grand slam, a feat that would not be duplicated until

Ángel Pagán Ángel Manuel Pagán (born July 2, 1981) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, and San Francisco Giants. Pagán's original contract in Major League Base ...

did so on May 19, 2010 From 1957 to 1958, he divided his playing time between Triple-A and the Phillies. In a six-season major league career, Kazanski was a .217 hitter (288-for-1329) with 14 home runs and 116 RBI in 417 games, including 118 runs, 49 doubles, nine

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

and four

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s. In 1959, Kazanski was sent by Philadelphia along with Stan Lopata to the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

in the same transaction that brought

Gene Conley Donald Eugene Conley (November 10, 1930 – July 4, 2017) was an American professional baseball and basketball player. He pitched for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1952 to 1963. Conley also played as a forward in the 1952� ...

, Harry Hanebrink and Joe Koppe to the Phillies. He played in the Braves minor league system until 1963, when was traded to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in exchange for Ozzie Virgil. Kazanski also saw action in the minors with the

Kansas City Athletics The Kansas City Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1955 to 1967, having previously played in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the Philadelphia Athletics. After moving in 1967, the team became 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 ...

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, ...

, Washington Senators and

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 ...

organizations, hitting .253 with 70 home runs and 244 RBI in 1183 games until he retired after the 1964 season. He was through by the age of thirty years. Following his playing career, Kazanski coached in 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 ...

organization and also worked as an assistant for the baseball team at the

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Cath ...

, which he attended.

Notes

References

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazanski, Ted 1934 births Living people Philadelphia Phillies players Baltimore Orioles (International League) players 20th-century American sportsmen Dallas Rangers players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Schenectady Blue Jays players Terre Haute Phillies players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Syracuse Chiefs players Major League Baseball shortstops University of Detroit Mercy alumni Sportspeople from Hamtramck, Michigan Baseball players from Wayne County, Michigan Detroit Mercy Titans baseball coaches