Tasby threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He began his
minor-league career in 1950 in the organization of the
St. Louis Browns, predecessors of the modern MLB Orioles. He spent nine seasons in the franchise's
farm system before making his major league debut on September 18, 1958, and played in 18 games for the Orioles at the end of the season. Tasby's performance in
1959 was solid as he played 142 games and
batted .250 with 13
home runs, while patrolling
center field for the Orioles. Baltimore's sixth-place finish in the AL was not impressive, but Tasby's rookie performance was, as he was selected to the inaugural
Topps All-Star Rookie Team along with future
Hall of Famer Willie McCovey. In
1960, the Orioles were much improved. They contended for the AL pennant until late September. In June, however, with a tenuous hold on first place, they were swept in a four-game series at home by the
Detroit Tigers. June 9 was the low point for Tasby, as his Orioles lost both ends of a double header to the Tigers and then traded him to the last-place Boston Red Sox. Boston plugged Tasby right into their lineup, and the center fielder responded with a career-best .281
batting average. Tasby's performance for the Red Sox garnered some attention, as he became an
expansion draft selection of the new Washington Senators franchise. The
expansion Senators' opening season showed promise for Tasby. He started 134 games in center field, hit a career-high 17 home runs and collected 63
RBI in 141
games played. However, Washington acquired former
American League All-Star center fielder
Jimmy Piersall during the offseason. Then, after just 11 games with Washington in
1962, seven as the club's left fielder, Tasby was traded on May 5 to the Cleveland Indians for
pitchers Steve Hamilton and
Don Rudolph. Tasby scratched out 127 games over two partial seasons with Cleveland to finish his big-league career. All told, Tasby collected 467
hits in the majors, with 61
doubles, ten
triples and 46 home runs accompanying his .250 career batting mark. He was credited with 174 runs batted in. Willie Tasby died on April 3, 2022, at the age of 89. He is buried in
Plant City, Florida. ==References==