1973 Profile: Gene Michael

"Stick. A vastly underrated shortstop who knows all the tricks.
'He's a winning player,' says manager Ralph Houk. Gene learned all the fine points of the game while touring the minor leagues for eight years. He has successfully pulled the hidden ball trick four times. In a late-season game against Milwaukee last year, he deliberately booted a ball and prolonged a rally by the Brewers, resulting in a timely postponement. Gene is always one step ahead of the opposition, yet has no illusions about his hitting.
'I just sort of think of the way everyone says, 'good field, no hit,' and I think of some girl trying to fix up an ugly friend on a blind date. You know, they always say, 'She's very cute.' '
Born June 2, 1938 in Kent, Ohio, Gene was an outstanding basketball player at Kent State who was offered a no-cut contract by the Detroit Pistons. He pitched three innings for the Yankees in a 1968 game."

-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1973 Edition

"No one in baseball makes a tag on a runner coming into second base more skillfully and gracefully than Gene Michael. Watch him.
The Stick has, at long last, established himself. His slick glove, heady play and timely hitting have made Michael the key to the Yankee infield. He and second baseman Horace Clarke led the league in double plays last season.
Never known as a potent hitter, Gene gets big hits, hits that win ball games or spark rallies. With the designated hitter rule in effect this year, the Stick might be the ninth-place hitter frequently.
A native of Kent, Ohio and a graduate of Kent State University, Gene was a basketball standout for the Ohio school and was pursued by the New York Knicks before deciding on baseball as his career sport. He questioned his decision often during his seven long years in the minors. But he learned his trade well and the rewards made the rough apprenticeship worth the candle.
And a World Series would make it doubly sweet."

-The New York Yankees Official 1973 Yearbook

"The Stick once again proved to be the leader of the Yankee infield in 1972. He also had a very creditable last half of the season with the bat, hitting .296 from July 27 to September 22. This will be his sixth season with the Yankees and for the last four years, he has held the regular shortstop job, although there have been many candidates attempting to replace him.
Gene is a very aware and heads-up type of ballplayer. He's become the modern master of the hidden ball trick, having pulled the stunt four times with the Yankees: he caught Tom Matchik off base in 1968, Zolio Versalles in 1969 and Joe Keough and Jarvis Tatum in 1970. Having filled in at second and third base for the Yanks, Gene has also pitched during his career: he was 1-3 at Kinston in 1963 and hurled in a major league game for the Yanks (1968), allowing five unearned runs in three innings on five hits and struck out three.
He was also a basketball star at Kent State and was later pursued by the New York Knicks.
A resident of New Jersey the past four years, he has become very popular as an after-dinner speaker around the Metropolitan area."

-1973 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide