Bob Aspromonte
Robert Thomas Aspromonte is an American former professional baseball player and business entrepreneur. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball in and then from to, most prominently as a member of the newly formed Houston Colt.45s 1962 [Major League Baseball expansion|expansion team] where, he became the regular third baseman for the first seven seasons of the young franchise. As well as being the first-ever batter for Houston, he was also the last Brooklyn Dodger to appear in a major league game. He also played for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in addition to the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers.
After his athletic career, he went on to become a successful businessman in Houston, Texas. In 2019, Aspromonte was among the inaugural class of inductees to the Houston Astros Hall of Fame. In 2005 he was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and in 2011, he was elected to the American Sports Hall of Fame">Americans">American Sports Hall of Fame. He is the younger brother of former MLB player and manager Ken Aspromonte.
Playing career
Early career
Aspromonte was born in Brooklyn, New York where he graduated from Lafayette High School and made his pro debut in the Class A Southern League. In September 1956, the pennant-bound Dodgers placed him on their roster. On September 19, during a 17–2 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals at Ebbets Field, Aspromonte made his MLB debut at age 18, striking out as a pinch hitter for Sandy Amoros in the eighth inning. It was Aspromonte's lone appearance in a Brooklyn uniform: he spent the next three seasons in minor league baseball before making the 1960 [Los Angeles Dodgers season|1960 Los Angeles Dodgers roster] out of spring training. On May 5, 1960, his four hits in five at bats, including his first major league home run, led the Dodgers to a come-from-behind win over their rival, the Milwaukee Braves. However, he spent most of the season in Triple-A, where he batted.329 in the American Association.The following year,, was Aspromonte's first full season in the major leagues. He appeared in 47 games, starting two at third base and three at shortstop, and he hit.241 with two batted in">batting average (baseball)">batted in in 62 plate appearances.
Houston Astros (1962–1968)
The Dodgers exposed him to the 1961 [Major League Baseball expansion draft], and he was selected by the Houston Colt.45s with their second selection, the third player taken overall. In the small number of games played with the Dodgers, he had been used as a shortstop, but he was moved to third base when with the Astros. Aspromonte was the starting third baseman for the Houston franchise for its first six seasons. On April 10, 1962, Aspromonte, playing third base and inserted into the leadoff position, became the first batter in Houston's MLB history. He singled to left field off Don Cardwell of the Chicago Cubs for the club's first hit, then scored its first-ever MLB run when the next batter, Al Spangler, tripled. Aspromonte would score two more runs that day, as the Colt.45s beat the Cubs, 11–2.For the season, he played in 149 games, batting.266/.332/.376, having 142 hits and 11 home runs with 59 RBIs on 54 strikeouts and 46 walks. He was 2nd in fielding percentage with.967, which was the first of six seasons in a row where he would finish in the top five for all fielders in the National League.
The following year, he played in 136 games while batting.214/.276/.306 with 100 hits and 49 RBIs on 57 strikeouts and 40 walks as he finished 4th in fielding percentage with.938. He played his most games in a season in 1964, playing 157 while batting.280/.329/.721 while having a career high 155 hits and 69 RBIs while striking out 54 times and walking 35 with a career best and league high.973 fielding percentage. He regressed slightly for the following year, batting.263/.310/.322 while playing in 152 games with 152 hits and 52 RBIs while striking out 54 times and walking 38 times and finishing 2nd in fielding percentage with.962. He played 152 games with the 1966 season, batting.252/.297/.334 with 141 hits and 52 RBIs while striking out 63 times, walking 35 times and leading the NL in fielding percentage with.962. For 1967, he would play less games with 137 played, but he batted career highs with.294/.354/.401 with 143 hits and 58 RBIs while walking 45 times with 44 strikeouts and a.963 fielding percentage for 3rd in the NL.
In, he lost his starting third base job to Doug Rader. For 1968, he still played in 124 games while batting.225/.285/.264, having 92 hits and 46 RBIs with 57 strikeouts and 35 walks. On June 9, he, along with teammate Rusty Staub and Maury Wills of the Pittsburgh Pirates, decided not to play in a game between the two teams in light of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy three days earlier, with Aspromonte stating that “If we didn’t put a day aside, it would hurt me.... I’ve never had to take this firm a stand on anything before. It’s got to boil down to one thing: how you feel personally. It’s how I felt. My conscience is clear."