- Charlie Peete
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Charlie Peete Centerfielder Born: February 22, 1929
Franklin, VirginiaDied: November 27, 1956 (aged 27)
Caracas, VenezuelaBatted: Left Threw: Right MLB debut July 17, 1956 for the St. Louis Cardinals Last MLB appearance August 16, 1956 for the St. Louis Cardinals Career statistics Batting average .192 Home runs 0 Runs batted in 6 Teams - St. Louis Cardinals (1956)
Charles Peete (February 22, 1929 — November 27, 1956) was an American professional baseball player. The reigning 1956 batting average champion of the Triple-A American Association who received a one-month, 23-game trial with the 1956 St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball, Peete was projected by some as the leading candidate to be the Cardinals' 1957 starting center fielder.[1] But he was killed in a commercial airplane crash near the Caracas, Venezuela, airport while flying to his winter-league baseball team in late November of 1956; his wife, Nettie, and their three young children were also among the 25 victims of the crash.[2]
Nicknamed "Mule," Peete stood 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg), batted left-handed and threw right-handed. The native of Franklin, Virginia, began his professional career in the Negro leagues with the Indianapolis Clowns and played semi-professional baseball in Canada before signing with the unaffiliated Portsmouth, Virginia, Merrimacks of the mid-level, Class B Piedmont League in 1953; Peete was the first African-American to play in that league since the baseball color line was broken in 1946.[1] He batted .275 in 125 games played and impressed the Cardinals, who drafted him into their organization that offseason and assigned him to their Lynchburg Cardinals farm team, also in the Piedmont League, for 1954. Peete batted .311 with 17 home runs and was named to the PL all-star team. He was promoted three levels to Triple-A for 1955 and batted .310 in a season split between the Cardinals' two top farm teams, the Rochester Red Wings and Omaha Cardinals. Then came his stellar campaign for the 1956 Omaha Cardinals, as he batted a league-best .350 with 16 home runs and 63 runs batted in in 116 games.[3]
Called up to the Cardinals in July, Peete made his debut July 17 in a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pinch hitting for veteran Hank Sauer, he drew a base on balls and stayed in the game to play center field, and later grounded into a double play in a 4–2 Cardinal loss.[4] Although he had some successes, Peete struggled at the Major League level, collecting only ten hits in 52 at bats with two doubles and two triples. He was sent back to Omaha after his last MLB appearance, August 16, when he went hitless in three at bats against Lew Burdette of the Milwaukee Braves.[5]
Despite the disappointing results from his midseason callup, Peete was projected as a prime candidate for the Redbirds' 1957 centerfielder job; incumbent Bobby Del Greco had batted only .215 during 1956. Had Peete won the job, he would have been the Cardinals' first African-American regular starting player.[1] To gain more experience, Peete decided to play winter baseball. After drawing his release from a Cuban team because of a slow start, he joined the Valencia club in the Venezuelan league. He was flying with his family to report to Valencia when the airliner in which they were passengers crashed into Avila Mountain, near Caracas, during a rainstorm — killing all aboard. Charlie Peete was 27 years of age.
References
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference
Categories:- 1929 births
- 1956 deaths
- Baseball players from Virginia
- Lynchburg Cardinals players
- Major League Baseball center fielders
- Negro league baseball players
- Omaha Cardinals players
- People from Southampton County, Virginia
- Rochester Red Wings players
- St. Louis Cardinals players
- Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Venezuela
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