Albie Pearson

From SoSH

Albert Gregory "Albie" Pearson (born September 12, 1934 in Alhambra, California) is a former center fielder who played with the Washington Senators (1958-59), Baltimore Orioles (1959-60) and Los Angeles & California Angels (1961-66). He batted and threw left-handed.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Pearson's Moment in the Sun 3 Awards 4 Achievements 5 Trivia 6 Transactions 7 External Links

Overall Career

An outfielder, Pearson was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1953. After the 1957 season, he was sent with Norm Zauchin to the Senators in the same trade that brought Pete Runnels to the Red Sox.

In 1958 Pearson won both the MLB Rookie of the Year and the TSN Rookie of the Year awards in the American League. When baseball owners approved the addition of the Los Angeles Angels during their meeting in October 1960, he was selected by the new franchise in the expansion draft.

Pearson enjoyed his best season in 1963, when he posted career-highs in runs batted in (47), hits (173), stolen bases (17) and games played (160); led the AL in singles (161), and made the All-Star team. His .305 batting average (also a career-high), ranked him fourth in the batting crown race behind Carl Yastrzemski (.321), Al Kaline (.312) and Rich Rollins (.307). Recurring back spasms restricted his career after that and he retired at the end of the 1966 season.

In a nine-year career, Pearson was a .270 hitter with 28 home runs and 214 RBI in 988 games. In addition, he compiled a 2.45 walk-to-strikeout ratio (477-to-195) and a .369 on base percentage.

His career ended after a 1966 spring training incident in which he aggravated a pre-existing back condition (he was born with an incomplete spinal column).

Pearson's Moment in the Sun

• Voted Rookie of the Year in 1958 following a .275 avg..354 OBP.358 Slugging season as an outfielder.

Awards

• 1963 American League All-Star.

Achievements

• 1962 American League Runs Scored Leader (115).
• 1963 American League Singles Leader (139).

Trivia

• At 5' 5", Albie Pearson of the Washington Senators was the shortest man ever to win the Rookie of the Year award.
• Pearson was the first player to ever bat for the major league Angels.

Transactions

• Before 1953 Season: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent.
• January 23, 1958: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Norm Zauchin to the Washington Senators for Pete Runnels.
• May 26, 1959: Traded by the Washington Senators to the Baltimore Orioles for Lenny Green.
• December 14, 1960: Drafted by the Los Angeles Angels from the Baltimore Orioles in the 1960 expansion draft.
• July 25, 1966: Released by the California Angels.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis