| Bobby Malkmus | |
|---|---|
| Infielder | |
| Born: July 4, 1931 Newark, New Jersey | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 1, 1957, for the Milwaukee Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 15, 1962, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .215 |
| Home runs | 8 |
| Runs batted in | 46 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
Robert Edward Malkmus (born July 4, 1931) is a retired American infielder and scout in Major League Baseball. He also managed in the farm systems of three MLB clubs – the Philadelphia Phillies, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles.
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, Malkmus attended South Side High School (now Malcolm X Shabazz High School), where his small size attracted little attention from professional teams.[1] He threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) (1.75 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg). He signed with the Boston Braves in 1951 and made his major league debut on June 1, 1957, with the transplanted Milwaukee Braves. The Braves were en route to the 1957 National League pennant and World Series championship, but Malkmus could collect only two hits in 22 at bats (an .091 batting average) and was sent back to the minor leagues. That autumn, he was selected by the Washington Senators in the Rule 5 draft. Washington gave Malkmus 47 games to prove himself in 1958–59, but he batted only .186 and was outrighted to the unaffiliated Denver Bears of the American Association at the May 1959 cut-down deadline.
At the close of the 1959 campaign, Malkmus was again eligible for the Rule 5 draft, and the Philadelphia Phillies selected him. Malkmus would appear in 208 games as a utility infielder for the Phils, through the May 1962 cutdown deadline. In his best campaign, 1961, he played in 121 games, and batted .231 in 342 at-bats with seven home runs and 31 runs batted in. One sportswriter gave him a Most Valuable Player Award vote after the season.[2] For his MLB career of all or parts of six seasons (1957–62), Malkmus hit .215 with 123 hits, eight homers and 46 RBI.
He managed in the minor leagues for nine seasons (1967–75), compiling a 508–463 record (.523) with one championship. Malkmus then scouted for the Cleveland Indians and San Diego Padres through the mid-2000s, based in Union, New Jersey. He continues to scout part-time for Cleveland as of 2017.[3]
- ^ Wolf, Gregory H. Bobby Malkmus. Society for American Baseball Research. Accessed May 31, 2020. "Robert Edward Malkmus was born on July 4, 1931, in Newark, New Jersey, to Robert and Elizabeth Malkmus.... Malkmus was a standout at basketball and baseball at South Side High School in Newark, but few scouts gave the slightly built (5-feet-9 and about 160 pounds) second baseman a serious look."
- ^ "1961 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
- ^ 1980 Official Baseball Guide, published by The Sporting News; Baseball America Annual Directory, 1986 through 1990.