Rocky Colavito

From BR Bullpen

Rocco Domenico Colavito

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.

Debut September 10, 1955
Final Game September 27, 1968
Born August 10, 1933 in New York, NY USA

[edit] Biographical Information

"You can't tell how much spirit a team has until it starts losing." - Rocky Colavito

Rocky Colavito, not quite a Hall of Famer, was one of the best known players of his era and an immensely popular player. Based on the Gray Ink test developed by Bill James, Colavito was more prominent than the average Hall of Famer, although he doesn't do as well on the other tests such as the Hall of Fame Monitor.

"Don't Knock The Rock" was the rally cry in Cleveland in the late 1950s when Rocky was a handsome homer-hitting hero. The fans were shocked and dismayed when Rocky (defending home run champ) was traded straight up for the Detroit Tigers' Harvey Kuenn (batting champ). In 1961, he helped lead the Detroiters to a 100-win season with a great offensive display (along with Norm Cash and Al Kaline). The Indian fans rejoiced when years later he returned to Cleveland.

He had a patented routine coming to the plate, stretching his bat across his back and pointing the bat at the pitcher.

He possessed a gun for a throwing arm - maybe the strongest in all of baseball at the time - and even did a couple of relief stints. His ERA in those two relief appearances was excellent, and he even was credited with the victory in his pitching appearance in 1968 for the New York Yankees.

Although primarily noted for his offensive prowess, he compiled a perfect .1000 fielding average in 1965.

Colavito just missed playing for the great 1954 Cleveland Indians which won 111 games, since he came up in 1955. The Indians were quite good in 1955 and 1956, finishing second in the league, but then they began to slip. His best year with the Indians was 1958, when he slugged .620 to lead the league. He finished 3rd in the MVP voting that year, which was his highest finish, although he was 4th the next year when he led the league in home runs.

Rocky's Cleveland teammates at the time were such players as Larry Doby, Bobby Avila, Vic Power, Mickey Vernon, Minnie Minoso, a young Roger Maris, Early Wynn, Bob Lemon, Mudcat Grant, and Don Mossi.

Going to the Detroit Tigers in 1960, his best year was 1961 when he slugged .580, although not good enough to be in the top five in the league during that expansion season. After going to Kansas City and back to Cleveland in the mid 1960's, he continued to hit home runs although his slugging percentages were lower. He was 5th in the MVP voting in 1965 with Cleveland.

He finished his career with partial seasons for the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Yankees in 1967 and 1968, the heart of the second dead ball era. He ended his career with the Yankees the same year that Mickey Mantle finished his career there, although Mantle was two years older.

He totalled 374 home runs, just ahead of Gil Hodges and Ralph Kiner, and just behind "Stormin' Norman" Norm Cash and Carlton Fisk.

Not surprisingly, players with similar ability (based on the similarity scores method) include Frank Howard, Roy Sievers, Boog Powell, Norm Cash and Gil Hodges - all contemporaries. Although a slugger supreme, Colavito never struck out 100 times in any season.

After his playing career ended, he was a television broadcaster for the Indians for several seasons. He was also an Indians and Kansas City Royals coach.