Bobby Richardson

Richardson debuted on August 5, 1955. He racked up 1,432 hits in his career, with a lifetime batting average of .266, 34 home runs and 390 RBIs. He won a Gold Glove at second base each year from 1961-65 (not until Robinson Canó in 2010 would another Yankee second baseman win a Gold Glove) while forming a top double play combination with shortstop and roommate Tony Kubek. With the light-hitting but superb-fielding Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer, Richardson and Kubek gave the Yankees arguably the best defensive infield in baseball. His most famous defensive play came at the end of the 1962 World Series, mentioned below, when Richardson made a clutch catch off a Willie McCovey line drive that prevented Willie Mays and Matty Alou from scoring the runs that would have beaten the Yankees and given the Series to the San Francisco Giants.\n', ' Richardson\'s 12-year career statistics also include 643 runs scored and 73 stolen bases. He also had 196 doubles and 37 triples.\n', ' His best year was probably 1962, when he batted .302 with 8 home runs and 59 runs batted in. His 209 hits led the American League, and he stole 11 bases in 161 games. He made the AL All-Star team, won his second Gold Glove, and came in second in the AL MVP voting, just behind teammate Mickey Mantle. \n', 'One of the best parts of Richardson\'s game was his ability to make contact. He struck out just 243 times in his entire 12-year career, less than 5% of his plate appearances. He was among the top three players in the league in at bats per strikeout eight times during his career, and led the league three times, 1964–1966. He twice led the league in sacrifice bunts.\n', '