On January 3, 1946 — The Tigers trade first baseman Rudy York to the Red Sox for infielder Eddie Lake, who will replace current shortstop Skeeter Webb with two solid defensive years before a broken finger relegates him to a utility role on the team. Boston’s new first baseman’s offensive output, which includes 119 RBIs, helps to propel the club to an American League pennant this season.
Ted Williams later said of Rudy: “He did an awful lot for our club that year. He had more information about more pitchers in the league than anybody. He was all the time stealing signs….[he] was a big, good-natured, easy-going Indian, but a powerful guy. I wouldn’t have wanted him to get mad at me.”
He lasted only a season and a half in Boston. In 1947, Rudy got off to the terribly slow start that everyone had feared in 1946. Furthermore, his fondness for alcohol may have begun to get the better of him. He was pulled out of his burning room at the Miles Standish Hotel late on the evening of April 25; Rudy had “fallen asleep” with a lit cigarette in his hand. He was traded in June to Chicago.
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