Herb Plews

Herbert Eugene Plews (June 14, 1928 – December 12, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He played four years in the majors, from 1956 to 1959. In the minor leagues he played for Kansas City, Binghamton, Norfolk, and Denver before hitting the majors in 1956. After 1959, Herb finished his career playing back in the minors for Toronto, Birmingham, Hawaii, Tacoma, and Arkansas, retiring in 1965. During his playing career he served in the military from 1951 to 1952, during the Korean War.^[1]

Early career

On June 17, 1950, fresh off his stint in college at the University of Illinois, Plews played in his first professional baseball game for the Class AAA Kansas City Blues. He entered the game as a replacement in the 8th inning and stole a base on his first career attempt.^[2] He played 13 games for the Blues, tallying 13 hits to make for a .298 batting average. Later he had a very brief stint for the Class B Quincy Gems, appearing in two games but did not record an official at bat.^[1]

In January 1953, Plews was invited to attend training camp with the New York Yankees.^[3] In April, it was announced he did not make the team and was also assigned to the minor league Class A Binghamton Triplets.^[4] He was later moved to the Class B Norfolk Tars, where he had immediate success. Through his first 53 games in the Piedmont League, he hit for a .323 batting average, one of the highest in the league, 2nd only to teammate Jerry Lynch and his mark of .331.^[5] He ended the season with a .304 average, good enough for 6th in the league, 2 home runs, and 111 hits.^[6]

In March 1954, Plews and teammate Jim Ludtka accomplished the rare feat of hitting two Inside-the-park home run in a single game, hitting both off pitcher Roger Higgins of the Little Rock Travelers.^[7]

In 1954 he led the Southern Association in Triples and the following year at Denver he drew the attention of the Senators who in turn got him a trade with New York.^[8]

He was signed by Yankees scout Lou Maguolo.^[9]

Personal

Herb attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He lived in a retirement community in Boulder, Colorado until his death on December 12, 2014.^[10]

Sources

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Notes