The wiry, durable Brinkman was a poor hitter until manager
Ted Williams changed his
batting style in 1969; his BA jumped nearly 80 points to .266. In 1972 with Detroit,
he won a Gold Glove while setting four single- season records for shortstops: consecutive
errorless games (72), consecutive errorless chances (331), fewest errors (7), and
best fielding percentage (.990). The older brother of ML catcher
Chuck Brinkman,
Ed was a teammate of
Pete Rose at Cincinnati's Western Hills High. He joined the
White Sox as a coach in 1983.
(JCA)