Chuck Essegian


Charles Abraham Essegian is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He appeared in 404 games in Major League Baseball over six seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. During the 1959 World Series, Essegian, then with the Dodgers, set a Series record with two pinch-hit home runs against the Chicago White Sox. The mark would be matched by Bernie Carbo of the Boston Red Sox, who a hit pair of pinch-hit homers against the Cincinnati Reds in the 1975 Series.
Essegian also played one season in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Listed as tall and, he threw and batted right-handed.

Stanford baseball and football star

Essegian was born in Boston but grew up from the age of five in Los Angeles. He graduated from Fairfax High School and matriculated at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, where he played varsity baseball and football. A linebacker, he played in the Rose Bowl after Stanford's 1951 football season and is the second player to have appeared in both the World Series and the Rose Bowl.

MLB career

After spending five full years in minor league baseball, Essegian entered the majors in with the Phillies, getting into 39 games. Then, in, he played for two Triple-A clubs and two MLB teams, and set his World Series mark. He began the year with the Cardinals, playing in 17 games but batting only.179; he was sent down to Rochester, then traded to the Dodgers on June 15. His hometown team optioned Essegian to Triple-A Spokane for six weeks before recalling him in early August. Essegian responded by batting.304 for the Dodgers in 24 games and helped them win the National League pennant. Then, during the 1959 World Series, he clubbed his two pinch hit homers; the first, hit in the seventh inning of Game 2 off Bob Shaw, enabled the Dodgers to tie the game 2–2 and turn the tide of the World Series. After losing Game 1 to the White Sox 11–0, with Essegian's game-tying blast, Los Angeles went on to win Game 2, 4–3, and then capture the world championship in six games.
Essegian continued his nomadic career soon after the 1959 Fall Classic, however. After batting only.215 in 52 games for the 1960 Dodgers, he was dealt to the American League, where he had a one-game trial with the Orioles, two stints with the Athletics, and his most prolonged tenure, 166 games, as a member of the Indians. His most productive season came in 1962, when he posted career bests in batting, runs, hits, doubles, home runs, runs batted in , and games played. In his six-season career, Essegian was a.255 hitter with 45 doubles, four triples, 47 home runs, and 150 RBI in 404 games. Defensively, he recorded a.981 fielding percentage as an outfielder.

Japan and minor leagues

Following his big league career, Essegian played the season in NPB, for the Kintetsu Buffaloes of the Pacific League. He also played in seven seasons in Minor League Baseball seasons between 1953 and 1959, registering a.311 average, with 97 homers, in 717 games.

Life after baseball

After Essegian’s baseball career ended, he earned a law degree and became an attorney in Southern California, retiring in 1987.