George Hendrick

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George Hendrick bigraphy, stories - American baseball player and coach

George Hendrick : biography

October 18, 1949 –

George Andrew Hendrick Jr. (born October 18, 1949) is a former major league outfielder for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels. Hendrick is arguably best remembered as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, for whom he played for from 1979–84 and was a key player in the teams 1982 World Series win. He led the Cardinals in home runs every year from 1980 until 1983. Hendrick is currently the first base and outfield coach for the Tampa Bay Rays, a position he has held since 2006.http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/card-corner-1972-topps-george-hendrick/

Playing career

In an 18-season career, Hendrick posted a .278 batting average with 267 home runs and 1111 RBI. His career stats include 941 runs, 1980 hits, 343 doubles, 59 stolen bases, and a .329 on base percentage in 7129 at-bats. Hendrick was one of the first players to hit 100 home runs in each league, 150 for the National League and 117 for the American League. He was the first MLB player to wear his pant legs down to his ankles, was nicknamed "Jogging George" and "Captain Easy" because of his reputation for not running plays out or giving 100% effort and "Silent George" due to his longstanding policy of not talking to the media.

Coaching career

Hendrick began his coaching career with the Cardinals as a minor league hitting/outfield instructor from 1993-1995 before becoming the hitting coach of the big league club from 1996 to 1997. After leaving the Cardinals, he worked as coach at various levels in the California Angels and Los Angeles Dodgers systems from 1998 to 2005. On November 21, 2005, Hendrick was named as a first base/outfield coach for Tampa Bay.http://tampabay.rays.mlb.com/team/coach_staff_bio.jsp?c_id=tb&coachorstaffid=115754 A position he continues to hold through the end of the 2012 season.

Personal

His son, Brian, played college basketball for the California Golden Bears.

Transactions involving Hendrick

  • On March 24, 1973, the Oakland A’s traded him with catcher Dave Duncan to the Cleveland Indians for catcher Ray Fosse and shortstop Jack Heidemann.
  • On December 8, 1976, the Cleveland Indians traded him to the San Diego Padres for outfielder John Grubb, catcher Fred Kendall, and infielder Héctor Torres.
  • On May 26, 1978, the San Diego Padres traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Eric Rasmussen.
  • On December 12, 1984, the St. Louis Cardinals traded him with catcher Steve Barnard to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher John Tudor and outfielder (later) catcher Brian Harper.
  • On August 2, 1985, the Pittsburgh Pirates traded him along with pitchers John Candelaria and Al Holland to the California Angels for infielder Mike Brown, pitcher Pat Clements, and a player to be named later (Bob Kipper).