Though Wertz had a successful 17-year major league career, it is for one long out
with Cleveland that he is best remembered: Wertz hit the drive in the 1954 World
Series opener that
Willie Mays, racing to the deepest part of the Polo Grounds, caught
over his shoulder.
A powerful lefthanded hitter, Wertz drove in 133 runs for Detroit
in 1949 and 123 in 1950. He once smashed seven home runs over a five-game span. Capable
at two positions, he moved from the outfield to first base when he joined
the Indians
in 1954. Though he missed part of the 1955 season when stricken with a non-paralytic
form of polio, he bounced back in 1956, hit four doubles to tie a ML record in a
September 26 game, and finished the season with a career-high 32 HR. A 1958 leg injury
caused him to miss most of the season, and by 1961 he was back with Detroit. He led
the AL with 17 pinch hits in 1962.
(JK)
Vic Wertz
