Another bit of America’s past is gone.<\/p>\n
Al Rosen \u2013 MLB star of the 1950s, and later team executive with the Yankees, Astros, and Giants \u2013 passed away last Friday. He was 91.<\/p>\n
Rosen was no slouch as a player. He played for 10 years, all with the Cleveland Indians organization. He had a career batting average of .285, drove in 100 runs 5 times, and was an AL All-Star 4 times. Rosen was his league\u2019s unanimous MVP in 1953, leading the AL in RBI and home runs.\u00a0 He missed the triple crown that year when he finished second in batting average \u2013 by slightly more than .001 \u2013 in spite of finishing with a batting average of .336<\/em>.<\/p>\n During his rookie season, Rosen hit 37 home runs; this stood as the rookie-season record until Mark McGwire hit 49 as a rookie in 1987. He was also regarded as an exceptional defensive third baseman. Unfortunately, back and leg injuries forced him from the game after the 1956 season at age 32.<\/p>\n After his playing career, for 22 years Rosen was a stockbroker. Then in 1978 he returned to baseball, becoming a successful baseball executive. He had front-office roles with the Yankees (President\/CEO, 1978-1979), Astros (President\/CEO, 1980-1985), and Giants (President and General Manager, 1985-1992). During his time with the Giants Rosen\u2019s efforts were credited with helping improve them from a last-place team in 1985 to a World Series team in 1989.<\/p>\n In 1989 Rosen was selected as the NL Executive of the Year. He is the only individual in MLB history to be selected both his league MVP as a player and Executive of the Year.<\/p>\n Rosen retired from baseball a second time in 1992. However, he still afterwards on occasion acted as a consultant for various baseball teams; this included a role as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Yankees in 2001-2002.<\/p>\n In case you\u2019re wondering why this article is here . . . as you might expect for someone of his age, Rosen was also a vet. He enlisted in the US Navy in 1942 and served until 1946, mostly in the Pacific. He participated in the invasion of Okinawa, serving as navigator for an assault boat during the initial landings. He left the Navy as a Lieutenant.<\/p>\n Rosen was Jewish, and was proud (and very protective) of his religious heritage. Though more famous for doing so, Koufax was not the first prominent Jewish MLB player to refuse to play during Judaism’s high holy days; Rosen did the same a decade earlier. His nicknames during his playing days were \u201cthe Hebrew Hammer\u201d and \u201cFlip\u201d. The latter is the source of this article\u2019s title.<\/p>\n RIP, my elder brother-in-arms. There are far too few of your generation left today.<\/p>\n Still . . . you certainly had a wonderful, All-American life. I can\u2019t help but be a bit envious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"