Ted Simmons (2020)


Date of Birth: 8/9/1949
Birthplace: Highland Park, Michigan

Ted Simmons started playing baseball on a little league team when he was nine years old. In high school, he was a top baseball and football player. He also played basketball as a teenager. In the summers, he played baseball in the Detroit Tigers' summer clinics.

St. Louis Cardinals

Simmons was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals on June 6, 1967. He spent the 1967, 1968, and 1969 seasons in the minor leagues. He was called up to the Cardinals for just two games in 1968 and 5 games in 1969.

Simmons played in 82 games with the Cardinals in 1970. He batted .243 with 69 hits, 24 RBIs, and 37 strikeouts to 37 walks. He played much better in his second season, finishing the 1971 season with 155 hits, 32 doubles, 77 RBIs, 50 strikeouts to 36 walks, and a .304 batting average in 133 games.

Simmons played in 152 games in 1972, and he batted .303 with 180 hits, 36 doubles, and 96 RBIs. The next year, he had a career high in games played with 161. He finished the 1973 season with 192 hits, 36 doubles, 91 RBIs, and a .310 batting average. His batting average dipped to .272 in 1974, when he had 163 hits, 33 doubles, 20 home runs, and 103 RBIs in 152 games.

Simmons had career highs in hits and batting average in 1975. He had 193 hits, 32 doubles, 18 home runs, 100 RBIs, 35 strikeouts to 63 walks, and a .332 batting average in 157 games. His average dropped again in 1976. He finished that season with 159 hits, 35 doubles, 75 RBIs, 35 strikeouts to 73 walks, and a .291 batting average in 150 games.

In 1977, Simmons had a career high 79 walks (to 37 strikeouts). He finished the season with 164 hits, 25 doubles, 21 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a .318 batting average in 150 games. The next year, he had a career high in doubles with 40. He also had 148 hits, 22 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a .287 batting average in 152 games.

Simmons had a career high in home runs in 1979. In 123 games, he batted .283 with 127 hits, 22 doubles, 26 home runs, and 87 RBIs. He won his only Silver Slugger award in 1980. That year he had 150 hits, 33 doubles, 21 home runs, 98 RBIs, and a .303 batting average in 145 games.

Milwaukee Brewers

Simmons was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on December 12, 1980. His first season with the Brewers was a weak one, with a batting average of just .216. He had 82 hits and 61 RBIs in 100 games. He played in his first postseason that year and he had 4 hits and 4 RBIs in 18 at-bats in 5 games.

Simmons had a better season in 1982, batting .269 with 145 hits, 29 doubles, 23 home runs, and 97 RBIs in 137 games. In the postseason, he had 7 hits, 2 home runs, and 4 RBIs in 41 at-bats in 12 games.

Simmons had a career high 108 RBIs in 1983. He finished the season with 185 hits, 39 doubles, and a .308 batting average in 153 games. His batting average dropped down to .221 in 1984. That year, he had 110 hits, 23 doubles, and 52 RBIs in 132 games.

In 1985, his last season with the Brewers, Simmons batted .273. He had 144 hits, 28 doubles, 76 RBIs, and 32 strikeouts to 57 walks in 143 games.

Atlanta Braves

Simmons was traded to the Atlanta Braves on March 5, 1986. He was only a bench player for the Braves, playing in just 76 games in 1986, 73 games in 1987, and 78 games in 1988. In 1986, he batted .252 with 32 hits. The following season he batted .277 with 49 hits, and in his final season, he batted just .116 with 21 hits.

Awards

  • Silver Slugger award in 1980

Career Statistics

Career batting statistics for Simmons include:

  • 2,456 games played
  • 2,472 hits
  • 483 doubles
  • 248 home runs
  • 1,389 RBIs
  • 694 strikeouts to 855 walks
  • .285 batting average
  • .348 on-base percentage
  • .785 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Simmons as a catcher include:

  • 1,771 games played
  • 915 assists
  • 8,906 putouts
  • 130 errors
  • 34% caught stealing percentage
  • .987 fielding percentage

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a player, Simmons was hired by the Cardinals as their director of player development. He stayed in that position for several years.

In 1992, the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Simmons to be their general manager. He had a heart attack in June of 1993, and he retired from the position shortly afterwards.

Simmons became a baseball scout starting in 1993. He worked as a scout for the Cleveland Indians from 1993 through 1997. He was hired by the San Diego Padres as their vice president of scouting and player development in 1997, and he stayed in that position through 2007.

Simmons became the bench coach for the Brewers in 2008. A year later, he was the bench coach for the Padres, and he stayed in that position for two years.

In 2011, the Seattle Mariners hired Simmons as a senior advisor to the general manager. He remained in that position until 2015. He then moved back to the Braves when they hired him as a scout in 2015.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Ted Simmons
Baseball Reference - Ted Simmons

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