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Pete Runnels

Pete Runnels (l) with Curt Gowdy

Courtesy Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection

Much like Billy Goodman, his immediate predecessor on this list, Pete Runnels displayed a tremendous amount of versatility during his time in Boston, playing all four infield positions at one time or another. Primarily a shortstop his first few years with the Washington Senators, Runnels later moved to first and second base for the Senators, manning those same two positions in his five seasons with the Red Sox after they traded for him prior to the start of the 1958 campaign. Although he possessed only marginal range and quickness, Runnels had sure hands, allowing him to successfully field almost everything he reached. As a result, he led all American League first basemen in fielding percentage in 1961, just one year after he topped all AL second sackers in the same category. Also very much like Goodman, the left-handed hitting Runnels possessed very little power at the plate but had a solid line-drive swing and a keen batting eye that enabled him to annually finish among the league leaders in batting average and on-base percentage. Particularly effective once Ted Williams took him under his wing, Runnels batted over .300 five straight times for the Red Sox, capturing two batting titles, and finishing a close second to his tutor on a third occasion.

Born in Lufkin, Texas, on January 28, 1928, James Edward Runnels acquired the nickname “Pete” from his family, who called him “Little Pete” after his father. Growing up in the logging town of Lufkin, about 120 miles northeast of Houston, Runnels often found it difficult to nurture his love for baseball, instead spending most of his time playing football and basketball while attending Lufkin High School. Yet, even though he only played sandlot ball in the summer, Runnels developed a passion for baseball, continuing to play his favorite sport after he joined the Marines following his graduation from high school in 1945.

After spending three years in the service, Runnels attended just one semester at Rice University before he decided to pursue a career in Major League Baseball. He received a rough initiation into the pro game, though, failing a tryout with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1949. Runnels subsequently signed with the Chickasha, Oklahoma, club of the Class D Sooner League, performing so well in the minors over the course of the next two seasons that the Senators purchased his contract for $12,500. Assigned to Washington’s Triple-A affiliate in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Runnels compiled a .356 batting average through the first few months of the 1951 campaign, prompting the hitting-starved Senators to summon him to the big leagues at midseason. Appearing in 78 games at shortstop the remainder of the year, Runnels committed 18 errors, batted .278, and scored 31 runs.

Runnels remained at shortstop for the Senators the next three seasons, playing steady, if unspectacular, defense and gradually developing into one of the team’s better offensive players. After compiling batting averages of .285, .257, and .268 from 1952 to 1954, Runnels posted marks of .284 and .310 the next two seasons, while splitting his time between first and second base. In addition to batting .310 in 1956, Runnels established new career highs with eight homers, 76 RBIs, 179 hits, and 29 doubles.

Runnels followed up his finest season with his worst, batting just .230 in 1957. His poor performance prompted the Senators to trade him to the Red Sox at the conclusion of the campaign for first baseman Norm Zauchin and promising young outfielder Albie Pearson.

The 30-year-old Runnels experienced a rebirth in Boston. Tutored by none other than Ted Williams, Runnels learned to be more selective at the plate. Williams also instructed the 6-foot, 170-pound Runnels to cut down on his swing so that he might take better advantage of his new home ballpark by driving the ball more to the opposite field. Williams’s advice paid huge dividends for Runnels and the Red Sox, with the lefty-swinging infielder quickly developing into one of the league’s best contact hitters. Taking over as Boston’s regular second baseman in 1958, Runnels earned a 10th-place finish in the AL MVP voting by ranking among the league leaders with 103 runs scored, 183 hits, 32 doubles, 87 walks, a .322 batting average, and a .416 on-base percentage. Runnels’s .322 average placed him a close second in the league to teammate Williams, who topped the circuit with a mark of .328.

A true sportsman and gentleman, Runnels always maintained that he considered the 1958 batting race to be the highlight of his career, stating on one occasion, “I enjoyed [Ted] Williams’ 1958 catching me [for the batting crown] on the final day more than the later titles of 1960 and 1962 because of the great competition. Wasn’t he capable!”

Meanwhile, Williams later admitted that he would not have minded in the least if Runnels finished ahead of him in the batting race, confiding, “I was thinking in my heart, ‘I hope he wins it. I’m not going to give it to him, but I hope he wins it.’ Runnels had never won a batting championship, and I had won five. We weren’t in the pennant race. It certainly wouldn’t make much difference to me at that point. I wasn’t getting the kick out of it I had the year before.”

Certainly Runnels’s calm and gentle demeanor contributed somewhat to the philanthropic attitude the “Splendid Splinter” held toward him. Williams likely also appreciated Runnels’s ability to get on base ahead of him. Generally hitting second in the Red Sox batting order, immediately ahead of his tutor, Runnels accorded Williams numerous opportunities to drive in runs. After hitting .322 in 1958, Runnels posted marks of .314 and .320 the next two seasons, capturing the batting title in 1960, Williams’s final year in Boston. Runnels also compiled an on-base percentage in excess of .400 in each of those years, concluding the 1959 campaign with 95 runs scored as well. He continued his outstanding hitting after Williams retired, batting .317 in 1961, and edging out Mickey Mantle for the batting title the following year with a mark of .326.

Runnels also offered the Red Sox a considerable amount of versatility in the field. After spending most of his time at second base his first three years in Boston, Runnels moved to first base his final two seasons. He saw some action at the other two infield positions as well.

Yet, in spite of the success Runnels experienced in Boston, he expressed interest in leaving shortly after the Houston Colt .45’s became Major League Baseball’s first entry in his home state of Texas in 1962. The Red Sox complied with Runnels’s wishes, trading him to Houston for outfielder Roman Mejias prior to the 1963 campaign. Runnels played one full season in Houston, batting .253 in 1963, before being released by the club on May 19, 1964, after he hit just .196 in 22 games. Runnels subsequently announced his retirement, ending his career with 49 home runs, 630 RBIs, 876 runs scored, 1,854 hits, a .291 batting average, a .375 on-base percentage, and a .378 slugging percentage. While with the Red Sox, he hit 29 homers, knocked in 249 runs, scored 407 others, accumulated 825 hits, batted .320, compiled a .408 on-base percentage, and posted a .427 slugging percentage. A model of consistency during his time in Boston, Runnels batted somewhere between .314 and .326 in each of his five seasons with the Red Sox.

Following his retirement, Runnels returned to the Red Sox as a coach, serving in 1965 and 1966, before leaving the game for good. He subsequently returned home to Pasadena, Texas, where he expanded his outside business interests. In addition to owning a gas station and a sporting goods store, he operated Camp Champions, a summer camp program in Marble Falls, Texas. A fine golfer, Runnels often said that he would love to exit this life after driving a tee shot onto a green. Sadly, this came to pass on May 20, 1991, just three days after he suffered a heart attack while playing golf. Runnels was only 63 years old.

Red Sox Career Highlights

Best Season

Runnels won the AL batting title with a mark of .320 in 1960, even though a stomach ulcer plagued him for much of the year. Nevertheless, he posted better overall numbers in 1958 and 1962, finishing those two seasons with remarkably similar statistics. Runnels batted .322, collected 183 hits, accumulated five triples and 32 doubles, hit eight homers, drove in 59 runs, compiled a .416 on-base percentage, and posted a .438 slugging percentage in 1958. Four years later, he batted .326, amassed 183 hits, collected 5 triples and 33 doubles, hit 10 home runs, knocked in 60 runs, compiled a .408 on-base percentage, and posted a .456 slugging average. But Runnels scored 23 more runs in 1958 than in 1962, crossing the plate a career-high 103 times. He also finished in the league’s top five in six offensive categories. Meanwhile, he ranked in the top five in only two categories in 1962. All things considered, Runnels had his finest season in 1958.

Memorable Moments/Greatest Performances

Although Runnels hit only 49 home runs his entire career, he helped the AL defeat the NL 9–4 in the second All-Star game of 1962 by delivering a pinch-hit homer.

Runnels had the greatest day of his career on August 30, 1960, when he tied a major-league record by amassing nine hits during a doubleheader sweep of the Detroit Tigers. Runnels went 6 for 7 in Boston’s 5–4 opening game victory, delivering Frank Malzone with the winning run in the bottom of the 15th inning with an RBI double. Runnels’s six safeties tied the AL mark for the most hits in one game. He continued his hot-hitting in the nitecap, collecting three hits in four at-bats during Boston’s 3–2, 10-inning win.

Notable Achievements

• Batted over .300 five times, surpassing the .320 mark three times

• Scored more than 100 runs once (103 in 1958)

• Surpassed 30 doubles three times

• Compiled on-base percentage in excess of .400 four times

• Two-time AL batting champion (1960 and 1962)

• Led AL first basemen with .995 fielding percentage in 1961

• Led AL second basemen with .986 fielding percentage in 1960

• Ranks among Red Sox career leaders in batting average (5th) and on-base percentage (6th)

• 1958 AL Comeback Player of the Year

• Five-time AL All-Star