Choo-Choo Coleman died today, Monday:
Clarence “Choo-Choo” Coleman, a catcher on the expansion 1962 Mets who spent four seasons in the major leagues with New York and the Philadelphia Phillies, died Monday. He was 80.
Coleman, who had been suffering from cancer, died at the Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg, South Carolina, according to a niece, Linda Hibbler. Coleman had lived for more than two decades in nearby Bamberg.
Hibbler said he was born on Aug. 18, 1935. Baseball-reference.com listed his date of birth as Aug 25, 1937.
Coleman said he was given his nickname was when he was young.
“When I was 8 or 9, I ran around a lot,” he told The New York Times in 2012. “My friends called me Choo-Choo because I was fast.”
My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
Coleman’s best year was with the Mets in 1962, his second year in the league. He played in about 1/3 of the games and hit .250/.303/.441, pretty good for a back-up catcher. He might have been built for the Polo Grounds, as he slugged .582 in 29 home games, .288 in 26 road games. He slugged .281 in his short career.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2aP4rfy
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