Denis Menke

Denis John Menke (July 21, 1940 – December 1, 2020) was an American professional baseball infielder and coach. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1962 to 1974. He played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1962–67), Houston Astros (1968–71, 1974) and Cincinnati Reds (1972–73), all of the National League. He was elected to the National League All-Star team in 1969 and 1970.

Early life Menke was born in Bancroft, Iowa, and raised on a 480-acre farm in the northern part of the state. He played at St. John's High School in Bancroft, where he pitched for the school's team. Menke signed with the Milwaukee Braves in 1958 for $175,000 .

In October 1965, Bancroft held a Denis Menke Day.

In 1961, still only 20-years old, Menke was promoted to the Triple-A Vancouver Mounties of the Pacific Coast League. He hit .293, with 15 homes runs, 75 runs scored, 73 RBIs and 89 bases on balls. He again played shortstop, and had a .956 fielding percentage, the best of his minor league career at that position. Of the 79 games he played in Toronto, most were at first base, with some at second and third base. None were at shortstop.

Major league career

Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves Menke played his first major league games in 1962, appearing in 50 games for the Braves. He hit .192 in 146 at bats, with only two home runs; the first one of which was a grand slam. He played second base, third base and first base in the field; though unlike his time in Toronto, the majority of his games were at second and third base. He continued to play multiple positions as an Astro. In 1968, he played 119 of his 150 games at second base, with a .982 fielding percentage that was second in the league. In 1969-70 he played a 131 and 133 games at shortstop, respectively; and then in 1971, Menke played 101 games at first base, 32 at third base, 17 at shortstop and only five at second base. In 1970–71, he had two of his three career best hitting seasons (.269 and .304) and his best two RBI years by far (90 and 92).

Menke was selected to the 1969 and 1970 National League All-Star teams, as a shortstop. He struck out in the 1969 game. He appeared in the 1970 game and had a base on balls and was hit by a pitch, but played in the field at second base, rather than shortstop. In 1969, he was 15th in voting for the National League's Most Valuable Player award. In the Reds 3–2 championship series victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, Menke hit .250 in the five games. In the 1972 World Series that saw the Reds lose to the Oakland A's in seven games, Menke hit only .083 in seven games, but did have a home run. He set a world series record for most chances at third base without an error (29). Menke was traded back to the Astros after the 1973 season for Pat Darcy and cash,

Menke was a versatile player in the field. He played first, second, third base, shortstop, and five games as an outfielder. Menke compiled a career fielding percentage of .969. He played his last major league game July 10, 1974 with the Houston Astros.

Coaching career Menke started his coaching career as a manager in 1977 with the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League, a farm team of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Bees won the League Championship that season in a three-game play-off against the Waterloo Indians. The following year he managed the Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League, with 59 wins and 89 losses. The next year (1979) his record was 68 wins and 69 losses.

For the years 1980 and 1981 he was the first base coach for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Menke finished his coaching career returning to the Cincinnati Reds as the bench coach for the years 1997–2000. He was survived by his wife of 57 years, Jean, and their three children and nine grandchildren.