Remembering Jimmy Piersall: https://youtu.be/bth4H7FmDAE
James Anthony “Jimmy” Piersall (Born in Waterbury, CN on November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) struggled with personal demons throughout his career and received treatment for “nervous exhaustion” after confrontations with his teammates, opponents, umpires and management due to his erratic behavior. Piersall played centerfield 17 seasons in the Majors with the Boston red Sox (1950, 1952-1958), the Cleveland Indians (1959-1961) the Washington Senators (1962-1963), the New York Mets (1963) and the Los Angeles/California Angels (1963-1964/1965-1967). Jimmy held the dubious distinction of replacing longtime centerfielder Dom DiMaggio, and earned two Gold Gloves in 1958 with Boston and in 1961 with Cleveland. Piersall tended to play shallow in centerfield helping him post a career .990 fielding percentage with 3,851 putouts in 3,985 chances. He enjoyed his most successful season in 1956 as he batted .293 with 176 hits including a league leading 40 doubles, 14 home runs and 87 RBI in an American League leading 155 games. He was named to the 1954 and 1956 MLB All-Star Games. Jimmy Piersall finished his career in 1967 as a California Angel having batted .272 with 1,604 hits including 256 doubles and 104 home runs, scoring 811 runs and driving in 591 RBI while stealing 115 bases. Jimmy is often remembered for his struggles with mental issues and the book Fear Strikes Out: The Jimmy Piersall Story, Jimmy’s personal notes and memoire, which was made into a motion picture in 1957. After retiring from playing, he spent time in the broadcast booth with the Texas Rangers and the Chicago White Sox.
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