In baseball, young players are rushed to the majors all the
time for a variety of reasons. This can be especially true for expansion teams,
who are attempting to stock their rosters with any semblance of big league
talent. Sometimes it ends up working out for the player and other times, like
in the case of infielder Ernie Fazio,
things just don’t up clicking and leading to a lengthy career.
Fazio was a slight (5’7” and 165 pounds) second baseman who
starred for Santa Clara University. He was signed by the fledgling Houston Colt
.45s in 1962 as a 20-year-old and made his big league debut by the end of the
year, collecting a long single in 12 at-bats.
In 1963, Houston lost 96 games but gave Fazio extended
playing time. Unfortunately, he was just not ready for primetime. Appearing in
102 games (228 at-bats), he hit just .184 with two home runs and five RBIs.
However, a significant highlight was hitting a home run on August 18th
against future Hall-of-Fame Warren Spahn.
Fazio spent the next two years in the minors, hitting a
combined .263 with 35 home runs. Although that production put him back on track
for a promotion, it would not come with Houston, as following the 1965 season he
was the player to be named to complete a trade that had occurred earlier that
brought slugger Jim Gentile
over from the Kansas City Athletics.
Appearing in 27 games, primarily off the bench, for Kansas
City in 1966, Fazio managed just seven hits in 34 at-bats and drove in two
runs. He continued playing in the minors through 1969 for several organizations
but never realized the potential that had brought him to the majors at such an
early age. He wound up appearing in 141 big league games, hitting .182 with two
home runs and eight RBIs.
A number of years ago, Fazio answered some questions about
his career. Keep reading for more.
Ernie Fazio
Interview:
How did you first
become interested in baseball?: I started when I was really young. I kept
playing, and my dad helped me along the way. Before you knew it, I played for a
real good American Legion team in Oakland, California. A coach there; he
coached guys like Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, and Curt Flood; and so I stayed.
I worked out every day, and so that’s how I got started.
Did you have a
favorite team or player while you were growing up?: Not really. I just
loved baseball and followed everyone.
What was your signing
experience like with Houston?: I was playing very good baseball, and played
against all the top teams. Then I went to Santa Clara University, and we had a
great team; I mean the best they ever had at the university. We went to the
College World Series and we lost the championship game in 15 innings, which is
a world record.
Right after the game, I came home, and Houston was there,
and I signed with them. That was it. They had a bunch of other ball players
that signed at the same time.
What was it like
being part of the inaugural Houston team (1962)?: I met a lot of good guys,
but overall they were jealous. I was making big money at the time, and they
weren’t making that much money, so they kind of took a little back seat to me.
What is your favorite
moment from your baseball career?: It was hitting my first major league
home run, off Warren Spahn. Willie Mays hit his first home run off Warren Spahn
too. I really respected Willie Mays, so that felt kind of great.
If you could do
anything differently about your career, what would you do?: Not really. If
I had to do it again, I would probably sign with the San Francisco Giants,
because Houston, they had their pick of three ball players from every major
league team. When I signed, I was the first rookie, and being a small guy, they
said, ‘How did you ever sign with someone?’ So, I think I would have probably
signed with the San Francisco Giants, or one of those teams from around here.
I would probably work just as hard as I did to get there.
Once I got there, I got swamped by everything else. I would have worked twice
as hard, looking back, because I wish I was still in baseball in some capacity.
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