Rocky Colavito

Colavito was born and raised in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, where he became a devoted New York Yankees fan, particularly of Joe DiMaggio. At the age of sixteen, he dropped out of Theodore Roosevelt High School after his sophomore year to play semi-professional baseball in hopes that it would lead to his dream of playing in Major League Baseball (MLB). with two-thirds of his signing bonus deferred until he progressed in their system. In 1954, Colavito hit 38 home runs and drove in 116 RBIs for the minor league baseball team, Indianapolis Indians. ==Baseball career==

Cleveland Indians Colavito made his MLB debut on September 10, for the Cleveland Indians. In , he started the season playing in the Pacific Coast League, once showing off his throwing arm by hurling a ball over the center-field wall, from home plate. In July, he returned to the Indians. He finished the season batting .276 with 21 home runs, and was tied for runner-up in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. In , he batted .252 with 25 home runs. In , Colavito, now wearing number 6, In , Colavito hit 42 home runs and became the first Indians player to have two consecutive 40-HR seasons; he tied Harmon Killebrew for the AL lead that season (was one short of Al Rosen's club record) and was the AL leader in extra-base hits (66) and total bases (301). On June 10, at Baltimore Orioles' cavernous Memorial Stadium, he became the second player in AL history to hit four consecutive home runs in a nine-inning game; Lou Gehrig hit four in . In an interview in 2021, Colavito called the game the highlight of his career. He was selected for both of the All-Star Games held for the first time that season and homered in Game 2 (two All-Star games were held annually in 1959 through ). In the AL pennant race that year, the Indians finished second, five games behind the Chicago White Sox. This was the closest he would come to a title until 1967. He also finished fourth in the MVP vote. Colavito would hit 30-plus home runs for seven seasons, establishing himself as a consistent power hitter. He also was an excellent outfielder with a very strong arm despite being flat-footed. Detroit Tigers On April 17, , Indians general manager Frank Lane unexpectedly traded him to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn (the 1959 AL batting champion, having hit .353) just two days before the opening day of the season in Cleveland against the Tigers. The Tigers played Colavito in right field because of his strong throwing arm, moving Al Kaline to center field that season. Colavito hit .249 with 35 home runs and 87 RBI. In , Colavito hit .290 with a career-high 45 home runs, 140 RBI, and 129 runs scored. Detroit led the Major Leagues in scoring, and he placed eighth in the MVP race. Colavito was switched from right field to left field for the Tigers, and Kaline was reestablished in right field. Colavito was selected for both All-Star Games again and homered in Game 2. During a doubleheader that season against the Washington Senators at Griffith Stadium, he hit 4 home runs, 3 in Game 2. Detroit Free Press sportswriter Joe Falls, who viewed Colavito as a "self-ordained deity", began going after Colavito in the press and started a feature chronicling the runs he failed to drive in; whenever Colavito stranded a runner, Falls would give him the facetious statistic "RNBI" (Run Not Batted In). This infuriated Colavito and created a tense relationship between the two men for several years. In one game, Falls – acting as the official scorer – charged Colavito with a controversial error, causing Colavito to confront him after the game. Another time when Colavito was in a batting slump and the Tigers fans started razzing him for it, he threw a ball he barely caught in left field over the right-field light tower and roof. On May 12, 1961, Colavito was ejected from a game with the Yankees in New York after climbing into the stands, which was against MLB rules (though other Tigers players who followed Colavito into the stands were not ejected), to go after a drunken Yankee fan who had been scuffling with his father there after the fan started harassing Colavito's wife. Colavito ($35,000 in 1961) than established team star Al Kaline ($39,000 to $49,000). In 1962, Colavito had 164 hits (Kaline 121), 37 home runs (Kaline 29), and 112 RBI (Kaline 94). He was selected for both All-Star Games for the third time and homered in Game 2. In 1963, Colavito hit .271, with 22 homers and 91 RBI. Kansas City Athletics during spring training in 1964 Colavito was dealt along with Bob Anderson and $50,000 from the Tigers to the Kansas City Athletics for Jerry Lumpe, Dave Wickersham and Ed Rakow on November 18, . but did not win one of the three AL Gold Glove Awards for an outfielder. On September 6, he got his 1,000th RBI. Not only did he face down Al Kaline and Willie Horton, he further vexed the Tigers by scoring the winning run for the Yanks in the eighth inning. He also homered in the second game. Colavito's pitching feat as a Yankee was not seen again in the AL until May 6, 2012, when Baltimore Oriole Chris Davis earned a win. Colavito got 20 hits including 5 home runs in 39 games played for the Yankees. He was released by the Yankees on September 30, 1968 He was a first base coach for the Indians during the 1973 season, broadcaster during the 1975 season, and first base coach during the 1977 and 1978 seasons. In 1982, Colavito and Kansas City Royals Manager Dick Howser, a former shortstop for the Indians, were involved in a traffic accident and struggle with police. Colavito and Howser were convicted of interfering with police and received 90-day jail sentences. Both appealed and served six months of probation. Colavito was involved in the 1983 pine tar game and was ejected for arguing the umpires' decision to negate George Brett's home run and call him out, which would have given the Yankees the win; the decision was later overturned, the game was resumed a month later with the Royals in the lead as the result of Brett's home run, and the Royals won the game. ==Personal life and death==

Colavito married Carmen Perrotti, a professional dancer, in 1954. On August 11, 2015, he had to have his right leg amputated below the knee due to problems with type 2 diabetes, from which he had suffered for a number of years. Colavito died from type 2 diabetes at his home in Bernville, Pennsylvania, on December 10, 2024, at the age of 91. ==MLB achievements==

Notable achievements: • 6-time AL All-Star (1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966) • AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1958) • 2-time AL Total Bases Leader (1959, 1962) • AL Home Runs Leader (1959) • AL RBI Leader (1965) • AL Base on Ball Leader (1965) • 20-Home Run Seasons: 11 (1956–1966) • 30-Home Run Seasons: 7 (1956–1962, 1964, 1966) • 40-Home Run Seasons: 3 (1958, 1959, 1961) • 100 RBI Seasons: 6 (1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965) • 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1961) Other achievements: • 9 All-Star Games (1959–2, 1961–2, 1962–2, 1964, 1965, 1966) • ML Fielding Percentage Leader as Right Fielder (1965) • ML Fielding Percentage Leader as Outfielder (1965) • Four consecutive home runs in one game (1959) • Four home runs in one game (1959) ==Legacy==

Colavito was one of the most popular power hitters and outfielders of his time with one of the best throwing arms in baseball. In , Colavito received a huge ovation at the introduction of the Indians' All-Century team. On July 29, 2006, Colavito, along with Ray Chapman, Addie Joss, Sam McDowell, Al Rosen, Herb Score and manager Al López, were all inducted into the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame. On August 10, 2021, his 88th birthday, a statue of Colavito was unveiled at Tony Brush Park in Cleveland's Little Italy. Colavito was in attendance for the ceremony. ==The Curse of Rocky Colavito==

In 1994, Terry Pluto, who covered the Cleveland Indians for The Plain Dealer in the 1980s and became the top sports columnist for the Akron Beacon Journal (but returned to The Plain Dealer in 2007), published The Curse of Rocky Colavito, a book that tried to explain why the Indians had not come within even 11 games of first place since 1959. Pluto's explanation was that the trade of Colavito by the Indians in 1960 sent the team on a path to mediocrity that lasted more than three decades. He also suggested that the trade in 1965 to bring Colavito back to the Indians was just as bad as the one that had sent him away. Pluto wrote a sequel, Burying the Curse, in 1995, after the Cleveland Indians won their first American League Championship in 41 years that season. Cleveland lost the World Series 4–2 to the Atlanta Braves. In , the Indians won the AL pennant again, but lost the World Series 4–3 to the Florida Marlins after needing just two more outs in Game 7 to win. In 1999, Pluto wrote the book Our Tribe, a history of the Cleveland Indians. Pluto insists in the book that the curse is still in effect. The Indians won the American League Championship again 19 years later, in 2016. Cleveland lost the World Series to the Chicago Cubs 4–3; Cleveland's last World Series title was in 1948, when they defeated the Boston Braves. ==See also==