Duke Sims

Duane B. "Duke" Sims (born June 5, 1941) is an American former professional baseball catcher, first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He played in all or part of 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1964 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers. He has the most career home runs of any MLB player born in Utah. He was the last player to hit a home run in the original Yankee Stadium. Sims played in all or part of eight seasons in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) where he was selected as an all-star numerous times, and once won a Silver Glove for fielding as a catcher.

Early life Sims was born on June 5, 1941, in Salt Lake City, but moved to Idaho with his family as an infant. Sims was a first baseman, outfielder and catcher on the school's baseball team. He became a catcher out of necessity for the team as a senior, his first time playing the position. He hit a home run in the 1959 Southern Idaho Conference baseball championship game, though Pocatello lost to Boise High School, 2–1. In 1958, the 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (90.1 kg) Sims was selected second-team All-Southern Idaho High School Football Conference. In 1959, he was named an all-star in the Southern Idaho Class AAA Regional Basketball Tournament. As a senior in 1959, he was named Pocatello High School's all-around athlete of the year.

After beginning his Minor League Baseball (MiLB) baseball career, in the Fall of 1959 Sims enrolled at the University of Idaho (one of the schools that had offered him a football scholarship). After attending Idaho for two years in the baseball offseasons, he transferred to Idaho State College. He ceased attending Idaho State when he knew the Cleveland Indians were going to call him up as an MLB player in 1965. He batted left-handed, and threw right-handed as a fielder. He received his nickname "Duke" from manager Mark Wylie, who said he did not like the name Duane and instead would call Sims Duke; a change that Sims himself preferred. In 1960, Sims played 104 games for the Selma Cloverleafs in the Class D Alabama-Florida League; batting .275, with 12 home runs, 56 RBIs and an .820 OPS. He had a .984 fielding percentage at catcher. He was selected to play in the Alabama-Florida League All-Star Game.

Sims arguably had the best hitting year of his professional career in 1961 with the Class B Alamance Indians of the Carolina League, playing in Burlington, North Carolina. He was selected as a Carolina League all-star catcher that season, and had career-highs in games (124), plate appearances (478), hits (123), RBIs (88), runs (83), doubles (36), and OPS (.956). He had a .304 batting average and hit 21 home runs, one of only two seasons in his professional career with more than 20 home runs in a season. Sims was named to the 15-player All-Carolina League Team at the end of the season.

Sims began the next season (1962) with the Single-A Charleston Indians of the Eastern League. Sims was named a starting catcher in the 1962 Eastern League All-Star Game. He was also selected to the Eastern League's All-Star Team at the end of the season. He was sent to the Jacksonville Suns of the Triple-A International League during the season when Suns catcher Harry Chiti suffered an injury. Once with the Suns, however, he played in only 21 games, often being used as a pinch hitter, as well as a catcher. He hit only .154 in 73 plate appearance, with three home runs and nine RBIs.

He began the 1963 season with the Double-A Nashville Volunteers of the South Atlantic League, a Los Angeles Angels affiliate, where he played in only 12 games, batting .171. Sims had some personal difficulties in 1963, and Cleveland thought it best for him to spend some time in another setting. He rejoined Charleston, in the now Double-A Eastern League. In 90 games with Charleston that season, Sims hit .270, with 10 home runs, 50 RBIs, 53 bases on balls, 43 runs, and an .880 OPS; to go along with a .994 fielding percentage at catcher. Among players with at least 347 plate appearances, he was fourth in the Eastern League in OPS and ninth in batting average. For the second consecutive season, he was named to the Eastern League All-Star Team at the end of the season. Mays had originally scouted Sims as a catcher, but Sims has said that although he had a strong throwing arm, his catching skills were undeveloped out of high school and during his early years in MiLB baseball. He had to work on a range of catching skills for years in the minor leagues to establish the fundamental skills for playing the position. Sims won a silver glove for fielding as a catcher in 1964.

He played in the Puerto Rican Winter League before the start of the 1965 season, again to work on developing his catching skills. He played in nine games for the Beavers, batting .321, and returned to Cleveland in mid-August.

Major leagues

Cleveland Indians Sims was first called up to the major leagues in September 1964. He played in two games with Cleveland that season. In mid-June 1965, Cleveland called Sims up from Portland, where he was hitting .325 at the time. As a rookie with Cleveland in 1965, Sims played in 48 games, starting 33 at catcher with a .988 fielding percentage. He batted .178 in 118 at bats, with six home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .601 OPS; playing behind starting catcher Joe Azcue. ) considered Sims the most improved player in training camp that year. Sims' power hitting was superior to Edwards, and gave him an advantage over Edwards. Sims did not play again in MiLB after 1966. Sims started on opening day that season, but Azcue was not traded. Azcue started 80 games that season, with Sims starting 77 games, and rookie third-string catcher Ray Fosse starting five games. Sims batted only .202 to Azcue's .251, with 12 home runs and 37 RBIs. Cleveland would platoon Azcue, a right-handed hitter, and Sims as a left-handed hitter, depending on the opposing pitcher.

In 1969, Sims became the Indians starting catcher, starting 96 games that season, with Fosse and Ken Suarez now his backups. Azcue had been traded in mid-April. Sims had a .991 fielding percentage that season, fourth best in the American League. He batted .236, with a then career-high 18 home runs, and 45 RBIs, 40 runs scored, and an .801 OPS. In 1970, Fosse started 120 games at catcher and became an American League All-Star. Fosse missed time that season due to mandated military reserve service. Sims started 38 games as Fosse's backup catcher, 34 as an outfielder, and 25 as a first baseman. Sims started 59 games as the Dodgers' catcher in 1971, batting an MLB career high .274, for seasons where he had at least 250 plate appearances. He had six home runs, 25 RBIs, and 23 runs scored.

Sims was claimed by the Detroit Tigers, who were managed by Billy Martin in 1972. Martin thought acquiring Sims was the Tigers second-best transaction during his time as the Tigers' manager. In his first game with the Tigers on August 5, Sims had two hits in five at bats; including a seventh inning home run against Gaylord Perry (who would win the American League's Cy Young Award that year ) and the game-winning single in the 11th inning against Perry. By September 27, he had three game-winning hits for the Tigers. It has been stated that overall in 1972, Sims had 10 game-winning or game-tying hits while playing for the Tigers that season.

The Tigers finished in first place in the American League East Division, 86–70. Sims played in the post-season for the first time in his career. The Tigers lost the 1972 American League Championship Series to the Oakland Athletics in five games. Martin started Sims at catcher in Game 1, batting in the third position. Sims had two hits in five at bats, including a double against future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Catfish Hunter and a triple against future Hall of Fame pitcher Rollie Fingers. Martin started Sims at catcher again in Game 2, but Sims had no hits in three at bats. Sims was catching in Game 2 when Athletics' shortstop Bert Campaneris threw his bat at Tigers' pitcher Lerrin LaGrow after being hit on the ankle by a LaGrow pitch, Campaneris believing it was intentional (which Sims has said was not the case). This resulted in a chaotic bench clearing confrontation between the teams. He was the starting leftfielder in Game 4, again batting third in the lineup, with one hit in three at bats; a double against Hunter. In the deciding Game 5, a 2–1 A's win, Martin again batted Sims third, playing left field; but Sims was hitless in three at bats.

Sims remained with the Tigers in 1973, until they waived him in late-September.

New York Yankees and Texas Rangers It is also reported that the New York Yankees purchased Sims contract rights from the Tigers in late September 1973. He played in four games for the Yankees as a designated hitter and catcher; with three hits in nine at bats, including one home run. He is credited as the last person to hit a home run in the original Yankee Stadium, in the seventh inning of an 8–5 loss to the Detroit Tigers on the last day of the 1973 season, September 30. The first person to hit a home run at Yankee Stadium, known as "the House that Ruth Built", was Babe Ruth, on April 18, 1923.

Sims began the 1974 season with the Yankees, now playing home games at Shea Stadium. He played in five games for the Yankees before being traded to the Texas Rangers on May 7 for Larry Gura and cash. The Rangers released Sims in January 1975, ending his career. and Ken Harrelson, the White Sox executive in charge of the team's baseball operations who had been Sims' teammate in Cleveland in 1969 and 1970. Harrelson believed Sims had three key qualities that would make him a good manager: (1) depth of baseball knowledge; (2) being an "outstanding competitor"; and (3) being an "outstanding worker". Ken Harrelson resigned his position at the end of the 1986 season, and Sims was replaced as manager before the following season, making 1986 his only year managing.

Legacy Sims holds the distinction of finishing his career with exactly 100 home runs, the current record for a player born in the state of Utah. In addition to hitting the final home run in the original Yankee Stadium on the last day of the 1973 season, Sims was also the catcher that day,