Midwest League Profile

Ted Simmons

Ted Simmons celebrated his fiftieth birthday on August 9, 1999. He spent his eighteenth on the roster of the Cedar Rapids Cardinals.

Ted signed with St. Louis after graduating from high school. He played a few games in Sarasota, but spent most of his summer in the Midwest League. He appeared in 47 MWL games, mainly as an outfielder:

       G  AB  R  H 1B 2B 3B HR RBI SO BB SB  AVG
1967  47 171 15 46 29 11  2  4  34 21 19  1 .269

Not a bad season, but certainly nothing stellar. Ted's next summer was at Modesto, where he hit .331 with 28 homers and 117 RBI's; the Cards brought him up in September. By his twenty-first birthday in 1970 he'd won the Cards' catching job; he starred there for over a decade, before Whitey astonished us all by trading him to the Brewers before the 1981 season. Ted played eight more seasons, with the Brewers and the Braves, before retiring in 1988.

Since retiring as a player, he's held administrative positions in several organizations, including a stint as General Manager in Pittsburgh. These days, he's heading the player development effort for San Diego.

2456 games, 248 homers, 1389 RBIs, .285 career BA. Quite respectable; some folks would vote him into the Hall.

Ted Simmons' major league career.

I also turned 21 in 1970. I was wearing a green uniform at the time, and by year's end was en route to Vietnam....

This profile originated as the August 9, 1999, Midwest League Tidbit on the Midwest League Mailing List.