Former Yankee and Scout Eddie Bockman Dies at 91

From SABR member Nick Diunte at Examiner.com on October 1, 2011:

On the eve of the opening game of the ALDS playoffs, Yankee fans had a moment to pause. Another one to wear the pinstripes left their ranks. Joseph “Eddie” Bockman, a rookie third baseman with 1946 Yankees, passed away Thursday at his home in Millbrae, Calif. He was 91.

Bockman’s career was almost over as soon as it started. He first signed with the Class D Bisbee Bees of the Chicago Cubs organization in 1939. After playing in 62 games with a .285 average, Bockman was nose-to-nose with one of baseball’s harshest realities, being released.

I wasn’t doing that bad. … I sat around a whole day trying to figure out why,” said Bockman in a 2009 interview I conducted with him via telephone. “It was quite a while after I got released, two to three weeks before they went out and hired someone else. I couldn’t understand it. You’re just a kid at that time and you can’t really put it together.”

Read the full article here: http://www.examiner.com/baseball-history-in-new-york/eddie-bockman-former-new-york-yankee-and-long-time-scout-passes-away-at-91



Originally published: October 6, 2011. Last Updated: October 6, 2011.