Rocky Colavito, a revered power hitter who was imprudently traded in the prime of his career, died Tuesday. He was 91.
An All-Star in six seasons, Colavito provided the muscle for the Cleveland Indians and several other American League teams in the late ’50s and ’60s, an era in which only a handful of Hall of Famers outslugged him.
In his 11 seasons as an everyday big-leaguer, from 1956-66, Colavito tallied 358 homers. The only players with more in that span — Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle and Frank Robinson — were all shoo-ins for Cooperstown. Colavito hit at least 20 homers in each season during that stretch.
Colavito ranks 81st on the all-time home run leaderboard, with 374 homers, ahead of Gil Hodges and just behind Carlton Fisk, Jeff Kent, Norm Cash and Mike Trout. He’s one of 16 players since the start of the 20th century to hit four homers in a game.
He led the league with 42 homers in 1959, when he earned his first All-Star Game nod and his second consecutive top-four finish in the AL MVP balloting. He’s one of four players in Cleveland history with multiple 40-homer seasons, along with Albert Belle, Jim Thome and Manny Ramírez. Colavito was the first to reach that milestone in back-to-back seasons (1958-59). He ranks 12th in team history with 190 homers and ranks tied for 12th in slugging percentage and OPS.
He was also known for possessing a cannon of a right arm, which accounted for 123 assists from the corner outfield (and for two scoreless appearances, a decade apart, that covered 5 2/3 innings on the mound).
The Cleveland Guardians are deeply saddened by the loss of Rocky Colavito. Beloved by fans, Rocky spent eight of his fourteen MLB seasons with Cleveland. He represented the club in three All-Star Games while finishing top-5 in MVP voting on three occasions.
Our thoughts go out… pic.twitter.com/9oB22dwb7m— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) December 11, 2024
After that decorated 1959 season, Cleveland’s restless general manager, Frank “Trader” Lane, lived up to his moniker. Two days before the 1960 season opener, Lane dealt the cornerstone of his club’s lineup to the Detroit Tigers for Harvey Kuenn in a swap of the reigning home run champion for the reigning batting title winner.
The trade sparked outrage in Cleveland, where the Indians had finished second in the AL standings in 1959 thanks, in large part, to their fan-favorite slugger, who helped the team rank first in homers and slugging and second in OPS. They didn’t finish in the top two in the standings again for 35 years. Lane, of course, traded Kuenn after one season.
Colavito spent the bulk of his prime in Detroit, and then a year in Kansas City, racking up All-Star nods along the way. With the Tigers in 196`, he totaled 45 homers, 140 RBIs and 113 walks.
Colavito returned to Cleveland in 1965 in a three-team deal (which cost the Indians a young, unproven pitcher named Tommy John, who ultimately won 288 games, as well as Tommie Agee, who won the AL Rookie of the Year award the next year). He made two more All-Star teams with Cleveland and then, in 1967-68, in the twilight of his career, Colavito bounced to the Chicago White Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees.
He ended his career with 1,730 hits, 1,159 RBIs and an .848 OPS across parts of 14 seasons. He also racked up more walks than strikeouts. He finished in the top six in the AL in homers on nine occasions. After he retired from playing, he broadcasted and coached with the Indians and Royals. Cleveland inducted him into the franchise Hall of Fame in 2006.
(Top photo: David Durochik / Associated Press)
