Donald Ralph Wert, nicknamed “Coyote”, was born July 29, 1938 in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
A fine glove man, Wert led American League third basemen in fielding in 1965. Playing in all of the Tigers’ 162 games that year, he led them with 159 hits.
Welcome to Baseball History Podcast, featuring baseball biographies. I’m your announcer Bob Wright.
This is game 27 of the 2011 baseball season.
In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the 2 week of July.
July 9
1970 At Tiger Stadium against his former team, pinch hitter Dalton Jones slugs an upper deck grand slam ‘single’ against the Red Sox. Due to passing teammate Don Wert between first and second base he is called out resulting in the right-field round tripper being ruled a three-RBI single.
Donald Ralph Wert, nicknamed “Coyote”, was born July 29, 1938 in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.
A fine glove man, Wert led American League third basemen in fielding in 1965. Playing in all of the Tigers’ 162 games that year, he led them with 159 hits.
Wert attended Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where he played baseball for the “Diplomats.” He was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1958 and played several years in the minor leagues.
In 1963, the Tigers brought in John “Bubba” Phillips from the Cleveland Indians to be their regular third baseman. After Wert couldn’t dislodge Phillips in spring training, he went back to the minors, with Syracuse of the International League.
Don Wert, was called up to the Tigers in May and made his major league debut on Saturday, May 11, at Tiger Stadium in a game against the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers lost, 6–5 in ten innings to the Indians. Wert got into the game as a pinch-runner and scored in a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth that tied the score. In the tenth inning, after Cleveland scored twice in the top half, Wert hit an Run Batted In double in his first major league at-bat to bring the score to 6–5, as close as the Tigers got that day.
He went on to play in 78 games for the Tigers that year. In 251 at-bats he had 65 hits, 7 home runs, and 25 Runs Batted In. He played 47 games at third base, but also played second base and shortstop. That year, the Tigers got off to a slow start that eventually cost manager Bob Scheffing his job. He was replaced by former Brooklyn manager Charlie Dressen but the Tigers tied with Cleveland for fifth place, 25.5 games behind the Yankees.
The tables turned during spring training in 1964; Wert won the regular third base position, and Phillips was relegated to the backup role. It was Dressen’s first full season as manager and he felt Wert’s potential for improvement would be better served by his being in the lineup on a regular basis. It was during this spring training that Wert acquired his nickname of “Coyote.” Manager Dressen reportedly requested Wert to become more vocal at third base and Don responded with high-pitched chatter that sounded like the yip-yip-yipping of a coyote. Don Demeter is reported to have saddled him with the moniker.
Wert played in 148 games for the Tigers in 1964, with a .257 batting average, 9 home runs, and 55 Runs Batted In.
The team again started the year slowly, but did better toward the end. They finished in fourth place, 14 games behind the pennant-winning Yankees. Wert’s solid everyday play put him in the mix for Dressen’s plans for 1965 and beyond. Dressen was primarily given credit for giving Wert a chance where others had not. The Tigers’ surge during the latter part of the season coincided with Wert’s bat warming up. He crushed a three-run homer on September 9 off the Yankees’ Whitey Ford into the upper deck at Tiger Stadium, then two nights later he went 4-for-4 with a triple and scored the winning run in the ninth to defeat the Senators. In a span of 19 games, Wert smashed the baseball at a .370 pace and raised his batting average 17 points.
With Phillips released by the Tigers in February 1965, Wert knew that third base was all his. Dressen spoke highly of Wert, “There isn’t a better fielding third baseman in the American League. The little guy makes all the plays that Brooks Robinson and Clete Boyer make.” It was believed that Wert’s solidifying the third base position led to the overall defensive improvement of the Tigers. He finished 1965 with just 12 errors and although he did make spectacular plays, it was his steadiness on a daily basis that led observers to realize just how valuable he was.
Wert became a great friend of the developing Tigers’ pitching staff, especially left-handers like Mickey Lolich and Hank Aguirre. Typically the third baseman gets a lot of action at the “hot corner” with lefties on the mound and Wert did not disappoint because he could handle anything hit his direction.
Statistically, Wert had the best season of his blossoming career in 1965. He played in all 162 games for the Tigers and had 609 at-bats. He batted .261 with 12 home runs and 54 Runs Batted In. Defensively, he contributed 163 putouts and 331 assists, and was involved in 33 double plays. Also, his name began to appear in the American League Top Ten for certain categories. He was first in games played, third in at-bats, fourth in times on base, sixth in walks and singles, and ninth in runs and hits.
As a team, the Tigers improved to 89–73 and finished in fourth place, 13 games behind the Twins. They accomplished this despite having to deal with Charlie Dressen’s having a heart attack during the season and being temporarily replaced by coach Bob Swift. Dressen had been the one to show confidence in Wert, especially at the start of 1965, and Don had commented: “When Dressen stayed with me, I felt, finally, that I had it made. This is what I needed and I think it made a major leaguer out of me once and for all.”
He was selected Tiger of the Year by the Detroit chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Watson Spoelstra of the Detroit News described Wert by using a quote from Branch Rickey: “Don’t ever put it down that the quiet fellow is not smart or resourceful. Vocalization is not the test of courage.” Spoelstra said this described Wert perfectly. Spoelstra went on to say, “He is smart and resourceful without talking about it.” Fans had also taken notice when they proclaimed Don as King Tiger through the fan club voting process for that season.
In January 1966, Wert accepted the Tiger of the Year Award from Detroit baseball writers and spoke with promise for the coming season. He declared, “We can go all the way this year, I really think so.” In what turned out to be an ironic counterpoint, Dressen agreed: “We’ve added enough to a young club to make us a contender. We’ll be all right if the Good Lord keeps them all healthy.”
But the 1966 season was one of adversity for the Tigers. They had three managers during the campaign with two of them eventually dying. In May, Dressen suffered his second heart attack in two years and died in August. After Dressen was hospitalized, coach Bob Swift took over on an interim basis. He led the Tigers on a 19–5 surge in June to close within 1.5 games of first place. But by mid-July, manager Swift was hospitalized with lung cancer and eventually died in October. That left the reins to coach Frank Skaff, and under him, the team finished 88–74 in third place, ten games behind the winning Orioles.
Skaff had been the third-base coach before taking over the team and had a good relationship with Wert, having coached him in the minors. Of Wert, Skaff said, “He has all the equipment to be one of the top third baseman in baseball. The esteem of his mates and his election as Tiger of the Year ought to provide the spark to stardom.” Wert played in 150 games in 1966 and had 559 at-bats. He recorded a 268 average, scored 56 runs and hit 11 home runs. In the field, he had 128 putouts and 253 assists and committed only 11 errors.
In 1967, the Tigers, under new manager Mayo Smith, finished tied for second with the Twins, one game behind the Boston Red Sox. Wert started the season slowly, hitting only .200 after the first 35 games. Along with batting coach Wally Moses, he determined that he was restricting his swing by leaning too much at the plate. With a changed stance, Wert hit nearly .300 over the next 35 games. The new manager thought highly of Wert’s capabilities as a hitter by using him in the leadoff, second, and third spots in the lineup on occasion.
Wert ended up playing in 142 games with a batting average of .257, 6 home runs, and 40 Runs Batted In. He recorded 112 putouts with only 9 errors.
Wert had some unforeseen competition when Eddie Mathews was picked up from Houston for an added boost during the pennant drive. Mathews ended up playing 21 games at third base for the Tigers. General Manager Jim Campbell and Mayo Smith were concerned by Wert’s added weight, which may have contributed to a couple of leg injuries during the season, prompting the acquisition of Mathews. Coming into the season, Wert’s weight had increased to about 180 pounds after he quit smoking because of a respiratory infection the season before. But Wert changed his eating habits and had his weight down to the 168 pounds that manager Smith has requested for him before the off-season.
Wert had a new streamlined look as he prepared for 1968. His third-base competition, Mathews, was moved to compete with Norm Cash at first base. As an example of Wert’s rediscovered quickness, during a Grapefruit League game against Oakland, he dove to stop a smash off the bat of speedster Bert Campaneris and jumped to his feet to make the throw for the out. Mayo Smith said, “Wert didn’t have that kind of quickness last year. I don’t think he could have gotten up to make the throw.” Don was excited about the prospects of the new season, saying, “We’ve got a heck of a chance to win the pennant. We know we need a good start. I can help by doing something with the bat in the early months.” Wert added, “A strong first half would help my All-Star chances. I’d like to make the All-Star Game some year. The guys in our league are honest about voting for players who do well early in the year.” Up to this point, Wert’s All-Star aspirations had been usually dimmed because he played the same position as Brooks Robinson. They were considered to be equals with the glove, but Robinson was seen as being the better batsman.
The Tigers got off to a good start and by May 10 had assumed the lead for keeps. But Wert’s batting average plunged to a career-low .200. He played in 150 games with 536 at-bats and hit 12 home runs with 37 Runs Batted In. However, he still maintained a high fielding average. His poor offensive figures may have been a result of his being hit in the head by a pitch on June 24. The pitch shattered his batting helmet. He was carried off the field on a stretcher and spent two nights in the hospital. He was out of the lineup for a week and when he returned, he had added a protective earflap to his batting helmet. He said of the incident, “I had no bad headaches but I had a numb feeling above my left ear for several days.” Over the rest of the season, Wert batted a paltry .179. Despite the injury, he attained one of his career goals by being selected to join teammates Bill Freehan, Denny McLain, and Willie Horton and manager Mayo Smith as members of the American League All-Star team.
The Detroit Tigers’ magic number for clinching the American League pennant had been whittled to one as they entered play on September 17, 1968. A Tigers win or a Baltimore Orioles loss would give Detroit a pennant the city had been waiting 23 years to enjoy. Heading into the ninth inning, the Tigers led the Yankees 1–0 behind Joe Sparma’s brilliant pitching performance. However, the Yankees tied it with a run in the top of the ninth and that left it up to the Tigers to stage a rally in their half of the inning in order to secure the World Series berth. The first two hitters were retired, but then Al Kaline drew a walk. Bill Freehan contributed a single to left field, which caused the Yankees to change pitchers. Lindy McDaniel was brought in to face Gates Brown, who drew a base on balls from the Yankees reliever. As Don Wert walked to the plate, 46,000 fans were on their feet in Tiger Stadium waiting for what they hoped would be the celebration that they had been anticipating. Don Wert, the Tigers’ steady third baseman, swung and sent the ball safely into right field for a single that scored Kaline and started pandemonium with the fans rushing the field. Don Wert was the hero of the day for the pennant-winning Tigers.
Going into the World Series, the Tigers were the decided underdog against the defending champion St. Louis Cardinals. In Game 1, on October 2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, the Cardinals won easily, 4–0, defeating the Tigers’ 31 game winner Denny McLain. Bob Gibson
struck out 17 Tigers and gave up only five hits. Wert had one of them, a single, going 1-for-2.
The next day in St. Louis, Detroit rebounded and walloped the Cardinals, 8–1 behind the six-hit, nine-strikeout performance of Mickey Lolich. Wert went 0-for-2, but contributed a Run Batted In.
The series resumed in Detroit and the Cardinals pounded out 13 hits in defeating Detroit, 7–3. Wert went 0-for-4. In what seemed a pivotal Game 4, the Redbirds looked like champions in hammering out 13 hits in a 10–1 triumph. Gibson was once again magnificent, striking out 10 and giving up only five hits. Eddie Mathews assumed Wert’s third-base duties in this game and went 1-for-2 against Gibson.
Down three games to one, the Tigers came out clawing in Game 5 and eked out a close win, 5–3, a complete-game victory for Lolich. Wert was 0-for-3. The Series shifted back to St. Louis for Game 6 and it proved to be all Tigers as they won going away, 13–1. McLain got the victory. Wert went 0-for-3 but scored a run after getting hit by a pitch.
At this point, Wert was a disappointing 1-for-14 going into the deciding game, in which Lolich faced Gibson, both looking for their third win of the Series. The Tigers’ Jim Northrup hit a triple in the seventh inning that broke open a scoreless game. Curt Flood, the Cardinals’ center fielder, appeared to have a bead on it, but slipped, and the ball fell safely. Wert contributed by driving in pinch-runner Dick Tracewski with a single in the ninth to add an insurance run for the Tigers . With a 4–0 lead, Lolich allowed only a Mike Shannon home run in the ninth inning. Wert played in six games and went 2-for-17 with six walks. Both of his hits were off Gibson. He had two Runs Batted In. Although his batting average was only .118, his on-base percentage was .375.
During the off-season, there was concern over Wert’s lack of hitting late in the 1968 campaign. Coming up on the age of 31, it wasn’t a certainty he would be the regular third baseman in 1969. Wally Moses, the hitting coach, intended to concentrate on Wert in spring training. But after having a good spring training, Wert had problems at the plate once the season started. The Tigers, thinking something might be wrong physically, ordered some medical tests, which found no problems. Wert hit nearly .300 for a midseason stretch, but wound up hitting only .225, with 423 at-bats in 132 games. But he did hit a career-high 14 home runs. His fielding didn’t suffer, but the frustration at the plate led Wert to commit himself and his family to staying in Detroit in the off-season instead of going back to New Providence. The Tigers finished the 1969 season in second place in the American League East Division in 1969 with a respectable record of 90–72, but still 19 games behind the Orioles.
Wert had a battle on his hands to keep his position in 1970. As the season started, he said confidently, “The job’s mine until somebody takes it away,” and his competitive fire pleased manager Mayo Smith. Wert’s chief competition was from veteran Dalton Jones, acquired from the Red Sox in the off-season, and promising rookie Elliott Maddox, who had been a phenom at the University of Michigan. As the season progressed, Wert’s playing time shrank to 117 games, with Maddox playing in 41 games and Jones in 18 at third base. Wert hit .218, with just 79 hits in 363 at-bats. His home run total dropped to six with only 33 Runs Batted In. His 14 errors gave him a fielding percentage of .953 at third base, the lowest of his career.
The team struggled to a fourth-place finish out of six teams in their division. The poor showing cost Mayo Smith his job at the end of the season; he was replaced by Billy Martin. On October 9, 1970, Wert was involved in an eight-player trade between the Tigers and Senators.
The trade spurred Wert on as the 1971 season approached. He said he was “rather excited to play for Mr. [Ted] Williams,” the Nats’ manager. But things did not go as expected. On March 21, in spring training, Wert was injured in a collision at second base and was hospitalized with a back injury. He began the season on the disabled list. When he returned, he fared poorly. He got into 20 games, only 15 in the field. He had only two hits in 40 at-bats for an .050 average with one double and two Runs Batted In. His final appearance with the Senators was on June 11. The Senators released him on June 24. He was 32, and his career in professional baseball was over.
Don returned to his native eastern Pennsylvania.
In 1976, he took a part-time coaching position with the Franklin and Marshall College. His mentoring skills were acknowledged in an article in Franklin and Marshall Magazine, in which Donnie Marsh, a 1979 graduate, said, “My coaches—Glenn Robinson and Bill Fry in basketball, and Ken Twiford and Don Wert in baseball—helped a guy who had never been away from home to grow up and become a leader in a very tough, very competitive environment.”
Over nine seasons in the major leagues, Wert played in 1,100 games and had a .242 batting average with 366 Runs Batted In and 77 home runs. Wert played 1,043 of his games at third base and collected 914 putouts, 1,987 assists, and 173 double plays.
A large part of this biography comes from the SABR Baseball Biography Project written by John Milner. It can be found online at http://bioproj.sabr.org
Leave a comment at the BHP web site at baseballhistorypodcast.com or write a review on iTunes, search for Baseball History Podcast.
You can email me at baseballhistory@gmail.com.
Well, that’s it for today’s Baseball History Podcast. I’ll see you later at the ballpark.
