Sunday School: History Lesson 56

Andy Seminick was a catcher with the Phillies in the 1940's and 1950's. With his contract purchased in September 1943 from Knoxville in the minors, Seminick made his major league debut with the Phils that month and his very first major league hit was a homer.

Seminick spent much of the next two seasons in the minors, but by 1946, Seminick had locked down the job of starting catcher for the Phillies. While he could hit for a bit of power, Seminick's defense was what held him back from becoming a top tier catcher in the National League as he led the league in errors in 1946, 1948 and 1949. However, in 1949, Seminick had his first of back to back 24 HR/68 RBI seasons and became an all-star. Those two seasons coincided with the Phillies' rise in the standings.

A rough and tough backstop, Seminick would never shy away from a confrontation at home plate and would not let injuries hold him out of action. In the closing games of the 1950 season, Seminick was involved in a collision at the plate with the Giants' Monte Irvin at the Polo Grounds. Injured, Seminick did not miss an inning of the 1950 World Series, only to have doctors later announce that his ankle had been broken the whole time.

Following the 1951 season, Seminick was traded to Cincinnati along with Dick Sisler and another pair of players for catcher Smoky Burgess and two more players. Three seasons and 319 games played later, Seminick was returned to Philadelphia with a pair of players for a trio that again included Smoky Burgess.

After playing in quite a reduced role with the Phillies upon his return, he would coach with the team for two seasons before turning to managing in the minor leagues. It was there that Seminick would help develop the next generation of Phillies stars such as Greg Luzinski and Mike Schmidt.

He later became a roving instructor throughout the Phils' minor league system and scouted for the club until he retired in 1986. By the end of his career, Seminick had served the Phillies for nearly 30 years.

----------------------------------------

You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE.

Share on Facebook

Comments

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog