1945
Born November 19, 1945
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Bobby Tolan Marquee
b. November 19, 1945 · St. Louis Cardinals 1965–1968, Cincinnati Reds 1969–1970, 1972–1973, San Diego Padres 1974–1975, 1979, Philadelphia Phillies 1976–1977, Pittsburgh Pirates 1977
Cincinnati traded for him after 1968 and got two seasons that made the Big Red Machine work: .305 with 21 home runs and 93 runs batted in in 1969, then .316 with 16 home runs and 57 stolen bases, the most in the league, for the 1970 club that won the pennant.
He tore an Achilles tendon in a team basketball game that winter and did not play at all in 1971. He came back in 1972 to hit .283 with 42 steals for another pennant winner and was named Comeback Player of the Year, then feuded with the club, was suspended in September 1973 and traded that winter.
Thirteen seasons gave him 1,121 hits, 173 doubles, 86 home runs, 497 runs batted in, 193 stolen bases and a .265 average. He managed in the minor leagues and in Mexico afterward. The 1985 ballot gave him no votes of 395.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Hutch Award | 1 | 1972 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1970 |
| The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year | 1 | 1972 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | STL | 17 | 69 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 2 | .188 |
| 1966 | STL | 43 | 93 | 10 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 1 | .172 |
| 1967 | STL | 110 | 265 | 35 | 67 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 32 | 19 | 43 | 12 | .253 |
| 1968 | STL | 92 | 278 | 28 | 64 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 17 | 13 | 42 | 9 | .230 |
| 1969 | CIN | 152 | 637 | 104 | 194 | 25 | 10 | 21 | 93 | 27 | 92 | 26 | .305 |
| 1970 | CIN | 152 | 589 | 112 | 186 | 34 | 6 | 16 | 80 | 62 | 94 | 57 | .316 |
| 1972 | CIN | 149 | 604 | 88 | 171 | 28 | 5 | 8 | 82 | 44 | 88 | 42 | .283 |
| 1973 | CIN | 129 | 457 | 42 | 94 | 14 | 2 | 9 | 51 | 27 | 68 | 15 | .206 |
| 1974 | SDP | 95 | 357 | 45 | 95 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 40 | 20 | 41 | 7 | .266 |
| 1975 | SDP | 147 | 506 | 58 | 129 | 19 | 4 | 5 | 43 | 28 | 45 | 11 | .255 |
| 1976 | PHI | 110 | 272 | 32 | 71 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 35 | 7 | 39 | 10 | .261 |
| 1977 | PHI/PIT | 64 | 90 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 1 | .189 |
| 1979 | SDP | 22 | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .190 |
| Career | — | 1282 | 4238 | 572 | 1121 | 173 | 34 | 86 | 497 | 258 | 587 | 193 | .265 |
On this day & linked events
1965
Major-league debut: Bobby Tolan
Bobby Tolan made a major-league debut on September 3, 1965.
1979
Final major-league game: Bobby Tolan
Bobby Tolan played a final major-league game on September 19, 1979.
Image: Johnmaxmena2, CC BY-SA 4.0