Eddie Brinkman, 66; Was MLB All-Star Shortstop
Bill Schenley
1964 Topps (#46) baseball card (front):
http://www.checkoutmycards.com/CardImages/Cards/018/794/07F.jpg
1964 Topps (#46) baseball card (back):
http://www.checkoutmycards.com/CardImages/Cards/018/794/07b.jpg
FROM: The Detroit Free Press ~
By John Lowe, Sports Writer
Former Tigers shortstop Eddie Brinkman, whose good
humor and love of baseball made him a cherished
figure in the game, died Tuesday. He was 66.
His death was announced by the Chicago White Sox,
whom he served as a coach and scout for 18 years.
The cause of death wasn't announced, but Brinkman
had been in poor health for several weeks.
Brinkman joined the Tigers for the 1971 season in the
eight-player trade that sent controversial Tigers ace
Denny McLain to the Washington Senators.
The deal was a one-sided win for the Tigers. It also
brought them right-hander Joe Coleman, who averaged
21 wins in his first three Detroit seasons, and
strong-armed Aurelio Rodriguez, who served as the
Tigers third baseman for several seasons. McLain won
14 games in his career after he left Detroit.
For his four Tigers seasons, Brinkman was something
of an iron man at shortstop. He played at least 151
games there each season from 1971 through 1974. In
1973, he played at short in all 162 games and also made
the All-Star team for the only time in his career.
"As a shortstop, he wasn't what you would call smooth,"
said Dan Ewald, who covered the Tigers for the Detroit
News during Brinkman's time with the club. "But he got
all the balls somehow. It didn't look like a picture. But he
got to them and made the throw.
"He was always in control of the situation. If you've got
a shortstop who isn't aware of everything, you've got a
problem. Eddie had control of the situation. That's why
he was better than his raw physical talent.
"He enhanced his ability by anticipating. He was a very
solid, smart shortstop. He wasn't flashy or flamboyant."
In 1972, as the Tigers won the AL East, Brinkman won
the Gold Glove as the AL's best defensive shortstop.
Brinkman, a right-handed batter, never hit higher than .237
in his four Tigers seasons. But in the final one, 1974, he
rose up and hit 14 homers -- the only time in his career
he was in double figures.
After the 1974 season, the Tigers traded Brinkman (about
to turn 33) to St. Louis [1] in a three-way deal that also
included San Diego. The Tigers got San Diego slugger
Nate Colbert, who lasted only a few months with Detroit.
"He was a great teammate to everybody," Ewald said.
"He was just a good person to be around in the clubhouse.
"He was a fantastic pinochle player. He'd play on the
team flights with Gates Brown, Joe Coleman and me.
He was a competitor at that, too. He'd count tricks, and
one time, that made Gates throw the cards at him. Eddie
was smart."
On the night the Tigers clinched the 1972 AL East title,
the public caught Brinkman's fun-loving, uninhibited
side in a way the FCC wouldn't have condoned. During
that night's clubhouse celebration, Brinkman emphasized
what a great group of guys the Tigers were by using an
expletive on live TV.
"He loved the baseball life," Ewald said. "He loved the
game. He loved being around ballparks. He felt his best
at them."
---
1975 Topps (#439) baseball card:
http://static.baseballtoaster.com/blogs/cardboardgods/images/2007/Ed_Brinkman_75.jpg
Stats: http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/brinked01.shtml
[1] Also played for the Rangers and the Yankees
---
Thanks to Rod Nelson of SABR for this obit.
ZapRatz
Record-setting shortstop Ed Brinkman dies at 66
http://breakingnews.nydailynews.com/dynamic/stories/B/BBO_OBIT_BRINKMAN
CHICAGO (AP) -- Eddie Brinkman, a record-setting shortstop during a
15-year career in the majors and a former high school teammate of Pete
Rose, has died. He was 66.
Brinkman died Tuesday in his hometown of Cincinnati. The Chicago White
Sox, for whom he was a longtime coach and scout, held a moment of
silence for him before their AL Central tiebreaker against Minnesota.
The team did not give a cause of death.
Brinkman made his big league debut at 19 in 1961 with the Washington
Senators and played in an era when shortstops were known for their
gloves, rather than their bats. The only two times he hit over .240 came
when Hall of Famer Ted Williams personally worked with him.
"Steady Eddie" was traded to Detroit after the 1970 season in a deal
that included Denny McLain. Brinkman solidified his reputation as
"good-field, no-hit" more than ever in 1972, the year he won his lone
Gold Glove.
Brinkman batted just .203 with six home runs and 49 RBIs for the AL East
champion Tigers, but set the league record for shortstops with 72
straight errorless games - a mark Cal Ripken broke in 1990.
Brinkman's glovework in 1972 earned him a ninth-place finish in the AL
MVP voting. No Detroit player did better in the balloting that
championship year - Mickey Lolich, a 22-game winner, came in 10th and Al
Kaline, who hit .313, was 24th.
Brinkman was an AL All-Star in 1973. The next year, he set career highs
with 14 home runs and 54 RBIs.
Batting eighth for most of his career, Brinkman hit .224 with 60 home
runs and 461 RBIs. He spent most of his days with Washington and
Detroit, and split his last year with St. Louis, Texas and the New York
Yankees in 1975.
His best year with the bat came in 1969, when he hit .266. That was
Williams' first year as manager of the Senators, and the great slugger
made Brinkman his pet project.
Williams worked on improving Brinkman's mental approach at the plate.
The result was a career-high average for Brinkman, coming after
successive seasons in which he hit .188 and .187.
Brinkman missed much of the 1968 season while serving in the National
Guard. A week after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.,
Brinkman was stationed in the left-field seats on opening day in Washington.
Brinkman was a prep star, pitching on the same team as Rose. Their high
school, Western Hills in Cincinnati, also produced Don Zimmer.
Brinkman's brother, Chuck, was a backup catcher in the majors from 1969-74.
Despite making his mark at shortstop, Brinkman started his big league
career as a third baseman in September 1961. He started out 0-for-9
before singling in the next-to-last game at Griffith Stadium. He shifted
to shortstop in 1962 when the Senators moved to D.C. Stadium, later
renamed RFK Stadium.
Brinkman was the infield coach for the White Sox from 1983 through 1988.
He then became a special assignment scout for the team until retiring in
2000.
--
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