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Sunday, June 26, 2005

Dixie Walker

Dixie Walker

Eligible in 1955.

John (You Can Call Me Grandma) Murphy Posted: June 26, 2005 at 07:32 PM | 11 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
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   1. John (You Can Call Me Grandma) Murphy Posted: June 26, 2005 at 07:36 PM (#1432037)
Looks like a fairly week group among the MLers in '55. He's the only one, IMO, that has any chance to be elected.
   2. Michael Bass Posted: June 26, 2005 at 07:57 PM (#1432096)
And his is not much of a case. Simply a terrible defender with a war inflated OPS+ (which still isn't all that impressive). Not even top 100 material in my view.
   3. DavidFoss Posted: June 26, 2005 at 10:24 PM (#1432414)
Some family ties as reported by baseballlibrary.com:

"Dixie's brother, Harry Walker, was the 1947 NL batting champ. Their father, Ewart "Dixie" Walker, pitched for the 1909-12 Senators, and their uncle, Ernie Walker, played for the 1913-15 Browns."

Great nickname -- "The People's Cherce"
   4. John (You Can Call Me Grandma) Murphy Posted: June 27, 2005 at 12:39 AM (#1432623)
"Dixie's brother, Harry Walker, was the 1947 NL batting champ. Their father, Ewart "Dixie" Walker, pitched for the 1909-12 Senators, and their uncle, Ernie Walker, played for the 1913-15 Browns."

I knew about "Harry the Hat," but not about the others. Nice info, David.
   5. Howie Menckel Posted: June 27, 2005 at 03:58 AM (#1433660)
Harry the Hat managed the Astros in the late 60s/early 70s.
Ralph Kiner, who still broadcasts Mets games, always had funny stories about the Hat back then. You'll hear a lot more about Kiner and his Kiner-isms as he reaches the ballot soon.
   6. sunnyday2 Posted: June 27, 2005 at 04:07 AM (#1433682)
I'm sure everybody knows that Dixie was the ring leader of the anti-Jackie Robinson/anti-integration faction of the Dodgers, and was traded away for that reason.

Not a bad ball player, but one heck of a black mark for a borderline candidate. I don't think he would be top 100 either way but certainly not if you believe he wasn't always (in 1947) solely focused on winning ball games.
   7. Howie Menckel Posted: June 27, 2005 at 05:10 AM (#1433722)
Yeah, I know. Ralph is a sweet guy, but that stuff never saw the light of day on his broadcasts.
   8. John (You Can Call Me Grandma) Murphy Posted: June 27, 2005 at 02:01 PM (#1433986)
You'll hear a lot more about Kiner and his Kiner-isms as he reaches the ballot soon.

You definitely will from me. :-)
   9. DavidFoss Posted: June 27, 2005 at 04:03 PM (#1434221)
I'm sure everybody knows that Dixie was the ring leader of the anti-Jackie Robinson/anti-integration faction of the Dodgers, and was traded away for that reason.

Baseballlibrary is a little more flattering to Dixie:

"When Jackie Robinson broke the color line with Brooklyn in 1947, Walker, a native of Georgia, initially resisted the idea. But he was soon defending Robinson and giving him pointers. Following that pennant-winning season, in what turned out to be one of the best trades in Brooklyn history, Walker was sent to the Pirates in a six-player deal for pitcher Preacher Roe and third baseman Billy Cox."

... whatever the reason, the trade falls into Rickey's philosophy that its better to get rid of a player a year too early than a year too late.
   10. sunnyday2 Posted: June 27, 2005 at 07:34 PM (#1434700)
So, is it urban legend that Dixie was traded because he was opposed to integration?
   11. Cblau Posted: June 27, 2005 at 08:51 PM (#1434902)
Not necessarily. He did request a trade before the 1947 season, "for personal reasons." Rickey couldn't work out a favorable trade until after the season. However, he did get along with Robinson, and as far as I know, didn't participate in any opposition to Robinson's presence on the team. See Jack Kavanaugh's article in the 1993 Baseball Research Journal.

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