From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
George Alexander Selkirk (January 4, 1908 –
January 19, 1987) was a Canadian outfielder and front office executive in Major
League Baseball. In 1935, Selkirk succeeded the legendary Babe Ruth as the right fielder of
the New York
Yankees. Although he could not match Ruth's charisma and
power-hitting ability — few could come close to that — over the
next eight seasons, Selkirk batted over .300 five times, twice
drove home more than 100 RBI, played on five
World Championship teams (1936, 1937, 1938, 1939 and 1941), and made the American League All-Star team in 1936 and
1939.
A native of Huntsville, Ontario, Selkirk batted
left-handed and threw right-handed. He earned the nickname
"Twinkletoes" for his distinctive way of running on the balls of
his feet. During his nine years of major league service, all with
the Yankees, he appeared in 846 games and batted .290 (.265 in 21
World Series games), with 108 regular-season home runs.
After military service in World War II, Selkirk managed at the A and
AAA levels for the Yanks, and at AAA in the farm system of the Milwaukee Braves.
He then worked as a player personnel director for the Kansas City
Athletics and player development director of the Baltimore
Orioles before becoming the second general manager in the history of the
second Washington Senators club (now the Texas Rangers) in the autumn
of 1962.
The Senators were chronically short of funds and never developed
a strong farm system, forcing Selkirk to acquire players (such as
the great slugger Frank
Howard) through trades and fill out the roster with
waiver-price acquisitions. Nonetheless, Washington improved every
year from 1963 through 1967. But when the team's field
manager, Gil
Hodges, departed for the New York Mets after the '67 campaign, the
Senators regressed and fell back into the American League
basement. The death of one of the club's owners forced the sale of
the team in the autumn of 1968, and Selkirk was fired during the
transition. He then returned to the Yankees as a scout.
George Selkirk died at age 79 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His successful career
as a player, and the respect he earned as a general
manager, earned Selkirk a place in the Canadian Baseball Hall of
Fame.
Selkirk is mentioned in August Wilson's 1987 Pulitzer
Prize-winning play, "Fences." The protagonist, Troy, confident
that he can do better than white ballplayers in the majors, alludes
to Selkirk and his .269 average.
External
links
Wikis
Map
Search
