Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 239

on the season, when he homered in a 1–0 win over Bob Feller and the Indians. On November 17, 1954, a record 17 player deal took place between the Orioles and Yankees, involving Woodling, future 20 game winner Bob Turley and Don Larsen, who would go on to pitch a perfect game in the 1956 World Series for New York. Woodling had been sidelined for the last part of the 1954 season with a broken arm.

Woodling led the 1959 Baltimore Orioles season with a .300 batting average and received the Orioles Most Valuable Player award. Woodling returned to the Indians along with Billy Cox

from the Orioles for Dave Pope, Wally Westlake and cash before the trade deadline on June 15, 1955. He set career highs in home runs - 19, runs batted in - 78, and batting - .321 in 1957. A few months before he turned 40, he was sent to the New York Mets, where old Yankees manager Casey Stengel was working on his

latest project, the newborn Mets. Woodling would be managed by Stengel for the remainder of the 1962 season. He was released before the 1963 season, after publicly criticizing the front office's contract negotiations with Marv Throneberry, AKA Doctor Strangeglove.

In his 17 season career, Woodling batted .284 with 147 home runs

and 830 RBI in 1,796 games. Woodling ended with a .386 on base percentage and 1,585 career hits in 5,587 at bats. He hit .300