Richie Ashburn

Richie Ashburn
Ashburn with the Philadelphia Phillies, c. 1953
Center fielder
Born: (1927-03-19)March 19, 1927
Tilden, Nebraska, U.S.
Died: September 9, 1997(1997-09-09) (aged 70)
New York City, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 20, 1948, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1962, for the New York Mets
MLB statistics
Batting average.308
Hits2,574
Home runs29
Runs batted in586
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1995
Election methodVeterans Committee

Don Richard Ashburn (March 19, 1927 – September 9, 1997), also known by the nicknames "Putt-Putt", "the Tilden Flash", and "Whitey" (due to his light-blond hair), was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1948 to 1962, most prominently as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies where, he was a four-time All-Star player, and was a member of the 1950 National League pennant winning team known as the Whiz Kids.

Ashburn was a two-time National League (NL) batting champion and finished with a .308 career batting average.[1] He also excelled as a defensive player, routinely leading the league in putouts.[2] His 5,803 career putouts ranks third among center fielders in Major League Baseball history behind only Willie Mays and Tris Speaker.[3] He ended his playing career with the Chicago Cubs and the New York Mets.

Following his playing career, from 1963 until his death in 1997, Ashburn was a color commentator for television broadcasts of Philadelphia Phillies games, and developed into one of the most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia sports history.[1] In 1995, following a lengthy fan-led effort for his inclusion, Ashburn was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.[1] In 1997, he was inducted into The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame and, he was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.[4]

  1. ^ a b c "Richie Ashburn at the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame". baseballhall.org. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  2. ^ "Richie Ashburn career statistics". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  3. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Putouts as Center Fielder". Baseball Reference. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  4. ^ "Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame Inductees". Retrieved August 3, 2009.

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