Rocky Colavito, one of baseball's most feared sluggers in the 1950s and 1960s, passed away today at the age of 91. While no cause of death was given, Colavito did have a leg amputated due to diabetes in 2015.
Born and raised in the Bronx, Colavito's heart was in Cleveland. Colavito signed with the Indians prior to the 1951 season making his MLB debut late in the 1955 season. In 1956, Colavito would finish runner up in AL Rookie of the Year balloting to future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio after hitting .276 with 21 HR and 65 RBI.
Colavito's breakout season came in 1958 when he hit a career high .303 with 41 HR and 113 RBI along with leading the AL in SLG at .620 finishing third in AL MVP balloting behind Boston Red Sox outfielder Jackie Jensen and New York Yankees pitcher Bob Turley. The following year Colavito finished fourth in AL MVP balloting behind three members of the AL champion Chicago White Sox - Nellie Fox, the aforementioned Aparicio and pitcher Early Wynn. Colavito earned his fourth-place finish by leading the AL with 42 HR along with 111 RBI though his batting average did slip to .257. That year Colavito also hit 4 HR in a game.
Prior to the 1960 season, the Indians traded Colavito to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn who had won the AL batting title in 1959 with a .353 average. It proved to be an unpopular trade with both Cleveland and Detroit fans as Kuenn only spent one season in Cleveland before being shipped to San Francisco. The trade baffled Colavito for the rest of his life.
Colavito would spend four seasons in Detroit and despite driving in 100 or more runs in three of those seasons, Tigers fans did not embrace him. In 1961, the Tigers gave the Yankees everything they got in the AL pennant race with Colavito hitting a career high 45 HR and 140 RBI. But it wasn't enough.
The Tigers would deal Colavito to the Kansas City A's prior to the 1964 season. In his lone season in an A's uniform, Colavito hit .274 with 34 and 102 RBI. Prior to the 1965 season, the A's made a deal with the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians which saw Colavito return to Municipal Stadium. Colavito responded by playing in all 162 games hitting .287 with 26 HR and a league leading 108 RBI along with leading the AL with 93 walks. It was good enough to earn a fifth-place finish in AL MVP voting behind Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Brooks Robinson and Eddie Fisher.
The Tribe would trade Colavito yet again in the middle of the 1967 season to the Chicago White Sox before splitting the 1968 season with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. During his brief stint with the Yankees, Colavito actually pitched in a game earning a win. He would be the last position player to earn a win in MLB until Brett Mayne did so with the Colorado Rockies against the Atlanta Braves in 2000 (in a game I saw on TV).
In 1841 games over 14 seasons, Colavito collected 1730 hits for a lifetime batting average of .266 with 374 HR and 1159 RBI. He was named to 9 AL All-Star Teams. During the 1970s, Colavito returned to the Indians serving as both a broadcaster and member of the coaching staff throughout the decade. Colavito would later serve as the hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals in 1982 and 1983 under Dick Howser partaking in the infamous pine tar game against the Yankees.
Colavito never earned above 1% of the vote while on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot in 1974 and 1975. Colavito's case for Cooperstown would be reviewed by the Veterans Committee in 2003, 2005 and 2007 but he never received more than 10% of the vote. However, Colavito would earn his spot in the Cleveland Indians/Guardians Hall of Fame in 2006. R.I.P.
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