Rosen, Al "Flip"

Albert Leonard Rosen

"When I was up there in the majors," said this great third baseman, "I always knew how I wanted it to be. I wanted it to be, here comes one Jewish kid that every Jew in the world can be proud of." American League MVP in 1953 -- when he led the AL in home runs and RBI, and came within .001 of the batting title -- Rosen was a great clutch hitter. He made himself into an outstanding athlete by will and determination. As a boy, he had violent asthma attacks, and his mother said, "when he was little, I'd watch him playing with the other boys, gasping as if each breath would be his last...But he would never stop playing."

A four-time All-Star (and MVP of the 1954 All-Star Game), Rosen drove in over 100 runs five years in a row, leading the league in 1952 and 1953 (with 145). He also led the league in home runs in 1950 (37 -- setting an AL rookie record) and 1953 (43), and batted .302, .336 and .300 from 1952-54. After his sensational major league career -- during which he would decline to play on the High Holy Days -- Rosen became first a successful stockbroker, then a top executive with the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros and the San Francisco Giants.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. February 29, 1924

Career Highlights:
A leap-year baby, Rosen received the nicknam "Flip" as a youthful,quick-wristed softball pitcher in Miami. An amateur boxer who broke his nose 11 times, Rosen first appeared in the majors with the Cleveland Indians in 1947. Appearing in only 35 games from 1947-49, Rosen made his presence felt in 1950, his first full-season with the club. That year, he appeared in 155 games, hit .287 with an American League-leading 37 home runs (a rookie record at the time), 116 RBI, and scored 100 runs. After a solid second season, in which he hit .265 with 24 HR and 102 RBI, Rosen was outstanding in 1952. For the first time in his career, he batted over .300 (he finished with a .302 average), played in his first All-Star game, slammed 28 HR and led the league with 105 RBI -- he finished the season 10th in the AL MVP voting.

If Rosen was impressive in his first three seasons, he was outstanding in 1953. That year, he led the league in HR with 43, and RBI with 145 and hit .336. He lost the batting title by .001; that fraction of a point was all that prevented him from winning the Triple Crown for hitting. Al's last at-bat was actually a close play at first, where umpire Hank Soar called him out, to the loud dismay of the crowd. But Rosen, who lost the Triple Crown on that play, defended the ump. "Soar called it right, and I'm glad he did," Rosen stated firmly. "I don't want any gifts. Why, I wouldn't sleep at night all winter if I won the batting championship on a call I knew was wrong." Rosen's outstanding season was rewarded when he was the first unanimous AL MVP in history!

After his MVP season, Rosen showed no signs of slowing down in 1954 when he hit a career-high .336 (second in the AL) with 24 HR and 102 RBI. An All-Star for the third consecutive year, Al was the MVP of the All-Star Game held in Cleveland as he hit 2 HR and 5 RBI despite playing with a broken finger. That year, the Indians won the AL with a major league-best record of 111-43 (their 111 regular season wins was a record until 1998 when the New York Yankees had 114 in a 162-game season). In the World Series, however, the Indians were swept by the New York Giants, 4-0 as Rosen went 3-12 but had no home runs or runs batted in. Flip played two more seasons with the Indians but nagging injuries from an auto accident and booing Cleveland fans caused him to retire following the 1956 season at the age of 32. He finished his career with a .285 average, 192 HR and 717 RBI.

Following his retirement, Rosen became a stockbroker but his involvement in baseball was not over. In 1978, after twenty years away from the game, Rosen became the general manager of the New York Yankees; he then joined the Houston Astros in the same capacity in 1980. It was with the San Francisco Giants, however, that Rosen had the most success in the front office. In 1985, he took over as the Giants' GM and in two short years improved the club from a 100-loss season in 1985 to NL West champions in 1987 -- that year, he was named Major League Executive of the Year. When he was inducted in 1980 into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Beverly Hills, he observed, "At no time have I been so deeply moved as I have been this evening to be recognized a Jew by Jews." Rosen is also a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Career Dates:
1947-56

Position:
Third base. Also played some first base, 5 games at shortstop, one at second towards the end of his career, and once in the outfield in his first year in the big leagues.

Physical description:
5'10", 180 pounds
Right-handed

Career Statistics:
Games: 1044
Batting Avg.: .285
Slugging Avg.: .495

At-bats: 3725
Hits: 1063
Doubles: 165
Triples: 20

Home Runs: 192
Home Run %: 5.2
Runs: 603
RBI: 717

BB: 587
Strike Outs: 385
Stolen Bases: 39

Pinch Hitting
At-bats: 33
Hits: 6

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 1662
Assists: 1848
Errors: 127
Double-plays: 230

Total Chances per Game: 3.5
Fielding Avg: .965

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