Books and articles about Al Zarilla

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Zarilla was on the Browns' only pennant winner, hitting .299 in 100 games and scoring and driving in a run as the Browns won Game Three of the World Series 6-2. After returning from 1945 military service, the right fielder won more playing time each year and made the All-Star team in 1948, when he reached career highs with a .329 batting average (fourth in the AL), 12 HR, 39 doubles, and 11 steals. The Red Sox traded Stan Spence and cash to get him in May 1949, and he had another fine season in 1950, finishing fifth in batting (.325), behind Dom DiMaggio and ahead of Ted Williams in the Red Sox' all-.300 outfield. Zarilla had career highs in slugging (.493), runs (92), and walks (76). That June 8, he tied the major league record for doubles in a game (4). He was traded to the White Sox and he declined thereafter, returning to the Browns and Red Sox before his career finished. (WOR)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » July 13, 1946: Al Zarilla of the St. Louis Browns gets two triples in the fourth inning against the A's. The Browns win 11-4 at Shibe Park. » April 22, 1947: Al Zarilla's single in the 7th inning is the only hit off Bob Feller as the Indians beat the Browns, 5–0. » April 27, 1947: The White Sox lose the first game to the Browns, 4–2. Al Zarilla snaps a tie with a 2-run homer in the 8th. Vern Stephens wins the nitecap, 4–3, by belting a three-run homer in the 8th. In the opener, the Browns have runners on 1B (Judnich) and 3B (Witte) when the Sox turn a Berardino grounder into an unusual triple play—all three runners being retired on rundowns. Witte is caught between 3B and home, Judnich between 2B and 3B, and Berardino between 1B and 2B. » May 5, 1949: The Red Sox acquire outfielder Al Zarilla from the Browns for Stan Spence, who pinch-hit today, and cash. » June 8, 1950: In the most lopsided score in history, the Boston Red Sox annihilate the St. Louis Browns at Fenway Park, 29–4. Bobby Doerr has three home runs and eight RBI; Walt Dropo, two home runs and seven RBI, and Ted Williams, two home runs and five RBI, all collecting a round tripper in the 8th inning. Pitcher Chuck Stobbs walks four times in four innings, Al Zarilla adds four doubles, including two in one inning, and a single—with no ribbies—as the Sox set a major-league record with 58 total bases. Another mark is set of most extra bases on long hits (32) in a game, and the most extra bases on long hits in consecutive games (51). The Red Sox have 28 hits, with four players collecting four hits apiece, to total a record 51 for two days against the woeful Browns. Leadoff batter Clyde Vollmer goes to the plate eight times in eight innings, the only time this has happened in history. Boston has now scored 104 runs in their last seven games and a record 49 in two straight games.