1963 was the Year of the Rookie, offering standout players from hitting masters to ace pitchers.
Pete Rose débuted in ’63 with the Cincinnati Reds. Nicknamed “Charlie Hustle” for his aggressive style of play, Rose compiled a record indicating greatness to come: 170 hits, 101 runs, 25 doubles, nine triples. His batting average was a respectable .273. Not a power hitter, Rose notched six home runs in his rookie season. For his efforts, Rose won the National League Rookie of the Year Award.
Rusty Staub also made his first major league appearance in 1963. With the Houston Colt .45s, progenitor of the Astros, Staub ended the season with a .224 average. But the outfielder’s affable personality, not his statistics, made him a fan favorite wherever he went in his 23-year career, especially the New York Mets. Stab gave the Keynote Speech at the New York Mets 50th Anniversary Conference, sponsored by Hofstra University in 2012. Staub’s career ended in 1985. It included stints with the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, and the Montreal Expos.
Jimmy Wynn, a Staub teammate in Houston, also made his début in 1963, coming from the Double-A San Antonio Bullets in the Texas League. Wynn also played for the Houston Astros, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Milwaukee Brewers, and the Atlanta Braves. In 2005, the Astros retired his #24.
Joe Morgan, a key component of the Big Red Machine in the 1970s, also enjoyed his first major league season in 1963. A fixture in Houston, Morgan moved to Cincinnati in 1972. When the Reds won the World Series in 1975 and 1976, Morgan won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award for both seasons. Morgan’s career also boasted tenures with the Houston Astros, the San Francisco Giants, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Oakland Athletics.
Ron Hunt broke into the major leagues with the fledgling New York Mets in 1963. He was one of the bright points as the Mets struggled to erase the memories of a 40-120 record in the team’s genesis season of 1962. Hunt smack 145 hits, including 28 doubles, for a .272 batting average. He was the runner-up to Pete Rose for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, in addition to being the first player from the Mets to be on a National League All-Star team. Gary Peters, a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox, won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1963 with a 19-8 record and a 2.33 Earned Run Average.
A version of this article appeared on www.thesportspost.com on October 15, 2013.