1963 Profile: Bobby Richardson

1963 AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR

"A change from a stand-up stance to a crouch and a harder swing have made a better hitter of Bobby Richardson, the steadying influence of the Yankee infield. The solid man out of Sumter, South Carolina hit .302 in 1962 and collected more hits (209) than all others in the American League.  Pitchers respect his ability to manipulate the bat and hit to all fields.
Richardson spends his winters teaching sports to boys."

-Don Schiffer, 1963 Major League Baseball Handbook

"At 27, Robert Clinton Richardson is the dean of the Yankee infield. He was up briefly in 1955 and 1956 but came to stay in 1957 along with his shortstop sidekick, Tony Kubek. Bobby, at 5'9", may be the smallest man on the club, but he has become an increasingly big man in the Yankee scheme of things.
His sixth full season as a Yankee easily was Bob's best. He was the iron man of the team, playing in 161 games and setting an American League seasonal record with 692 times at bat. Richardson led the league in total hits with 209, the first American Leaguer to get 200 hits since Al Kaline turned the trick in 1955 and the first Yankee since Phil Rizzuto's MVP season of 1950.
Bobby completed a tremendous season in 1962 by snaring Willie McCovey's hot smash with men on second and third to close out a thrilling and victorious World Series. "Rich" gained much support for the Most Valuable Player award and ran a strong second to teammate Mickey Mantle.
Richardson, a brilliant fielder and double-play pivot man, took some advice from Wally Moses after last year's Old Timers' Game. The Hillerich & Bradsby people (makers of the Louisville Slugger bat) sent original model bats to each old-timer at the Yankee classic. Moses brought his bat to Bobby and suggested he try it. He did and hit .302. "

-The New York Yankees Official 1963 Yearbook

Signed by Yankee organization, June 12, 1953.
One of ten players to hit grand slam in World Series game, connecting in 1st inning off Clem Labine of Pittsburgh at Yankee Stadium, October 8, 1960.
Set World Series record for most runs batted in, one game (6), against Pittsburgh, October 8, 1960.
Set record for most runs batted in, one World Series (12), against Pittsburgh, 1960.
Tied World Series record for most triples, one game (2), against Pittsburgh, October 12, 1960.
Tied record for most runs scored, one World Series (8), against Pittsburgh, 1960.
Won Sport Magazine Corvette as outstanding performer [Babe Ruth Award], 1960 World Series.
Tied record for most hits, five-game World Series (9), against Cincinnati, 1961.
Set American League record, most at-bats, one season (692), 1962.
Led American League in hits (209), 1962.
Placed second to Mickey Mantle in American League MVP voting, 1962.

-1963 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide

"One of the hardest things for a major league player to do is to improve on the best season he's ever had. That's the problem Bobby Richardson faces this year.
In 1962 the little South Carolinian not only batted .302 but led the American League in hits with 209, set a junior loop mark for most times at bat - 692 - and finished second to Mickey Mantle in the A.L. Most Valuable Player poll.
It is needless to mention that he was also outstanding in the field.
Bobby, who has been a member of the Yankee organization since June 1953, has other top moments as a Bomber.
He hit a grand slam homer in the World Series off Pittsburgh's Clem Labine on October 8, 1960, the same contest in which he set a record by batting six runs. He also batted in a total of 12 runs for the entire Classic for another record.
Richardson tied two other marks in the same Series by scoring eight runs and hitting two triples in one contest.
As a result of his topnotch work, he was awarded the Sport Magazine Corvette as the outstanding performer [Babe Ruth Award] in the '60 Series.
In the 1961 Classic against the Cincinnati Reds, Bobby again tied a Series mark by collecting nine hits in the five-game set.
Richardson has appeared in five Series, averaging .282, and one All-Star game.
For a little guy, he sure carries a lot of weight."

-1963 Jay Publishing New York Yankees Yearbook

"For a baseball player who never drinks, smokes, swears or argues, and who almost never hits home runs, Robert Clinton Richardson of Sumter, South Carolina and the New York Yankees leads an exciting life. Remember last October 16 in San Francisco's Candlestick Park. In front of 49 players, 43,948 fans and 55 million televiewers, second baseman Richardson ended the split-second suspense by throwing his hands chest high and catching Willie McCovey's line drive that ended the seven-game World Series.
Remember the 1961 World Series? Richardson tied a Series record with nine hits in five games, and his .391 batting average helped crush the Cincinnati Reds.
Remember the 1960 World Series? Richardson, who had a .252 average, one home run and 26 runs batted in all season, turned Tiger against the Pittsburgh Pirates. In seven games, with six singles, two doubles, two triples and a grand slam home run, he hit .367 and drove in a record 12 runs.
'I always thought records like this belonged to men such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio,' explained the 5-foot-9, soft-speaking singles hitter. 'I certainly shouldn't be classified in their category.'
Two years earlier, Richardson had rated himself much lower- in the failure range. 'Early in 1958, I was considering quitting baseball,' he admitted last season. 'I didn't feel as though my future was too solid as I had played only on a part-time basis in 1956 and 1957. I was thinking of going to school to get myself prepared for youth work.'
Now, limiting his youth work to the off-season, Richardson is the best all-around second baseman in the American League. 'He has wonderful hands, so quick and so sure,' says Yankee manager Ralph Houk. 'He can make the double play on the pivot and he can make it on the starting end.' As a hitter, Richardson improved immensely in 1962. Aided by his fastest start in six major league seasons, he finished with .302 and 209 hits in 161 games."

-Bill Wise, 1963 Official Baseball Almanac

"It seems merely the day before yesterday that Richardson came to the Yankees from Sumter, South Carolina via their farm operations in Binghamton and Denver (where he played for Ralph Houk). He was a chunky, quiet, bright-eyed youth in search of a job in a championship infield. Jerry  Coleman had gone past his peak; Billy Martin was a half-step slower than before. The job was waiting.
Could Bobby fill it? Said Coleman: 'Just a little polishing, like getting the ball away quicker, and he's your Yankee second baseman for the next 10 years.' Said Casey Stengel, in the midst of the most prosperous period ever enjoyed by a Yankee manager: 'This young fella makes the play toward first base better than any man I've ever seen. He's going to be great.'
Both prophecies have been more than fulfilled. Neither said anything about Bobby's becoming one of the game's most dangerous hitters, holder of a World Series batting record and a dynamic threat as the Yankee leadoff man.
In the company of such as Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Elston Howard and Tony Kubek, Richardson radiates his own brilliance, not a reflected glory. Last season he was the second-best hitter on the Yankee club behind Mantle. He batted at a .302 clip, topping his previous high of 1959 by one percentage point. He collected 209 hits, most in the American League.
In company with the majority of Yankee hitters, Richardson had a poor '62 Series [until the final out of Game 7]. Pitching won for the Yankees, just as pitching almost beat them. But in the previous two Series, the Yankees had good plate performances, and Bobby contributed more than his share. In the five-game crushing of the Reds in '61, he was the outstanding hitter with a .391 average. The year before he came up with such records as six RBI's in a single game, and 12 RBI's in a seven-game Series. He was the outstanding performer despite the Yankees' loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he got a shiny new sports car as evidence.
The 209 hits Bobby collected en route to his fifth World Series represent the first over-200 performance on the club since Phil Rizzuto had a Most Valuable Player year in '50 and hit 200 right on the nose. Richardson has come along in the traditional Yankee mold: quiet, confident; and kill-you-if-make-a-mistake, buddy."

-Harold Rosenthal, Sports All-Stars 1963 Baseball