Earl Battey - Major League Career - White Sox

White Sox

Born in Los Angeles, Battey attended Jordan High School in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Chicago White Sox prior to the 1953 season. Battey was assigned to the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in the Single-A Western League where he began his baseball career by hitting only a .158 batting average in 26 games. The White Sox demoted him to the Waterloo White Hawks in the B-level Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League and Battey responded with a .292 average and 11 home runs in 129 games. In 1955, Battey was promoted to the Triple-A Charleston Senators in the American Association where, he hit for a .269 batting average along with 8 home runs and 71 runs batted in. His performance earned him a promotion to the major leagues where he made his debut with the White Sox on September 10, 1955 at the age of 20.

Battey returned to the minor leagues in 1956, playing in 36 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite hitting only .178, he played well defensively. The White Sox called him back to the major leagues to backup starting catcher, Sherm Lollar, for the remainder of the season although, he spent the time on the bench and would only play in four games. Battey continued to learn from the perrenial All-Star, Lollar during the 1957 season but struggled offensively. He was sent back to the minor leagues in August where he would hit 9 home runs and 20 runs batted in for the Triple-A Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. The White Sox recalled Battey to the major leagues in September - this time to stay.

Battey would hit .226 along with 8 home runs in 1958 as, the White Sox would battle back from being in last place on June 14 to finish the season in second place behind the New York Yankees. In 1959 he was overtaken by rookie Johnny Romano as the second string catcher, ending the year hitting .219 in 26 games. Although the White Sox won the American League pennant, Battey wouldn't appear in the post-season as the White Sox lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1959 World Series.

Realizing they had a logjam at catcher with the veteran, and still productive, Lollar, the impressive rookie Romano, and the still valuable as a defensive backup Battey, White Sox owner and general manager, Bill Veeck, would solve his problem in two deals that would show immediate dividends for the White Sox, but would be long term disasters. On December 6, 1959, Veeck traded Romano, rookie first baseman Norm Cash, and utility man Bubba Phillips to the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Minnie Miñoso, catcher Dick Brown, pitcher Don Ferrarese, and minor league pitcher Jake Striker. Then on April 4, 1960, Veeck would ship Battey, first baseman Don Mincher, and $150,000 to the Washington Senators for veteran first baseman Roy Sievers. Although both Sievers and Minoso would combine for three 20-homerun seasons, two All-Star appearances, one Gold Glove award in 1960 and 1961 with the White Sox, the rest of the players the team received in trade were largely of the replacement level. Conversely the young players that the Sox parted with to get these veteran, namely Battey, Mincher, Romano, and Cash, would all sparkle, and account for 17 20-homerun seasons, four 30-homerun seasons, one 40-homerun season, 12 all-star team selections, three Gold Gloves (all by Battey), and would garner Most Valuable Player support in numerous seasons. Meanwhile the catcher that the White Sox chose to keep, Lollar, would go into decline after 1959, be relegated to a backup role in 1962, and would retire after the 1963 season, leaving the White Sox with an underwhelming starter catcher, including a two-year return of an aging Romano in 1965, before regaining some form of stability behind the plate in 1969 with Ed Herrmann (who would go on to lead the American League in passed balls in four of his six full season with the Sox).