- Elliott Maddox
Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#ff5731
bgcolor2=#003581
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
width=
name=Elliott Maddox
position=Outfielder /Third Baseman /First Baseman
birthdate =birth date and age|1947|12|21
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=April 7
debutyear=1970
debutteam=Detroit Tigers
finaldate=October 1
finalyear=1980
finalteam=New York Mets
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.261
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=742
stat3label=Home Run s
stat3value=18
teams=
*Detroit Tigers (by|1970)
* Washington Senators (by|1971)
* Texas Rangers (by|1972-by|1973)
*New York Yankees (by|1974-by|1976)
*Baltimore Orioles (by|1977)
*New York Mets (by|1978-by|1980)
highlights=
*American League Champion: 1976Elliott Maddox (born
December 21 ,1947 , inEast Orange, New Jersey ) is a formerright-handed Major League Baseball American player from 1970 to 1980 for theDetroit Tigers , Washington Senators/Texas Rangers,New York Yankees ,Baltimore Orioles , andNew York Mets .He attended Union High School in Union, New Jersey. He then went on to attend the
University of Michigan , and while there tookJudaic studies courses. As a junior in 1967, he won theBig Ten batting title with a .467 average.Maddox, an
African American , converted toJudaism later in life.Draft
In June 1966 he was drafted by the
Houston Astros in the 4th round of the draft, but did not sign. In June 1968 he was drafted by theDetroit Tigers in the 1st round (20th pick) of the draft (secondary phase).Minor league career
In 2 minor league seasons, in 1968 and 1969, Maddox batted .303.
Major league career
Detroit Tigers (1970)
As a 22 year old, he played 109 games for the Tigers in 1970.
Washington/Texas Senators (1971-73)
In October 1970, he was traded by the Tigers with
Denny McLain , Norm McRae, andDon Wert to the Washington Senators forEd Brinkman ,Aurelio Rodriguez ,Joe Coleman , and Jim Hannan.In 1972, he stole 20 bases, a career high.
New York Yankees (1974-76)
In March 1974 the
New York Yankees purchased him from the Rangers.In 1974, the year that he converted to Judaism, he was 6th in the
American League with a .303batting average for the New York Yankees, 4th in the league in on base percentage (.395), and had 14 assists from the outfield. He came in 8th in the league inMajor League Baseball Most Valuable Player voting.In 1975, he slipped on the field in
Shea Stadium and suffered an injury to his knee. He later sued the New York Yankees as his employer, the New York Mets as lessees of Shea Stadium, and theCity of New York as owners of the stadium. In a famous decision entitled "Maddox v. City of New York", theNew York Court of Appeals ruled that Maddox knew of the condition of the grass at the time and decided to play anyway. Therefore he assumed the risk, and the defendants were found to be not liable for any damages that occurred to him. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9806EFDB1138F931A15752C1A963948260] [http://classes.lls.edu/spring2007/sports-lazaroff/documents/SportsLawVolume1.doc]In 1975, he batted .307 (.369 against lefties, and .360 with 2 outs, and runners in scoring position) with a .382 on base percentage, and came in 8th in the league in hbp (7).
Baltimore Orioles (1977)
In January 1977 the Yankees traded him and Rick Bladt to the
Baltimore Orioles for Paul Blair.New York Mets (1978-80)
In November 1977 he signed as a free agent with the
New York Mets .In 1980 he led the league in being hit by the pitch (6).
Philadelphia Phillies
In June 1981 he signed as a free agent with the
Philadelphia Phillies .Defense
Maddox was an excellent defensive player, who could play both
infield andoutfield positions. While he played primarily outfield, he also played third base, shortstop, second base, and first base in his career. His fielding percentage in the outfield was better than the league average every year that he played.Hall of Fame
In 2007, Maddox was inducted into the Union County Baseball Hall of Fame. [http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:KcWd7I2TlosJ:www.nj.com/columns/ledger/misseck/index.ssf%3F/base/columns-0/1168494125310180.xml%26coll%3D1+elliot+maddox+%22little+league%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us]
Miscellaneous
* On
August 28 ,1986 , Maddox and his wife Ursula gave birth to a boy named Jared Todd. Fact|date=February 2007* Elliott Maddox resides in
Coral Springs, Florida , with his favorite pet, aferret , Cody. Fact|date=February 2007* His hobbies consist of coaching high school baseball and Little League teams. Fact|date=February 2007
* Maddox has been residing in the city of Dimona in Israel since 1999 and is coaching Baseball and American Football in Israel
External links
*baseball-reference|id=m/maddoel01
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/M/Elliott-Maddox.shtml Baseball Cube stats]
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=1007947&position=OF Fangraphs stats]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Elliott_Maddox BR Bullpen profile]
* [http://www.jewishsports.org/jewishsports/detail.asp?id=87 Jewish Sports bio]
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