Phil Cavarretta: The First Official Mets Batting Instructor (1973 - 1979)
In high school his baseball team won four straight championships with him being a standout player. During his senior year his coach took him to a tryout at Wrigley Field.
He was so young & small everyone thought he was the bat boy. While facing a veteran Cubs pitcher, Cavarretta hit the ball all over the field & the pitcher yelled to get that kid out of there.
He was so young & small everyone thought he was the bat boy. While facing a veteran Cubs pitcher, Cavarretta hit the ball all over the field & the pitcher yelled to get that kid out of there.
The Cubs eventually signed him & he made their club by the end of the same season at age 18, the youngest player in the league.
Cavarretta was known to be a calm low-key guy but had a different approach to playing baseball. He was a fiery ball player that never stopped hustling even if his team was down by a lot of runs. The writers gave him the nickname "Philbuck".
Cavarretta was known to be a calm low-key guy but had a different approach to playing baseball. He was a fiery ball player that never stopped hustling even if his team was down by a lot of runs. The writers gave him the nickname "Philbuck".
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In 1934 he came up briefly in September & hit a HR in his first full game. The HR came off the Reds Whitey Wisert & was the only run of the 1-0 win. The win was the 19th straight victory of a 21 game Cub win streak, eventually tying them with the Cardinals for the pennant.
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In 1934 he came up briefly in September & hit a HR in his first full game. The HR came off the Reds Whitey Wisert & was the only run of the 1-0 win. The win was the 19th straight victory of a 21 game Cub win streak, eventually tying them with the Cardinals for the pennant. In 1935, his rookie season, he became the Cubs main first baseman, driving in 82 runs, with 28 doubles & 12 triples (fourth in the NL) as the Cubs went on to win 100 games & the NL Pennant.
Post Seasons: In the 1935 World Series he was the youngest player at just 19 years old & later said he was scared to death. The Cubs lost the Series to the Detroit Tigers who featured Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer & Bronx born Hank Greenberg. Young Phil struggled, batting .125 (3-24). Two of those hits came in Game #4 against General Crowder at Wrigley Field.
In the World Series he batted .462 (6-13) hitting safely in all four games of the Cubs losing effort.
Cavarretta would bat over .280 four times & make four consecutive All-Star selections.
Post Seasons: In the 1935 World Series he was the youngest player at just 19 years old & later said he was scared to death. The Cubs lost the Series to the Detroit Tigers who featured Hall of Famers Mickey Cochrane, Charlie Gehringer & Bronx born Hank Greenberg. Young Phil struggled, batting .125 (3-24). Two of those hits came in Game #4 against General Crowder at Wrigley Field.
In 1938 the Cubs won 89 games edging the Pirates by two games to win another pennant. That year Cavarretta was in a utility role as a fourth outfielder & back up first baseman to Ripper Collins.
Cavarretta would bat over .280 four times & make four consecutive All-Star selections.
In 1944 he led the league with 197 hits (tied with Stan Musial) & 142 singles. That year he batted .321 (5th in the NL) with 35 doubles (7th in the league) a career high 15 triples (3rd in the league), 106 runs scored (4th in the NL) & 82 RBIs with a .390 on base % (10th in the NL) & .841 OPS.
1944 All Star Game: In the 1944 All Star game, he tripled, singled & drew a pair of walks in the 7-1 NL victory at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
NL- MVP: In 1945 he would be his best year, winning the N.L. MVP Award batting a league best .355 & NL Leading .449 on base %. His batting mark is still one of the best averages for a Cubs player in team history.
Cavaretta also led the league with a .455 on base percentage. He put up a .949 OPS hitting 34 doubles (5th in the league) with 10 triples (5th in the league) 6 HRs, 97 RBIs (8th in the NL) & 94 runs scored (10th in the league).
1945 Post Season: That year the Cubs went to their third World Series since Cavarretta's arrival with the club. Again, the Cubs faced off against the Detroit Tigers, led by Hank Greenberg who had just finished three years military service..
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In his career, he was amongst the top five batting leaders three times, on base percentage & hits leaders five times. He was also among the tops in triples, doubles & RBIs three times. He played for twenty years with Chicago, the most of any Cub player except Cap Anson.
Career Stats: In a 22-year career, Phil batted .293 lifetime with 1977 hits, 990 runs scored, 347 doubles, 99 triples (163rd all time) 820 walks (230th all time) 95 HRs, 920 RBIs. He struck out 598 times with 820 walks posting a .372 on base % (234th all time) & .788 OPS.
Retirement- Managerial Career: In June 1951 Cavarretta became the Cubs manager succeeding "The Fordham Flash" former NY Giants star, Frankie Frisch. As a player/manager he became one of the game's best pinch hitters.
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In 1952 Phils Cubs finished .500 in fourth place but fell to seventh place the next year. Over two and a half seasons he compiled a 169-213 record but was fired in 1954 he publicly stated that the team wouldn’t finish above fifth place.
In a 1992 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said “What I said was, we needed help at first base, at third base and in center field. Mr. Wrigley interpreted that as a defeatist complex.”
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Eventually, he was helping the hitters during batting practice at Shea Stadium. He only instructed the hitters at home games but did not travel with the ball club on the road.
At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former MLB player. The Italian / American Cavarretta was survived by his wife, four daughters, seven grandchildren & ten great grandchildren.
NL- MVP: In 1945 he would be his best year, winning the N.L. MVP Award batting a league best .355 & NL Leading .449 on base %. His batting mark is still one of the best averages for a Cubs player in team history.
Cavaretta also led the league with a .455 on base percentage. He put up a .949 OPS hitting 34 doubles (5th in the league) with 10 triples (5th in the league) 6 HRs, 97 RBIs (8th in the NL) & 94 runs scored (10th in the league).
1945 Post Season: That year the Cubs went to their third World Series since Cavarretta's arrival with the club. Again, the Cubs faced off against the Detroit Tigers, led by Hank Greenberg who had just finished three years military service..
In Game #1 at Tiger Stadium, Cavarretta hit a solo HR in the Cubs 9-0 win. He hit safely in six of the seven games going 11-26 with one HR & 5 RBIs.
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In his career, he was amongst the top five batting leaders three times, on base percentage & hits leaders five times. He was also among the tops in triples, doubles & RBIs three times. He played for twenty years with Chicago, the most of any Cub player except Cap Anson. Career Stats: In a 22-year career, Phil batted .293 lifetime with 1977 hits, 990 runs scored, 347 doubles, 99 triples (163rd all time) 820 walks (230th all time) 95 HRs, 920 RBIs. He struck out 598 times with 820 walks posting a .372 on base % (234th all time) & .788 OPS.
Retirement- Managerial Career: In June 1951 Cavarretta became the Cubs manager succeeding "The Fordham Flash" former NY Giants star, Frankie Frisch. As a player/manager he became one of the game's best pinch hitters.
In 1951 he batted led the league with 12 pinch hits batting .363 in that role. On July 29th, he drove in the winning runs of both ends of a double header, with both hits coming off the Phillies Robin Roberts. In the second game Cavarretta's grand slam HR off Roberts was the game winner.
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In a 1992 interview with the Chicago Tribune, he said “What I said was, we needed help at first base, at third base and in center field. Mr. Wrigley interpreted that as a defeatist complex.”
Later in the fifties he managed at the minor league level & then served as a scout before the New York Mets came calling.
Batting Coaches:.jpg)
Up until the early seventies batting coaches didn’t really exist in major league baseball and the Mets were no exceptions.
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Up until the early seventies batting coaches didn’t really exist in major league baseball and the Mets were no exceptions. In 1973 Mets General Manager Bob Scheffing hired Cavarretta as a "special batting instructor" to the team hit better. Phil had been a coach for Scheffing when he managed the Tigers in the early sixties.
Cavaretta was to work with hitters during Spring Training only, and when the season started, he was to instruct in the minor league levels.
Cavaretta was to work with hitters during Spring Training only, and when the season started, he was to instruct in the minor league levels.
In his first season as batting instructor, he helped John Milner make the adjustment from outfielder to first baseman.
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Cavarretta was a great help to many hitters on both the major & minor league levels.
During his first season, the 1973 Mets did get to the World Series. He remained with the team until the late seventies as a coach / instructor before moving on again as a scout.
Passing: In December 2010 Cavarretta suffered a stroke & passed way two weeks later at the age of 94 in Lilburn, Georgia.
During his first season, the 1973 Mets did get to the World Series. He remained with the team until the late seventies as a coach / instructor before moving on again as a scout.
Passing: In December 2010 Cavarretta suffered a stroke & passed way two weeks later at the age of 94 in Lilburn, Georgia.
At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former MLB player. The Italian / American Cavarretta was survived by his wife, four daughters, seven grandchildren & ten great grandchildren.