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Edwin Frank Basinski (November 4, 1922 – January 8, 2022) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
In 1945 he played in 108 games with 262 plate appearances, batting .262 with 9 doubles and 4 triples. When many players returned from the war in 1945, he was sent to the minor leagues. In December 1946 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1947 he played in 56 games with 182 plate appearances. He batted .199 but hit the first 4 home runs of his career to go along with 33 runs batted in.
In addition to his major league career, Basinski played with six different minor league clubs between 1944 and 1959, as well as for the Patriotas de Venezuela of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 1951–1952 season. Basinski is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame, as well as the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in recognition of his lengthy career with the Portland Beavers—over 10 seasons. He was the oldest living former player of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Following the death of Eddie Robinson in October 2021, he became the second-oldest living major leaguer, behind George Elder.
His son, Jeff, was a coach, athletic director and assistant principal during his 29 years with Forest Grove School District in Washington County, Oregon. Jeff died suddenly in 2011, and the Basinski Center gym was named in his honor in 2013. Basinski died at a care facility in Gladstone on January 8, 2022, at the age of 99.
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