Lou Boudreau – Ultimate Team
Lou Boudreau – Ultimate Team
In 1942 at age 24, Lou Boudreau became the youngest manager to start a season. As a playing manager, the right-handed-hitting shortstop batted .295 for the Indians (1938-1950) and the Red Sox (1951-52).
Boudreau clinched the American League batting title in 1944 with a .327 average, and he paced the circuit with the most doubles three times. His best season was in 1948 when, in one game playoff against the Red Sox that decided the league’s pennant, he went four for four with two home runs leading the tribe to an 8-3 victory and steering the Indians to their last world series title. He also won the MVP in 48,, hitting .355, with 18 home runs, 106 runs batted in, and 116 runs scored. 199 hits, 34 doubles, 98 walks, and just nine strikeouts, he also hit a blistering .403 on the road.
Boudreau devised the defensive shift that was used to stop Ted Williams. Moving his third baseman to the right of second base, and positioning himself back of second, he placed six players in right field to shield against Williams’s pulled balls. The shift was quickly copied by other AL teams, but it was not an original. Twenty years earlier, the AL had used a “Williams Shift” against Browns slugger Ken Williams, to equal success. Boudreau was also instrumental in switching Bob Lemon from the outfield to pitcher… New Cleveland owner Bill Veeck wanted to fire Boudreau when he took over in 1946, but when the word leaked that he planned to replace the popular “kid manager,” fans voiced their displeasure. Veeck backed down, and two years later, he was happy he had. He also managed the Athletics and Cubs.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1970.
In choosing his lineup, Boudreau included Sandy Koufax yet acknowledged that he never had to face him. “But seeing him as a manager and broadcaster was about as close as I wanted to get to him.” His own toughest pitchers were, “from the left side Hal Newhouser and from the right-side Red Ruffing. They were very similar, but I found it hard to pick up their pitches.”
In his opinion that the most underrated player of his time was Ken Keltner. “He was never the kind of flashy third baseman who would attract the media but was a great gloveman and could hit the long ball.”
The Ultimate Lineup, According To Lou Boudreau
(these are players he played with or against or coached)
Outfield – Ted Williams, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron
Around the Horn – Mike Schmidt(3b), Ozzie Smith(ss) , Rogers Hornsby (2b), Stan Musial (1b)
Battery – Yogi Berra (c), RHP – Bob Feller, LHP Sandy Koufax
Huge audio treats – :
900+ Vintage Broadcasts and hundreds of interviews told by the folks who were there – www.vintagebaseballreflections.com
Previously highlighted players, Yogi Berra, Cool Papa Bell, Ernie Banks, Luke Appling, previous articles – Luis Aparicio, Hank Aaron
and Babe Ruth’s team. You can see them all here and todays full article with links to player pages.
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