Al Rosen | |
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![]() Al Rosen, circa 1953 | |
Third baseman | |
Born: Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S. | February 29, 1924|
Died: March 13, 2015 Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. | (aged 91)|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 10, 1947, for the Cleveland Indians | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 30, 1956, for the Cleveland Indians | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .285 |
Home runs | 192 |
Runs batted in | 717 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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Albert Leonard Rosen (February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip" and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 1940s and 1950s.
After serving for four years in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Rosen played his entire ten-year career (1947–1956) with the Cleveland Indians in the American League (AL). A stand-out on both offense and defense, he drove in 100 or more runs five consecutive years, was a four-time All-Star, twice led the league in home runs and twice in runs batted in (RBIs), and was an AL Most Valuable Player. Rosen was a .285 career hitter, with 192 home runs and 717 RBIs in 1,044 games. He was selected for the All-Star Game from 1952 to 1955. Rosen appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1955.
Following two decades as a stockbroker after retirement from baseball, Rosen returned to the game as a top front office executive in the late 1970s, serving the New York Yankees, Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants variously as president, CEO, and general manager. Regarded as a GM who still thought like a player, he became the only former MVP to also earn baseball's Executive of the Year award.[1]