In his 11-year career, Tuttle had a .259 batting average, with 149 doubles, 47 triples, 67 home runs and 443 RBIs. He had 1,105 career hits. His best offensive seasons came in 1955 and 1959. In the former year, he reached career highs in runs scored (102), home runs (14) and runs batted in (78). In the latter season, Tuttle batted .300 for the only time in his MLB tenure, collecting 139 hits in 126 games. Throughout his career, he was considered one of the most reliable defensive players in the game, leading all American League outfielders in putouts in 1955 and 1960 and assists in 1959 and 1960. He also led center fielders in assists in 1955, 1956 and 1958.
Tuttle wore the number 13 because he thought it brought him good luck. He was also superstitious about his glove, always having a teammate hold it for him while his team was batting during an inning. He would have the same teammate hold it until he had a bad game; then, he would give a different teammate the job.[1]
Advocacyedit
On practically every baseball card issued for Tuttle, as well as in a number of photographs, a large bulge of chewing tobacco is evident in his cheek.[2] Tuttle died in Anoka, Minnesota, at the age of 69, and oral cancer was in all likelihood the cause of his death.[3] Tuttle was diagnosed with oral cancer five years before his death, and used the last half-decade of his life to raise awareness as an active volunteer for the National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP).[4] of Oral Health America.[5]
Bill Tuttle signature baseball glove, circa 1964
During the last years of his life, Tuttle was facially disfigured on his right cheek due to extensive surgery for oral cancer. He traveled widely as a public speaker, warning major league players of the dangers of chewing tobacco.[2] "It's going to be pretty hard to tell someone making $4 million a year not to chew", he admitted. "So what we're trying to do is get it off TV."[6]
After being diagnosed with oral cancer, he was interviewed for a Reader's Digest article entitled "My War With A Smoke Free Killer" in which he detailed how he was introduced to chewing tobacco by a teammate while sidelined with an injury and subsequently became addicted. The article showed pictures of a disfigured Tuttle after his many facial surgeries.[7]
Referencesedit
^Garver, Ned; Bozman, Bill; Joyner, Ronnie (2003). Touching All the Bases. Pepperpot Productions, Inc. p. 92. ASIN B00B6JBVV6.
^ ab"Profile: A painful portrait; Former player preaches evils of cancer-causing chewing tobacco". USA Today. June 6, 1996.
bill, tuttle, american, swimmer, water, polo, player, swimmer, other, uses, william, tuttle, william, robert, tuttle, july, 1929, july, 1998, american, professional, baseball, player, primarily, center, fielder, appeared, games, played, major, league, baseball. For the American swimmer and water polo player see Bill Tuttle swimmer For other uses see William Tuttle William Robert Tuttle July 4 1929 July 27 1998 was an American professional baseball player Primarily a center fielder he appeared in 1 270 games played in Major League Baseball over 11 seasons for the Detroit Tigers 1952 1954 1957 Kansas City Athletics 1958 1961 and Minnesota Twins 1961 1963 Tuttle also played 85 games as a third baseman during 1961 for the Twins they were the only MLB games he ever played at the hot corner He threw and batted right handed stood 6 feet 1 8 m tall and weighed 190 pounds 86 kg Bill TuttleTuttle in 1954Center fielderBorn 1929 07 04 July 4 1929Cramer Illinois U S Died July 27 1998 1998 07 27 aged 69 Anoka Minnesota U S Batted RightThrew RightMLB debutSeptember 10 1952 for the Detroit TigersLast MLB appearanceMay 11 1963 for the Minnesota TwinsMLB statisticsBatting average 259Home runs67Runs batted in443TeamsDetroit Tigers 1952 1954 1957 Kansas City Athletics 1958 1961 Minnesota Twins 1961 1963 Contents 1 Baseball career 2 Advocacy 3 References 4 External linksBaseball career editTuttle was born and grew up in Cramer a small farming community located south of Elmwood Illinois and three miles southeast of Farmington where his parents operated a general store After attending Bradley University in Peoria Illinois he played in his first major league game on September 10 1952 In his 11 year career Tuttle had a 259 batting average with 149 doubles 47 triples 67 home runs and 443 RBIs He had 1 105 career hits His best offensive seasons came in 1955 and 1959 In the former year he reached career highs in runs scored 102 home runs 14 and runs batted in 78 In the latter season Tuttle batted 300 for the only time in his MLB tenure collecting 139 hits in 126 games Throughout his career he was considered one of the most reliable defensive players in the game leading all American League outfielders in putouts in 1955 and 1960 and assists in 1959 and 1960 He also led center fielders in assists in 1955 1956 and 1958 Tuttle wore the number 13 because he thought it brought him good luck He was also superstitious about his glove always having a teammate hold it for him while his team was batting during an inning He would have the same teammate hold it until he had a bad game then he would give a different teammate the job 1 Advocacy editOn practically every baseball card issued for Tuttle as well as in a number of photographs a large bulge of chewing tobacco is evident in his cheek 2 Tuttle died in Anoka Minnesota at the age of 69 and oral cancer was in all likelihood the cause of his death 3 Tuttle was diagnosed with oral cancer five years before his death and used the last half decade of his life to raise awareness as an active volunteer for the National Spit Tobacco Education Program NSTEP 4 of Oral Health America 5 nbsp Bill Tuttle signature baseball glove circa 1964 During the last years of his life Tuttle was facially disfigured on his right cheek due to extensive surgery for oral cancer He traveled widely as a public speaker warning major league players of the dangers of chewing tobacco 2 It s going to be pretty hard to tell someone making 4 million a year not to chew he admitted So what we re trying to do is get it off TV 6 After being diagnosed with oral cancer he was interviewed for a Reader s Digest article entitled My War With A Smoke Free Killer in which he detailed how he was introduced to chewing tobacco by a teammate while sidelined with an injury and subsequently became addicted The article showed pictures of a disfigured Tuttle after his many facial surgeries 7 References edit Garver Ned Bozman Bill Joyner Ronnie 2003 Touching All the Bases Pepperpot Productions Inc p 92 ASIN B00B6JBVV6 a b Profile A painful portrait Former player preaches evils of cancer causing chewing tobacco USA Today June 6 1996 Imholte J 1998 Anti spit tobacco crusader Bill Tuttle Tobacco Control 7 4 443 444 doi 10 1136 tc 7 4 443 PMC 1751458 National Spit Tobacco Education Program Archived from the original on 2007 05 24 Retrieved 2007 05 29 Home oralhealthamerica org Big League Anti Tobacco Advocate Dies 07 30 98 Archived from the original on 2007 09 27 Retrieved 2007 05 29 Richard Goldstein July 30 1998 Bill Tuttle 69 an Opponent Of Use of Chewing Tobacco The New York Times External links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Fangraphs Baseball Almanac Baseball Library Bill Tuttle at SABR Baseball BioProject Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Bill Tuttle amp oldid 1181411474, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
