Woodie Held

Woodson George "Woodie" Held (March 25, 1932 – June 11, 2009) was an American shortstop/outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels and Chicago White Sox. He batted and threw right-handed. His last name was originally Heldt, but later changed it to Held due to confusion pronouncing his name.

Biography Born in Sacramento, California on March 25, 1932, Held served as a batboy for the hometown Solons in the mid-1940s. Even though he had been primarily a middle infielder, Held became the Athletics' starting center fielder as a rookie, hitting 20 homers.

His time with the Athletics lasted exactly one year, as he was dealt to Cleveland, along with Vic Power, for Roger Maris, Dick Tomanek and Preston Ward on June 15, 1958. For five campaigns beginning in , Held was a regular in the starting lineup, first at shortstop before shifting to second base in . Held's 6 seasons in Cleveland came to an end on November 1, 1964, when he was traded with Bob Chance to Washington for Chuck Hinton. He was sent to the Angels on June 15, 1967, for Marcelino López and a minor leaguer. He joined the White Sox on July 20, 1968, in exchange for Wayne Causey. Held's professional baseball career ended when he was released on October 15, 1969. In a 14-season career, he posted a .240 batting average with 179 home runs and 559 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,390 games played.

Held died at his Dubois, Wyoming ranch on June 11, 2009, after a seven-month battle with brain cancer.