Bert Campaneris

Bert Campaneris
Shortstop
Born: March 9, 1942 (1942-03-09) (age 69) Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 23, 1964 for the Kansas City Athletics
Last MLB appearance
October 1, 1983 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
Batting average	.259
Hits	2,249
Runs batted in	646
Stolen bases	649
Teams
Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1964–1976) Texas Rangers (1977–1979) California Angels (1979–1981) New York Yankees (1983)
Career highlights and awards
6× All-Star selection (1968, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977) 3× World Series champion (1972, 1973, 1974) 1973 Babe Ruth Award

Dagoberto (Bert) Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942 in Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba), nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics. One of the mainstays of the Athletics' championship teams of 1971 to 1975, he holds the A's franchise records for career games played (1795), hits (1882) and at bats (7180). He led the AL in stolen bases six times from 1965 to 1972 and retired with the seventh most steals in history (649). He led the league in putouts three times, and ended his career among the major league leaders in games (5th, 2097) and double plays (7th, 1186) at his position. He holds the record for most errors since 1940, with 388.

Baseball career

A small, skinny player at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 160 pounds (73 kg), the Cuban-born Campaneris was a key figure on the A's of the 1960s and 1970s. In his debut with Kansas City on July 23, 1964, Campaneris belted two home runs, the first coming on the first pitch thrown to him by Jim Kaat.^[1] He is one of four players in major league history to hit two homers in his first game; Bob Nieman (1951), Mark Quinn (1999), and J.P. Arencibia (2010) are the only others to accomplish this feat.

In 1965, Campaneris led Kansas City in batting average (.270), and led the league in triples (12) and stolen bases (51), the latter mark being the highest total by an Athletic since Eddie Collins stole 58 in 1914. In 1966 he finished 10th in the voting for the AL's Most Valuable Player award after having a similar season at the plate, but playing more regularly at shortstop.

When the A's moved to Oakland in 1968, he had perhaps his finest year, leading the league in hits (177), steals (62), and at bats (642); the last mark was an Oakland record until Johnny Damon broke it in 2001. Campaneris enjoyed another fine year in 1970, batting .279 with career highs of 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in while leading the league in steals for the fifth time (42) and scoring 97 runs. He improved consistently on defense; his six double plays in an extra-inning game on September 13 of that year set an AL record, and in 1972 he led AL shortstops with 795 total chances while also breaking Collins' franchise record of 376 steals. An avid bunter, he led the league in sacrifice hits in 1972 (20), 1977 (40) and 1978 (25).

In his postseason career he had 11 RBI with 3 home runs, 4 doubles and a triple, scored 15 runs, and stole 6 bases in 37 games. In Game 2 of the 1972 American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers, Campaneris already had three hits, two steals and two runs when in the 7th inning he faced pitcher Lerrin LaGrow. After a pitch hit him in the ankle, Campaneris threw his bat at LaGrow. The benches cleared, with Detroit manager Billy Martin going after Campaneris; both Campaneris and LaGrow were ejected. He was fined and suspended for the rest of the ALCS, as well as the first seven games of the next season, but was permitted to play in the World Series win over the Cincinnati Reds.

In the 1973 American League Championship Series, in which the A's defeated the Baltimore Orioles, he led off Game 2 with a home run, and won Game 3 with a leadoff home run in the 11th inning; in Game 7 of that year's World Series against the New York Mets, both he and Reggie Jackson hit two-run home runs in the third inning off Jon Matlack—the only two home runs Oakland would hit the entire series. The A's took a 4-0 lead and went on to win the game and repeat as world champions; Campaneris caught Wayne Garrett's pop-up for the final out of the Series. In 1974 he broke Jimmy Dykes' franchise mark for career at bats (6023), and in 1976 he broke Dykes' mark for games played (1702), as well as Al Simmons' Athletics record of 1827 career hits.

After the 1976 season, he signed with the Texas Rangers, but he saw his playing time reduced in 1978. In May 1979 he was traded to the California Angels, and he split time at shortstop over the next two seasons with Jim Anderson and Freddie Patek before playing as a reserve third baseman in 1981. After spending 1982 in the Mexican League, Campaneris returned to the majors for a last hurrah in 1983 with Billy Martin's New York Yankees. He batted a career-high .322 in 60 games at second and third base before retiring.

In his 19-year career Campaneris batted .259 with 79 home runs, 646 RBI, 1181 runs, 2249 hits, 313 doubles, and 86 triples in 2328 games. His 649 stolen bases placed him 7th in major league history, and behind only Ty Cobb and Eddie Collins in the AL. His Athletics record of 566 steals was broken by Rickey Henderson in 1990; Henderson also surpassed his Oakland records for career triples and at bats. Campaneris retains the Athletics franchise records for career games (1702), putouts (2932), assists (5021) and double plays (934) at shortstop.

Playing all nine positions

On September 8, 1965, as part of a special promotion featuring the popular young player, Campaneris became the first player to play every position in a major league game.^[2] On the mound, he pitched ambidextrously, throwing lefty to left-handers, and switched against right-handers. Since then, César Tovar (Twins, 1968), Scott Sheldon (Rangers, 2000) and Shane Halter (Tigers, 2000) have joined this select list of nine-position players in a major league game.

Post-baseball career

Campaneris lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, and often participates in Old-Timers' games around the country. He also conducts baseball camps and is an active participant in the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association, often playing in charity golf tournaments.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball stolen base records
• Home run in first Major League at-bat
• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
• List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions
• Major League Baseball titles leaders

References

1. ^ Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.79, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-8027-1745-0
2. ^ The Chronology | This Day in Baseball - September 8

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• BaseballLibrary - career highlights

Preceded by Luis Aparicio Tommy Harper Amos Otis	American League Stolen Base Champion 1965-1968 1970 1972	Succeeded by Tommy Harper Amos Otis Tommy Harper
Preceded by Gene Tenace	Babe Ruth Award 1973	Succeeded by Dick Green

Persondata
Name	Campaneris, Bert
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 9, 1942
Place of birth	Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba
Date of death
Place of death