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Charles Lenard Neal (January 30, 1931 – November 18, 1996) was an American professional baseball player, a second baseman and shortstop who had an eight-season career (1956–1963) in Major League Baseball.
Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur in 1950, Neal helped the Los Angeles Dodgers win the 1959 World Series just one year after the team moved to Southern California in 1958. His two home runs off Bob Shaw of the Chicago White Sox in Game 2 at Comiskey Park were keys to turning the tide of the 1959 Series. Chicago had won Game 1, 11–0, and held a 2–0 lead in the fifth inning of the second game when Neal connected for a solo homer, accounting for the Dodgers' first run of the Fall Classic. Two innings later, after pinch hitter Chuck Essegian had tied the contest at two with another solo home run, Neal belted his second long ball of the game, a two-run blast with Jim Gilliam on base. That homer was the winning blow in a 4–3 Dodger victory;Retrosheet box score: 1959-10-02 Los Angeles went on to take Games 3, 4 and 6 to win the world championship.
Neal joined the Dodgers at the start of the season and batted .287 in 62 games played, largely as a backup second baseman behind Gilliam. He started Game 3 of the 1956 World Series, going hitless in four at bats against Whitey Ford and making an error in the field, which led to an unearned run.Retrosheet box score: 1956-10-06 In , the Dodgers' last year in Brooklyn, Neal enjoyed an outstanding sophomore campaign, getting into 128 games and starting 100 at shortstop, with future Baseball Hall of Famer Pee Wee Reese shifting to third baseman. He batted .270 with 12 home runs. In , he belted 22 home runs, 14 at his new home field, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, as the Dodgers' starting second baseman.
Neal was the Dodgers' starting second baseman in both and and played in each of 1960's MLB All-Star games, but his production declined; he hit .256 and .235 with only 18 total home runs in 247 games played. After the 1961 season, the Dodgers traded him to the New York Mets, then a first-year expansion team, for outfielder Lee Walls and cash. Neal was the regular second baseman for the Mets' maiden 1962 team that lost 120 games, the most by a team in a single season since the 19th Century. He was in the inaugural Met starting lineup on April 11, 1962 at St. Louis, batting third, going 3-for-4 and getting the first RBI in the team's history.
Neal remained a Met until July 1, 1963, when he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds. Gonder sold to NY Mets After he hit just .156 for the rest of that season, Neal was released by the Reds in spring training of 1964, his career over at age 33. As a major leaguer, Neal appeared in 970 games and batted .259 lifetime with 858 hits, 113 doubles, 38 triples, 87 home runs, and 391 runs batted in. He was hitless in two at-bats in All-Star competition.
Charlie Neal died in Dallas of heart failure at age 65. Charlie Neal
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