Ray Jablonski was an infielder who couldn’t field or throw well, but he excelled at stroking line drives for extra-base hits and generating large numbers of runs.
On Nov. 24, 1948, the Cardinals selected Jablonski from the Red Sox in the minor-league draft.
The minor move turned into a big deal for the Cardinals, who sought a right-handed batter with power to balance a lineup with left-handers Stan Musial and Enos Slaughter. Jablonski produced more than 100 RBI in each of his two seasons with St. Louis.
As a third baseman, though, Jablonski had the skills of a designated hitter. When prospect Ken Boyer proved ready to move from the minor leagues and play third base for the Cardinals, Jablonski became expendable.
Climbing the ladder
Ray Jablonski was born and raised in Chicago. As a youth, he was “an accomplished singer and piano player,” according to a biography by the Society for American Baseball Research.
A coach encouraged him to play high school baseball and he showed an ability to hit the ball hard and often. Jablonski enlisted in the Army in July 1945, spent most of his military service in France and was discharged in January 1947.
When he returned to Chicago, he attended a Red Sox tryout camp in Elgin, Ill., and was the only one of the 300 participants to get a contract offer, according to The Sporting News. The Red Sox assigned Jablonski to their Class D affiliate in Milford, Del., and he hit .326 in 1947 and .354 in 1948, primarily as a shortstop.
After the 1948 season, the Red Sox fired their farm director, former Cardinals shortstop Specs Toporcer, and in the reshuffling that followed the Red Sox left Jablonski exposed to the minor-league draft. He was selected by the Cardinals and assigned to their Class A Columbus (Ga.) club.
The leap from Class D Milford to Class A Columbus was a steep one and after Jablonski hit .275 for Columbus in 1949 he was sent down to Class B Lynchburg, Va., in 1950. Lynchburg was a turning point in Jablonski’s career because the manager there was Whitey Kurowski, the former third baseman who played in four World Series for the Cardinals. Kurowski put Jablonski at third base and mentored him.
After hitting .289 for Lynchburg, Jablonski played for Class B Winston-Salem in 1951 and led the Carolina League in batting at .363.
The Cardinals promoted Jablonski to Class AAA Rochester in 1952 and he played all four infield positions, committing 33 errors and batting .299 with 103 RBI.
Jablonski “has strong wrists and can get the bat through at the last split-second,” The Sporting News reported.
Competition at third
Billy Johnson was the incumbent at third base for the Cardinals. Johnson played in four World Series for the Yankees and was an American League all-star in 1947 before being traded to the Cardinals on May 14, 1951. A smooth fielder with a strong arm, Johnson gave the Cardinals “the best defensive play they’ve had at the hot corner in years,” according to writer Bob Broeg.
In 1952, Johnson hurt his elbow and the injury affected his throwing. Depriving Johnson “of his shotgun arm would be like taking a paint brush away from Rembrandt,” Broeg observed.
At spring training in 1953, the three contenders for the Cardinals’ third base job were Johnson, Jablonski, and Vern Benson, who’d spent parts of the 1951 and 1952 seasons with St. Louis.
Broeg concluded Jablonski’s “defensive play might be the drawback that could cost him the job.”
After observing Jablonski, former Cardinals infielder Frank “Creepy” Crespi said, “He’s got a lot to learn defensively and needs plenty of work, but he’s got a big thing in his favor and that’s willingness to listen and practice.”
In preseason exhibition games, Jablonski batted .302 with six home runs.
On April 14, when the Cardinals opened the 1953 regular season at Milwaukee in the Braves’ first game since relocating from Boston, Jablonski made his major-league debut as the starting third baseman.
He and two other newcomers to the starting lineup, first baseman Steve Bilko and center fielder Rip Repulski, became known as the Polish Falcons.
Jablonski finished his rookie season with 21 home runs and 112 RBI. He made 27 errors, the second-most among National League third basemen.
Too many errors
In 1954, Jablonski hit .296 with 104 RBI for the Cardinals and he was the starting third baseman for the National League all-star team, but his 34 errors were the most by any third baseman in the league.
Post-Dispatch sports editor J. Roy Stockton, citing Jablonski’s fielding problems, described him as “a defective player who broke the hearts of the pitchers.”
Cardinals pitcher Gerry Staley “was openly critical of the slow defensive reactions and uncertain throwing of Jablonski,” the Post-Dispatch reported.
In his two seasons with St. Louis, Jablonski had many of his best games against the Reds. He had five hits versus the Reds on July 8, 1953 (Boxscore), and he twice produced five RBI against them _ on May 28, 1953 (Boxscore) and on May 23, 1954 (Boxscore). Jablonski hit .315 with 20 RBI against the Reds in 1953 and .359 with 22 RBI versus them in 1954.
In December 1954, the Cardinals offered to trade Staley to the Reds for reliever Frank Smith. The Reds wanted second base prospect Don Blasingame as well but the Cardinals “flatly refused,” according to the Post-Dispatch.
The Cardinals, desperate to improve their relief pitching, countered by giving the Reds their choice of Jablonski or infielder Solly Hemus. On Dec. 8, 1954, the Cardinals dealt Jablonski and Staley to the Reds for Smith.
Cardinals general manager Dick Meyer admitted “we might have given too much,” but added, “We felt the need for relief pitching was that great.”
The Cardinals were influenced by the emergence of Boyer, a highly regarded prospect who was ready to take over at third base in 1955. Cardinals scout Joe Mathes predicted Boyer “could become the greatest third baseman in Cardinals history” and former Cardinals manager Eddie Dyer said Boyer “will hit the ball as far as any third baseman in the National League and he’ll outrun any third baseman I know of in the league.”
Boyer fulfilled those expectations and Jablonski, unable to overcome his fielding deficiencies, went on to have a journeyman career. After two seasons (1955-56) with the Reds and two seasons with the Giants (1957-58), Jablonski and Bill White were traded by San Francisco to the Cardinals on March 25, 1959, for pitchers Sam Jones and Don Choate.
Used in a reserve role, Jablonski hit .253 with the 1959 Cardinals and on Aug. 20 he was claimed on waivers by the Athletics. He ended his major-league career with the Athletics in 1960 and played another four years in the minors.
Jablonski was 58 when he died of kidney failure on Nov. 25, 1985.
Reminds me of Butch Hobson, another 3B who could sock the ball but his defense was, well…
An apt comparison, thanks. With the Red Sox in 1977, Hobson had 112 RBI and 23 errors at third base. The next year, he had 80 RBI and 43 errors.