U L Washington

U L Washington (born October 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 to 1987 for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos, and Pittsburgh Pirates. Washington played mostly as a shortstop during his career, and was well known for having a toothpick in the corner of his mouth while on the field and at the plate.[1] The U and L are not initials, but rather are his given legal name.

U L Washington
Washington in 1980
Shortstop
Born: (1953-10-27) October 27, 1953
Stringtown, Oklahoma, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 6, 1977, for the Kansas City Royals
Last MLB appearance
October 4, 1987, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.251
Home runs27
Runs batted in255
Teams

Early life

Washington was born in Stringtown, Oklahoma, where he attended Stringtown High School and the nearby Murray State College.

Playing career

Washington is one of only three MLB players, along with Ron Washington (no relation) and Frank White, who were products of the Royals Academy.[2]

Kansas City Royals

Washington played for the Royals from 1977 through 1984. His best offensive season was 1982, when he batted .286 with 10 home runs and 60 RBIs – all career highs. Washington was on first base and scored on George Brett's "pine tar" home run in 1983.[3] In his eight seasons with the Royals, Washington hit .254 with 26 home runs and 228 RBIs. He was in four postseason series with the Royals — the 1980 ALCS, 1980 World Series, 1981 ALDS, and 1984 ALCS — batting 12-for-43 (.279) overall.

Montreal Expos

Washington was traded to the Expos in January 1985. He played in 68 games for the Expos as a utility infielder, batting .249 with one home run and 17 RBIs. In November 1985, he became a free agent.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Washington signed with Pittsburgh in January 1986. During his two seasons with the Pirates, he appeared in a total of 82 games, batting .207 with no home runs and ten RBIs, again in a utility infielder role. He was released by the Pirates in October 1987. "I won't go back to the minors, but I haven't said I've officially retired. If someone called and said they wanted me to play in the majors I'd go. I spent nine straight years in the majors, so going back to the minors was the toughest thing for me the past two years. At my age it got to where every time out, I was fighting pain off here or there anyway. I really admire the guys who play until they're 40," Washington said early in the 1988 season.[1]

Senior League

Washington played for the Orlando Juice of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989, the team's only season.

Post-playing career

After his playing career, Washington coached and managed in the minor league organizations of the Pirates (1989), Royals (1991–98), Los Angeles Dodgers (1999), Minnesota Twins (2001–02), and Boston Red Sox (2003–14). In 1992, while coaching the Memphis Chicks, Washington appeared in one game as a shortstop, going hitless in two at bats. Washington went 1 for 1, hitting a line drive off Eric Johnson in the 1991 Cal State Northridge Alumni game.

In 1989, while managing the Welland Pirates in the New York-Penn League, Washington was suspended after knocking the home plate umpire to the ground during an argument.

References
  1. Baldwin, Mike (June 14, 1988). "The toothpicks always stuck out: U.L. wants fans to remember his playing". NewsOK.com.
  2. Mellinger, Sam. "Forty years later, Royals Academy lives on in memories," The Kansas City (MO) Star, Saturday, August 2, 2014.
  3. "Kansas City Royals 5, New York Yankees 4". Retrosheet. July 24, 1983.

Further reading
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