Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 254

Charles Anthony Ryan Silvera was a Major League Baseball catcher and coach. Nicknamed Swede, he was part of six World Series championships with the New York Yankees.

He signed with the Yankees in 1942, and played the outfield for the Wellsville Yankees at just seventeen years old. He missed the 1943–1945 seasons serving in World War II. When he returned for the 1946 season, he was converted to catcher with the triple A Kansas City Blues. This as a mistake as the Yankees were full of good catchers, and this relegated Charlie to a backup position, while he put up some very decent statistics.

After three more seasons in the minors, Silvera debuted with the Yankees on September 29, 1948, and went three for four with a triple in his major league debut. He followed that up with a

three for five performance the next day.

His hot bat earned him the backup catcher job behind Yogi Berra for the 1949 season. A thumb injury to Berra moved him into the starting job for the month of August. He batted .329 with eight runs batted in while filling in for the future Hall of Famer. For the season, he posted career highs in games played - 58, at bats – 130, and RBIs - 13.

The Yankees faced the Brooklyn Dodgers in the 1949 World Series. Silvera's only appearance came in game two, and he was held