Former MLB infielder Dick "Ducky" Schofield who played 19 big league seasons passed away on July 11th. No cause of death has been released. He was 87.
A native of Springfield, Illinois, Schofield spent the bulk of his big league career with the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates while also playing stints with the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers.
Although Schofield was a career .227 career hitter with 21 career home runs and never had more than 40 RBIs in a single season, he stayed in the majors for nearly 20 years on the strength of his glove. Primarily a shortstop, Schofield also played second base and third base and on rare occasions in the outfield.
Schofield's finest hour as a big leaguer came down the stretch in 1960 with the Pirates when that year's MVP Dick Groat went down with a wrist injury. During the final month of the regular season, Schofield hit .397 (27 for 68) and drove in 9 of his 10 RBIs that season en route to the Pirates first NL pennant since 1927. The Bucs would upset the mighty New York Yankees in that World Series in 7 games on Bill Mazeroski's walk off HR. Schofield would appear in the Fall Classic once more in 1968 with the Cardinals as they would fall to the Detroit Tigers in 7 games.
Schofield had a long baseball lineage. His son Dick Schofield had a 14-year big league career primarily with the California Angels along with stints with the New York Mets, Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers. His daughter Kim Schofield-Werth was a track athlete who competed at the 1976 Olympic trials while his grandson (and Kim's son) Jayson Werth had a 15-year big league career mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals along with stints with the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.
I leave you with Ducky and Dick Schofield being inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. R.I.P.
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