Tom Brennan: THERE WAS ONLY ONE GLIDER IN BASEBALL

PC - Baltimore Sun 

THERE WAS ONLY ONE GLIDER IN BASEBALL

One of my favorite old-time Mets, Ed Charles, died two years ago, just short of the age of 85.  

The man was affectionately known to Mets and baseball fans as The Glider.  

He may not have earned a million dollars, but he had a million dollar smile.  

He made you feel good to be a baseball fan.

He did not make the majors until he was just a few days short of turning 29, as he was blocked by Hall of Fame Eddie Mathews (and, at the time, probably and sadly his skin color), yet once he made it, he did just fine: 

For the 8 years he played in the bigs, he put up a .263/.330/.397 split, excellent in those days, with 86 career homers and 421 RBIs.

He joined the Mets from the KC Royals in 1967, was their best hitter in offense starved 1968, except for the slightly better Clean Jones, with Charles having a .276/.328/.438 split that year.

The Glider thereafer was wrapping his career up in 1969 the best way anyone could - with a World Championship.  

How great that was, and how incredibly well deserved!

The following is a recap from Wikipedia about the great Glider, Edwin Douglas Charles:

Minor league career

Ed Charles was originally signed by the Boston Braves in 1952. He spent eight seasons in the Braves' farm system in the still-segregated Deep South, during which he wrote poetry concerning baseball and racism. 

Due to the presence of longtime All-Star Eddie Mathews at third base, the Braves traded Charles to the Kansas City Athletics prior to the 1962 season with Joe Azcue and Manny Jiménez for Lou Klimchock and Bob Shaw. 

(TB note: Shaw achieved the near impossible in early Mets days by having a winning record - 11-10 - with the hapless Mets in 1966).

Kansas City Athletics

In his rookie season of 1962, Charles batted .288 with 17 home runs, 74 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases; the batting average, home runs and stolen bases wrre his career highs.  

Charles produced solid, his steady play for the Athletics over the next four seasons; in 1963 he batted .267 with 15 HRs and a career-best 79 RBIs, and while his batting average fell to .241 in 1964 he still managed 16 HRs and 63 RBIs. 

Prior to the 1965 season, the eccentric Athletics owner Charlie Finley moved the fences the wrong way - back - in Municipal Stadium, and though Charles batted .269 that year and .286 in 1966, his combined home run total was 17—the same number he had hit in his rookie season.

New York Mets

On May 10, 1967, the Athletics traded Ed Charles to the New York Mets for Larry Elliot and $50,000. He would be the oldest regular on his new team. 

In 1968, he led the Mets in home runs with 15. 

In 1969, he shared third base duties with rookie Wayne Garrett as a member of the Miracle Mets team that unexpectedly won the World Series. 

On September 24, they clinched the division with a 6–0 victory over the Cardinals, with Charles homering off none other than Steve Carlton (his final Major League home run).

Charles played in four of the five games in the World Series, in which the Mets defeated the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. After losing the first game, the Mets won the next four; Charles scored the winning run in Game Two on an Al Weis single in the ninth inning. He was the oldest of the "Miracle Mets" at age 36.

After the Series, Charles, whose nickname, "The Glider", came from his third base play and graceful base running, was (gasp!) unconditionally released by the Mets.

ANYWAY:

Ed Charles may not have been a Met for all that long, but players like the Glider are a big reason why Mets fans remain Mets fans for life. 


To conclude, please see the attached video, if you choose to, of an interview with Charles where he talked about facing the great Satchel Page when Page was around the age of 60:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vER4TAmbAqg