Johnny Temple

Infobox MLB retired
name=Johnny Temple
position=Second baseman
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date|1927|8|8
Lexington, North Carolina
deathdate=death date and age|1994|1|9|1927|8|8
Anderson, South Carolina
debutdate=April 15
debutyear=by|1952
debutteam=Cincinnati Reds
finaldate=July 8
finalyear=by|1964
finalteam=Cincinnati Reds
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.284
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=1,484
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=395
teams=
* Cincinnati Reds (by|1952-by|1959, by|1964)
* Cleveland Indians (by|1960-by|1961)
* Baltimore Orioles (by|1962)
* Houston Colt .45s (by|1962-by|1963)
highlights=
* 4x All-Star selection (1956, 1957, 1959, 1961)

John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was a Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Redlegs/Reds (1952-59; 1964); Cleveland Indians (1960-61), Baltimore Orioles (1962) and Houston Colt .45s (1962-63). Temple was born in Lexington, North Carolina. He batted and threw right-handed.

Temple was a career .284 hitter with 22 home runs and 395 RBI in 1420 games. A legitimate leadoff hitter and four-time All-Star, he was a very popular player in Cincinnati in the 1950s. Throughout his career, he walked more often than he struck out, compiling an outstanding 1.92 walk-to-strikeout ratio (648-to-338) and a .363 on base percentage. Temple also had above-average speed and good instincts on the base paths. Quietly, he had 140 steals in 198 attempts (71%). Defensively, he showed great range with a strong and accurate arm.

Temple enjoyed his best year in 1959, with career-highs in batting average (.311), home runs (8), RBI (67), runs (102), hits (186), at-bats (598), doubles (35) and triples (6). At the end of the season he was sent to Cleveland for Billy Martin, Gordy Coleman and Cal McLish, in one of the first interleague trades in major league history (December 16, 1959). Temple also played with Baltimore and Houston, and again with Cincinnati for his last major season, where he was a part-time coach. Temple died in Anderson, South Carolina in 1994 at the age of 66.

All-Star

In by|1957, Temple and six of his Redleg teammates—Ed Bailey, Roy McMillan, Don Hoak, Gus Bell, Wally Post and Frank Robinson—were voted into the National League All-Star starting lineup, the result of a ballot stuffing campaign by Redlegs fans. Bell remained on the team as a reserve, but Post was taken off altogether. Bell and Post were replaced as starters by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays.

Highlights

* 4-time All-Star (1956,57,59,61)
* Hit .300-plus three seasons (1954,58,59)
* Tied for the NL lead in walks (94; 1957)
* Led NL second basemen in putouts 3 times (1954,55,58)
* Led NL second baseman in assists (1956)
* Led NL second basemen in double plays (1955)
* Member of Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame (inducted in 1965)

External links

*Johnny Temple at:
** [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=templjo01 Baseball Almanac (miscellaneous)]
** [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/T/Temple_Johnny.stm Baseball Library (profile)]
** [http://www.baseball-reference.com/t/templjo01.shtml Baseball Reference (stats)]
** [http://janesbit.tripod.com/mlb/reds/redstemple.html Cincinnati Reds All Time Team]