Rocky Bridges

Rocky Bridges
Infielder
Born: August 7, 1927 (1927-08-07) Refugio, Texas
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 17, 1951 for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1961 for the Los Angeles Angels
Career statistics
Batting average	.247
Hits	562
RBI	187
Teams
Brooklyn Dodgers (1951–1952) Cincinnati Reds (1953–1957) Washington Senators (1957–1958) Detroit Tigers (1959–1960) Cleveland Indians (1960) St. Louis Cardinals (1960) Los Angeles Angels (1961)
Career highlights and awards
AL All-Star in 1958

Everett Lamar "Rocky" Bridges (born August 7, 1927, in Refugio, Texas) is a former utility infielder with an 11-year career in American Major League Baseball from 1951 to 1961. He played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals of the National League, and the Washington Senators, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Angels of the American League. He appeared at second base, shortstop, third base and, occasionally, in the outfield.

Playing career

Bridges had a career batting average of .247 and never hit more than 5 home runs or stole more than 6 bases in a season. Nevertheless, he was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1958.

Coaching career

Following his active playing career, he served two terms (1962–63; 1968–71) as the third-base coach of the Angels and one year (1985) in that role with the San Francisco Giants. He also had a long career as a minor league manager in the Angels, Giants, San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates organizations. Over 21 seasons stretched between 1964 and 1989, Bridges' teams won 1,300 games and lost 1,358 (.489).

His minor league managerial career is profiled in Jim Bouton's collection of baseball articles and essays entitled I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad.

The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book, Brendan C. Boyd & Fred C. Harris, Little Brown & Co, 1973, began a lengthy writeup next to a picture of a baseball card of the square-jawed, crew-cut, tobacco-chewing Bridges on p. 103: "Rocky Bridges looked like a ballplayer. In fact, he may have looked more like a ballplayer than any other ballplayer who ever lived."

Quote

Bridges is attributed as being the source of the famous quote about Jose Uribe. He said that Uribe was "the ultimate player to be named later" (Uribe changed his name before being delivered as the-player-to-be-named-later).

Sources

• Bouton, Jim and Offen, Neil. I Managed Good, But Boy Did They Play Bad (1973). New York; Dell.
• Baseball-Reference.com
• Baseball Players Come and Go (AP), (near end)