Product Code Database
Richard John Rollins (April 16, 1938 – May 13, 2025) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (1961–68), Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1970), and Cleveland Indians (1970). He was named an All-Star with the Twins in 1962. During a 10-year baseball career, Rollins's batting average was .269 with 77 , and 399 runs batted in (RBI).
He graduated in 1960, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
After hitting .341 with eight home runs and 43 RBI in 62 games, in 1961, Rollins was promoted to Syracuse Chiefs in the Triple-A International League (IL). A few weeks into the season, after playing only three games, he was assigned to the Single-A Charlotte Hornets in the South Atlantic League. He hit .270 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 36 early-season games at Charlotte, playing four games in the outfield and then being shifted to third base.
Griffith stated that it was Rollins's "sincerity and steadiness" on how he handled the position that proved that he could start in the American League. Having got the job, Rollins responded by hitting .486 over the Twins' first 10 games. Playing in 159 games, Rollins finished the season hitting .298 with 16 home runs and 96 RBI, production that would earn him the nickname, at least among his teammates, of Pie, after Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame third baseman, Pie Traynor. Rollins was also compared to former longtime Senators third baseman Ossie Bluege.
Rollins finished eighth in the American League MVP voting and also received the most All-Star Game votes of any American League player, starting both games that year ahead of Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson. Rollins represented the Twins well in the games, reaching base three times in six plate appearances and scoring the AL's only run in their 3–1 loss in the July 10 game. Supporting his MVP candidacy and All-Star appearances, Rollins finished in the top 10 in the league in singles (second), plate appearances (third), sacrifice flies (third), hits (sixth), at-bats (sixth), runs (seventh), on-base percentage (seventh), runs batted in (RBI)(ninth), and batting average (tenth). His Twins teammates voted him the team's MVP in 1962.
While he finished third in assists by third basemen, his 28 errors were the most by any AL third baseman and second most in the league behind Detroit Tigers' infielder Dick McAuliffe. While Rollins's glove work would never be as bad (his errors would decrease from 28 to eight over the next four seasons), his results at the plate would also decline, despite an almost-as-good 1963 season (.307, 16 home runs, 61 RBI), even after suffering a broken jaw when he was hit by a pitch early in the season. The .307 average was third in the American League. He played in 140 games for the 1965 Twins American League championship team. Rollins helped the Twins to win the 1965 American League pennant.
On June 9, 1966, in the seventh inning of a game against the Kansas City Athletics, Rollins was one of five Twins players to hit home runs. The others were Harmon Killebrew, Don Mincher, Tony Oliva and Zoilo Versalles. These five home runs still stand as a Major League record for the most home runs hit in a single inning, and were hit off starter Catfish Hunter (two) and relievers Paul Lindblad (two) and John Wyatt (one). The Houston Astros tied that record in 2022. During the season, he was platooning at third base with Killebrew and César Tovar, among others, with Killebrew playing 107 games at third base.
Rollins career was plagued by illness and injury. In addition to his 1963 broken jaw, among other things, he went to the Mayo Clinic before the 1964 season to treat calcium deposits on his hip. In 1967, he had an infected hand and badly bruised knee in spring training, and a later knee injury that cost him three weeks. His now arthritic hip left him playing in great pain, as well as the chronic pain he was suffering from his knee injuries which had not been properly treated. Twins' owner Calvin Griffith convinced Rollins to go for knee treatment at the Mayo Clinic, rather than retire. Rollins suffered a variety of odd but serious injuries in 1968. In 1969, after leaving the Twins, he had a bad back, and recurrence of knee problems that led to more surgery and the 60-day Injured list.
Rollins died in Akron, Ohio on May 13, 2025, at the age of 87.
Later career
Left exposed to the 1968 expansion draft, Rollins was the 26th pick of the Seattle Pilots on October 15. The Pilots played one year in Seattle (1969), and then moved to Milwaukee in 1970. After backing up Tommy Harper at third base for the Pilots in 1969, Rollins was Harper's backup again beginning the 1970 season in Milwaukee. Rollins was released by the infant Milwaukee Brewers on May 13, 1970, after starting the season hitting .200 with 5 RBI in 14 games. Rollins was immediately signed by the Cleveland Indians, for whom he would finish the season before retiring. He worked in the Indians front office. Rollins would run baseball camps and then worked in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Honors
Rollins was inducted into the Kent State Sports Hall of Fame in 1979. He was inducted into the Summit County Ohio Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He was inducted into the Greater Akron Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001. In 2014, he was named to the Kent State All-Time Baseball Team.
Personal life and death
Rollins met former United Airlines stewardess Lynn Maher of Newport Beach, California, in 1962. He married Maher on February 9, 1963. They had six children.
See also
External links
Categories: 1938 Births, 2025 Deaths, 20th-century American Sportsmen, American League All-stars, Baseball Players From Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Baseball Players From Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, Charlotte Hornets Players, Cleveland Indians Players, Kent State Golden Flashes Baseball Players, Major League Baseball Third Basemen, Milwaukee Brewers Players, Minnesota Twins Players, People From Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, Seattle Pilots Players, Sportspeople From Parma, Ohio, Syracuse Chiefs Players, Wilson Tobs Players
|
|
