BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
Jump to:
Recent jumps
» John Clarkson
» whitey ford
» gary carter
» 1897
» 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers

What's New?
Current Totals
Free Newsletter

Report An Error
Fixed Bugs

Browser Button
Jump from anywhere!
Link Your Site

Get Published!
Reader Submissions

Team Pages
All Teams
Greatest Teams

The Ballplayers
Historical Matchups
Negro Leaguers
Hall of Famers
MVPs

Bookshelf
New Excerpts
Photo Collections

The Chronology
Flashbacks
Baseball Eras
Today in BB History
Anyday in BB History
Rules: 1845-1899
Rules: 1900-present

FAQ
Authors

BaseballLibrary.com
Copyright © 2002
by The Idea Logical
Company, Inc.

All rights reserved.

Ted Simmons
Nickname(s): Simba
Born: 1949

C-DH-1B 1968-88 Cardinals, Brewers, Braves
  • All-Star in 1972-74, 77-79, 81, 83

GamesAverageHRRBI
Career 2456.2852481389
League CS 5.16701
World Series 7.17423

Books and articles about Ted Simmons

RELATED LINKS
Submissions
» If Maz, Why Not Simmons? by Jeff Covinsky
» All-Star Catchers by Chuck Rosciam
» Iron Men Catchers: Catching the Majority of a Team's Games by Chuck Rosciam
» Ignorance is Not Bliss: Why Ted Simmons Belongs in Cooperstown by Jeff Mordock

Ask The Experts
» What was the longest game ever?
» Who are the top ten switch-hitters in terms of career home runs?

Corrections
» Bug #178

Around the Web
» Ted Simmons from baseball-reference.com
» Urban Shocker from thediamondangle.com

Jump directly to Library content from any website!
Tagged Simba for his long locks, he often played hurt and always played hard. Only average defensively, Simmons wreaked havoc on pitchers. Seven times he batted above .300, six times reached 20 HR, and eight times exceeded 90 RBI. He switch-hit home runs in a game three times and established the NL career record for home runs by a switch-hitter (182). Although not a threat to steal, Simmons also had enough speed to amass 483 career doubles.

Simmons had just turned 19 when he played his first games for the Cardinals. He was groomed to succeed the extremely popular and talented Tim McCarver. After annihilating minor league pitching with power and average for three seasons, Simmons became the regular St. Louis catcher for eleven years. He went to the Brewers for 1981 after feuding with manager Whitey Herzog. Simmons helped the Brewers win the second-half AL East title in the strike-split season and hit a crucial two-run homer in Game Three of the division playoff as the Brewers staved off elimination. The following year Milwaukee went all the way to the World Series. As usual, Simmons hit for a poor average in the postseason, but he hit home runs in the first two games of the WS against his old team. His greatest clutch performance may have come in 1983, when he drove in 108 runs with only 13 HR. He closed out his career in 1986-88 as a member of the Braves' utility men's self-dubbed Bomb Squad, playing first base, catcher, and third base, and serving as a valuable pinch hitter. In October 1988, Simmons was named director of player development for St. Louis by GM Dal Maxvill, a former teammate. (FO)


Contribute your recollections of Ted Simmons by clicking here.
FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
» June 7, 1967: The last-place Yankees have the first pick in the free-agent draft and use it to take Ron Blomberg. With the next pick, the Cubs tap SS Terry Hughes, who will have just 86 ML at bats. All 20 first-round picks are high school players, and only 11 will eventually reach the major leagues, including John Mayberry (#6, Astros), Jon Matlack (Mets), Wayne Simpson (#8, Reds), Ted Simmons (#10, Cards), and Bobby Grich (#20, Orioles). The O's take Don Baylor with their 2nd pick, then in the secondary phase, select P Mike Adamson. Adamson will leap directly to the O's, debuting July 1, the first player in draft history to bypass the minors. Other selections today include Dusty Baker (26th round, Braves), Matlack (1st round, Mets), Steve Yeager (3rd round, Dodgers) and Richie Zisk (3rd round, Pirates), The Phils strike out as none of their picks will reach the majors.

» August 9, 1972: The Cardinals Ted Simmons finally signs his 1972 contract, although he had been playing all season. He is believed to be the first ML player to play without a contract.

» May 24, 1974: With the game scoreless in the 9th, the Cards put runners on 1B and 3B with one out. Tim McCarver grounds to Cubs 1B Billy Williams who fires home to C Tom Lundstedt to snag Ted Simmons in a rundown. But as soon as Lundstedt throws to 3B Matt Alexander, Simmons races home to an uncovered plate. Cards win, 1–0.

» April 17, 1975: During a 14–7 loss to the Mets, the Cardinals Ted Simmons homers from both sides of the plate, while teammate 2B Ted Sizemore ties a major-league record with three errors in the 6th inning.

» July 21, 1975: Ted Simmons has a 4th-inning home run erased because his grooved bat is illegal. The Cardinals play the game under protest but beat the Padres anyway as rookie Eric Rasmussen wins his ML debut, 4–0.

» June 11, 1979: The Cardinals Ted Simmons homers from both sides of the plate in a 9–7 win over the Dodgers.

» June 24, 1979: Redbirds Ted Simmons suffers a broken bone in his left wrist during a 6–2 loss to the Mets. He will miss 28 games.

» December 12, 1980: The Cardinals make their 3rd major trade, sending the recently acquired Rollie Fingers, C Ted Simmons, and P Pete Vuckovich to the Brewers in exchange for P Lary Sorensen, OF Sixto Lezcano, and minor leaguers OF David Green and P Dave LaPoint. Fingers and Vuckovich will win the American League Cy Young Award for the Brewers in 1981 and 1982, respectively.

» October 9, 1981: The Brewers, also facing elimination, beat the Yanks in the 8th inning 5–3 on Paul Molitor's solo home run. Ted Simmons clubs a 2-run homer and Randy Lerch pitches six solid innings for the win.

» May 2, 1982: The Brewers down the Twins 11–4 on two 3-run shots by Ted Simmons, one from each side of the plate.

» June 5, 1982: The Brew Crew connect for three consecutive homers -- by Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, and Ben Oglivie -- in the 7th as Milwaukee pounds Oakland, 11–3. Ted Simmons and Gorman Thomas also homer to back Bob McClure's 3rd victory. It is the 2nd time in a week that Milwaukee sluggers have hit three consecutive homers.

» August 27, 1982: Rickey Henderson steals four bases in Oakland's 5–4 loss to Milwaukee to raise his total to 122 and break Lou Brock's single-season record of 118. The record-breaking 119th steal comes off pitcher Doc Medich and catcher Ted Simmons on a 3rd-inning pitchout. Milwaukee is now six 1/2 games ahead in the American League East.

» October 3, 1982: Robin Yount smacks two home runs and a triple as Milwaukee whips Baltimore 10–2 to win the American League East championship. Don Sutton, 4-1 since being acquired by the Brewers in late August, is the winning pitcher. Milwaukee had lost three in a row to Baltimore before today's pivotal victory. Despite Yount's stellar game, he loses the AL batting title .332 to .331 to Kansas City's Willie Wilson, who sat out the Royals' final game. Yount ends the year with 114 RBI and joins teammates Cecil Cooper (121), Gorman Thomas (112), and Ben Oglivie (102) as only the 2nd foursome since 1940 to top the 100 RBI mark: The 1977 Bosox of Fisk, Rice, Hobson and Lynn were the others. Ted Simmons is just three short of 100 RBI or the Brewers would have joined the 1936 Yankees as the only squad with five 100-RBI hitters.

» March 5, 1986: The Braves trade C Rick Cerone and a pair of minor leaguers to the Brewers for C Ted Simmons.

» February 5, 1992: The Pirates name former catcher Ted Simmons as general manager.

» June 19, 1993: Pittsburgh GM and former major league catcher Ted Simmons resigns after suffering a heart attack on June 8. He is succeeded by Cam Bonifay.

» September 4, 2000: In the Red Sox win over the Mariners, 5-1, Carl Everett of the Sox became only the sixth major-league switch-hitter to drive in 100 runs in both leagues when he knocked in his 100th ribbie of the year. Everett drove in 108 runs for the Houston Astros last season. The other five 100-100 switches were Ted Simmons, Ken Singleton, Eddie Murray, Bobby Bonilla and J.T. Snow. Pedro Martinez is the big star, striking out 11 in eight innings to go 7–0 over the M's. Jamie Moyer loses his 6th in a row, though not his fault as a routine fly ball by Jose Offerman to Mike Cameron becomes a 3-run triple when the center fielder stumbles. Prior to the game, Boston retires Hall of Fame C Carlton Fisk's uniform No. 27.