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Charlie Metro

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Charlie Metro
Outfielder / Manager
Born: (1918-04-18)April 18, 1918
Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania
Died: March 11, 2011(2011-03-11) (aged 92)
Buckingham, Virginia
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
May 4, 1943, for the Detroit Tigers
Last MLB appearance
August 5, 1945, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.193
Home runs3
Runs batted in23
Games managed164
Win–Loss record62–102
Winning %.378
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Managerial record at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Major League Baseball

As manager

Charlie Metro (born Charles Moreskonich; April 18, 1918 – March 18, 2011) was an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Athletics, as well as a manager for the Chicago Cubs and the Kansas City Royals. He adopted the name "Metro" from his father, Metro Moreskonich, a Ukrainian immigrant.

Career

Metro was born and grew up in Nanty Glo, Pennsylvania, graduating from Nanty Glo High School in 1937, and also worked in the coalmines there during breaks from school.[1] At age 18, he attended a tryout camp for the St. Louis Browns, and he bounced around in the minor leagues. In 1940, he joined the Texarkana Liners, then an independent baseball team but which became affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. Due to his light hitting ability, he was never able to become a full-time starter, although he did make the Tigers club out of spring training in 1943. He was released by the Tigers in 1944, partly because of his attempts to organize a players union.

The Philadelphia Athletics picked him up, and, under Connie Mack, Metro won 'a shot' at starting center fielder; but his inability to hit consistently cost him this job. At the end of 1944 he joined the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League, where he played under another manager, Casey Stengel. In 1947, he was hired as a manager within the New York Yankees organization, and soon he moved up the ranks to AAA. Eventually, he got his first big-league managing job with the Chicago Cubs in their "College of Coaches." He was fired after the 1962 season; then he joined the crosstown Chicago White Sox as a scout, but soon returned to managing in the PCL.

In 1968, Metro joined the front office of the expansion Kansas City Royals, where he had an active hand in the expansion draft. He took over as manager when Joe Gordon resigned after only one season at the helm.[2] But there his stint as manager was shorter than his Cubs tenure, lasting only 54 games (19–35). He was replaced by Bob Lemon.[3] Metro went back to scouting for the Tigers and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Then followed coaching stints with the Oakland Athletics, and in 1984 he returned to the Dodgers as a scout. After being dismissed by Los Angeles, Metro retired to his [Denver]] ranch. He died in Buckingham, Virginia on March 18, 2011 from mesothelioma, a type of lung cancer.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Charlie Metro, long-time baseball player, manager, coach and scout, passes away". Nanty Glo Home Page. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  2. ^ Ferguson, Lew (8 October 1969). "Charlie Metro named manager of Royals". The Day. p. 23. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  3. ^ Blount, Jr., Roy (22 June 1970). "Tale of the Derailed Metro". Sports Illustrated. 32 (25). New York: 43. Archived from the original on September 29, 2013. Retrieved 31 August 2012. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ Moss, Irv (23 March 2011). "Former Bears manager Metro dies at 91". The Denver Post. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
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