Choo-Choo Coleman

Choo Choo Coleman
Catcher
Born: August 25, 1937 (1937-08-25) Orlando, Florida
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 16, 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
April 23, 1966 for the New York Mets
Career statistics
Batting average	.197
Hits	91
RBI	30
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (1961) New York Mets (1962-63, 1966)

Clarence "Choo-Choo" Coleman was a Major League Baseball player who played catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets.

Career

Coleman was born in Orlando, Florida on August 25, 1937. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Washington Senators at age 18. He was released by the Senators and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, then taken by the Philadelphia Phillies in the rule V draft. In 1961, he appeared in 34 games for the Phillies, getting hit by a pitch in his first Major League at bat. He would hit only .128 for the Phillies that year in 47 at bats. The Phillies finished in last place that year, a spot soon to be taken over by the expansion New York Mets franchise. In the off-season, the Mets selected Coleman in the expansion draft. He would play parts of three seasons for the Mets, hitting .205 in 415 at bats.

Quotes

While Coleman never had success as a player, he became somewhat famous for his malapropisms. Perhaps most famous was an interview on Kiner's Korner, the Mets post-game show. Host Ralph Kiner liked to tell the story, during game broadcasts, about how Choo-Choo didn't say much and was very hard to interview. Coleman also had a bad memory for names, and called everybody "Bub". Ralph explained that he had run out of questions for Coleman, so he asked Choo-Choo, "What's your wife's name and what's she like?" Choo-Choo replied "My wife's name is Mrs. Coleman and she likes me, Bub." Another time, Kiner asked Clarence how he had gotten the name Choo-Choo. "I don't know, Ralph," was the answer.

Upon first introducing Choo-Choo to the media, Mets manager Casey Stengel did not exactly sing his praises. He said of Coleman "You have to have a catcher or you'll have all passed balls." But he did refer to him as "the best low-ball catcher in baseball", a commodity the early Mets staff probably needed.

In 1963, during Duke Snider's only year with the Mets, he told a reporter how Choo-Choo did not know his name, despite the fact that he and Snider had spent months on the same team. The reporter did not believe him. To prove his point, Snider said to the Mets catcher, "Choo-Choo, do you know me?" Choo-Choo replied, "Yes, you're number 4." Roger Craig once said: "Choo-Choo would give you the sign and then look down to see what it was."

The authors of The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book, Brendan C. Boyd & Fred C. Harris, Little Brown & Co, 1973, had this to say about Coleman on p. 37, next to a picture of his baseball card: "Choo-Choo Coleman was the quintessence of the early New York Mets. He was a 5'8", 160-pound catcher who never hit over .250 in the majors, had 9 career home runs, 30 career RBIs, and couldn't handle pitchers. Plus his name was Choo-Choo. What more could you ask for?"

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference