Appearances to the contrary, Don Wert was not the quintessential “light hitting shortstop.” Over the course of his nine-year career, all but the last spent with the Detroit Tigers, he had four seasons of 10 or more homers to go along with slash line of .244/.314/.343 (notice how we’re getting farther and farther away from just including the batting average?).
Wert passed away August 25 at the age of 86. Here’s his obituary from the Detroit Free Press.
Wert was a main cog of the 1968 World Championship team, the only year in which he was named to an All-Star team, despite a batting average of just .200. He also finished tenth in the 1965 MVP race, having led the AL in games played (162).
Books about that special campaign include:
- The 1968 World Series: The Tigers-Cardinals Classic as Told by the Men Who Played
- The Tigers of ’68: Baseball’s Last Real Champions
- Sock It To ‘Em Tigers: The Incredible Story of the 1968 Detroit Tigers
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Mike Cubbage played for the Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins, and New York Mets during his eight years in the bigs (seemed like longer). After his playing days came to an end, he served as a coach and was (very) briefly the Mets manager, winning three of his seven games at the helm in 1991.
Cubbage died August 11 at the age of 74. Here’s his obit from the New York Post.
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