- Ted Cox (baseball)
William Ted Cox (born
January 24 ,1955 inOklahoma City, Oklahoma ) is a formershortstop who played inMajor League Baseball from 1977 through 1981 for theBoston Red Sox (1977), theCleveland Indians (1978-1979), theSeattle Mariners (1980) and theToronto Blue Jays (1981). He batted and threw right-handed.Cox was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first-round of the 1973 draft ahead of
Fred Lynn . Listed at 6' 3", 195 lb., Cox was heralded as a skilled hitter with a major league swing. He spent five years in the Boston minor league system, stepping up a class every year, that was hastened by a phenomenal season in 1977 with Triple-APawtucket Red Sox . In 95 games, he hit .334 with 14home run s and 81 RBI, which was highligted by anAll-Star selection, helping Pawtucket to clinch the regular season championship. After the season he won both the "Topps " Minor League Player of the Year and theInternational League MVP awards, and was promoted to the big team.Cox debuted with the Red Sox on September 18, just on Brooks Robinson Night at Baltimore. Robinson had just retired, finishing a 23-year career with the Orioles, one of the longest major-league careers with one club. Spoiling Robinson celebration, Cox went 4-for-4 in his first major league game, a 10–4 victory over Baltimore. After the game, reporters told Cox he had tied the
American League record for most hits in a first game.Casey Stengel ,Willie McCovey andMack Jones also share the mark. Boston returned toFenway Park to face theNew York Yankees the next day. In his firstat-bat against the Yankees, Cox hit a single to tie a record held byCecil Travis with the Washington Senators. Travis set the record of five consecutive hits at the start of a major league career in 1933. Then, in his second at-bat Cox singled offEd Figueroa . This assured him a place in major league history for his unique 6-for-6 hitting streak. Cox ended 1977 with a .362 average (21-for-58), and drew considerable attention to himself. Before the 1978 season he was sent by Boston along with Bo Díaz,Mike Paxton , andRick Wise to the Cleveland Indians in the same transaction that broughtDennis Eckersley andFred Kendall to the Red Sox. After two years in Cleveland as a backupoutfielder and playing all four infield positions, Cox joined the Seattle Mariners in 1980 and the Toronto Blue Jays in 1981, his last major league season.In a five-season career, Cox was a .245 hitter with 10 home runs and 79 RBI in 272 games.
Currently, Cox works with the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in raising money for worthy causes and charities.
Highlights
*On April 9, 1980, became the first
designated hitter to collect a game-winning RBI, a statistic that was only official from 1980-88.
*As of 2006, holds the major league career record for most consecutive hits to begin a career.ee also
*
Boston Red Sox all-time roster External links
* [http://www.baseball-almanac.com/articles/tedcox.shtml Baseball Almanac]
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/C/ted-cox.shtml The Baseball Cube]
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/C/Cox_Ted.stm Baseball Library]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/c/coxte02.shtml Baseball Reference]
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