- Amos Otis
Infobox MLB retired
name=Amos Otis
position=Outfielder
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1947|4|26
city-state|Mobile|Alabama
debutdate=September 6
debutyear=by|1967
debutteam=New York Mets
finaldate=August 5
finalyear=by|1984
finalteam=Pittsburgh Pirates
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.277
stat2label=Home run s
stat2value=193
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=1,007
teams=
*New York Mets (by|1967, by|1969)
*Kansas City Royals (by|1970-by|1983)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|1984)
highlights=
* 5x All-Star selection (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976)
* 3xGold Glove Award winner (1971, 1973, 1974)Amos Joseph Otis (born
April 26 ,1947 inMobile, Alabama ) is a formercenter fielder inMajor League Baseball who played for theNew York Mets (1967, 1969),Kansas City Royals (1970-1983) andPittsburgh Pirates (1984). He batted and threw right-handed.Playing history
Otis was initially drafted by the
Boston Red Sox in 1965 as ashortstop . However, he put in some time in the outfield, third base and first base while playing in the minors. In November 1966, the Mets drafted him and jumped him all the way to Class AAA for 1967. He saw some time with the Mets late in the 1967 season, but spent 1968 in AAA again before making the major league roster for 1969.cite book |last=Neyer |first=Rob |authorlink=Rob Neyer |coauthors= |title=Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders |year=2006 |publisher=Fireside |location=New York City |isbn=0743284917 ] The Mets recognized his potential, so much so that when the Braves asked for Otis when trying to tradeJoe Torre , the Mets refused and Torre wound up going to the Cardinals instead.However, Otis immediately clashed with Mets manager
Gil Hodges , who tried to make him a third baseman. After only four games, he was sent back to the minors for a month. At the end of the season, Royals general managerCedric Tallis sent seemingly hot third-base prospectJoe Foy to the Mets, in exchange for the young Otis.It was one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history. Foy was bogged by drug problems and was out of baseball by 1971. Meanwhile, the Royals immediately moved Otis to center field, and he became the club rock at that position for most of the 1970s. His good speed worked well with the Royals' team philosophy of speed and defense.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, his fielding skills had declined somewhat and he lost his center field job to Willie Wilson. He was still an important contributor, though, hitting .478 with 3 home runs and 7 runs batted in the
1980 World Series . He spent a short time back in theNational League with the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of his career.In a 17-season career, Otis posted a .277
batting average , with 193home run s and 1,007 RBI in 1,998 games while stealing 341 bases.ee also
*
Top 500 home run hitters of all time
*List of major league players with 2,000 hits
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
*List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
*List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
*List of Major League Baseball doubles champions References
External links
*baseball-reference|id=o/otisam01
* [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/Potisa001.htm Retrosheet]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1980_WS.shtml 1980 World Series page at baseball-reference.com]
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