Cal Abrams

Calvin Ross Abrams (March 2, 1924 – February 25, 1997), nicknamed "Abie", was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1949 and 1956 for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White Sox.

Baseball career Minor league Abrams was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and signed by Joe Labate, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, out of James Madison High School in Brooklyn in , and assigned to the Olean Oilers of the Class D Pennsylvania–Ontario–New York League (PONY League). He played in 19 games that season.

In January 1943, he was inducted into the Army. He was assigned to Battery B 500th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, and served in Europe and the Pacific with two battle stars in the Pacific. Abrams was also awarded the Philippine Liberation Medal with one bronze star. He was released from the service in January 1946.

He then played for the Danville Dodgers in the Class B Three-I League for the season, hitting .331 and leading the league with 13 triples. The next two seasons, Abrams was with the Mobile Bears in the Class AA Southern Association, batting .345 and .337.

Major league On April 20, 1949, he made his Major League debut with the Dodgers, and then was sent to the Fort Worth Cats of the AA Texas League for the rest of the season, where he hit .336. He split between the St. Paul Saints of the AAA American Association, for whom he hit .333 with a league-leading .502 on base percentage, and the Dodgers. A New York Post headline once read: Mantle, Schmantle. We Got Abie.

In , he changed his uniform number to 18, explaining later: "18 means a lot." The number 18 stands for the Hebrew word for life. He wore this number for the majority of his career.

On October 1, 1950, the Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies were playing a game that would determine which team would win the National League pennant. In the bottom of the 9th inning, with nobody out and the game tied 1–1, Abrams was on second base when Duke Snider hit a single to short center field. He was waved home by third-base coach Milt Stock, and was gunned down at the plate by a perfect throw by Phillies center fielder Richie Ashburn, who had fielded the ball on one bounce. The play resulted in the preservation of the 1–1 tie, and facilitated the Phils' Dick Sisler's 10th-inning pennant-winning home run. He finished the season with a .419 on-base percentage. He came in 26th in the AL MVP voting.

In , he had a .413 OBP, was 8th in the league in walks with 89, and was 4th in the league in assists by a center fielder with 6.

Hall of Fame In 1996 Abrams, who was Jewish, was inducted into the B'nai B'rith Jewish American Sports Hall of Fame, in Washington, D.C.