Former Texas Rangers infielder Lenny Randle of Long Beach. California (pictured sliding into second base) died at the age of 75 on Sunday according to Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors on Monday. Randle’s cause of death has not yet been announced.
Who did Randle play for?
Randle played 12 Major League Baseball seasons from 1971 to 1982. He was with the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers from 1971 to 1976, the New York Mets in 1977 and 1978, the New York Yankees in 1979, the Chicago Cubs in 1980, and the Seattle Mariners in 1981 and 1982. Then after playing in the Major Leagues, Randle played professionally in Italy, and batted .477 during the 1983 season.
MLB career statistics
Randle played a variety of defensive positions. However, they were primarily third base, where he played 521 games and second base, where he played 437 games.
During his 12 year Major League career, Randle batted .257, and had 27 home runs and 322 runs batted in. During 1138 games, 3950 at bats, and 4427 plate appearances, he scored 488 runs, and had 1016 hits, 145 doubles, 40 triples, 156 stole bases, 372 walks, 1322 total bases, 62 sacrifice bunts, and 28 sacrifice flies, along with an on base base percentage of .321 and a slugging percentage of .335.
There is no doubt Randle has a lot more speed and power. He had 13 more triples than home runs, 129 more stolen bases than home runs, and 35 more sacrifice bunts than home runs.
Star at Arizona State University
Randle played baseball and football at Arizona State University. With the Sun Devils football program, he was a wide receiver. During the 1969 National Collegiate Athletic Association season, Randle had five catches for 65 receiving yards and one touchdown.
Altercations
Randle was involved in a famous bench clearing brawl between the Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians in 1974. Then three years later during a spring training game in Orlando, Florida, Randle was involved in another altercation with the Rangers against the Minnesota Twins. In this incident, Randle actually punched his own manager, Frank Lucchesi, and Randle was subsequently suspended, fined, traded to the New York Mets, and charged with assault.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
