Nov. 10, 1964 - Jimmy Piersall, the volatile outfielder who slipped quietly from the big league baseball scene before the end of the 1963 season, has been chosen the American League’s comeback player of the year for 1964 in the annual A.P. poll.
The results of the voting by 77 baseball writers announced today showed that Piersall was named on 20 ballots, one more than veteran first baseman Bill Skowron, who divided the year with Washington and Chicago. Baltimore third baseman Brooks Robinson was third with nine votes.
Piersall, a 14-year major leaguer, batted .314 in 87 games for the Angels in 1964. He was unconditionally released by the Angels on Sept. 17, 1963, and was resigned by that West Coast team as a free agent after a spring training trial.
In 1963, Piersall also played for the Senators and Mets. The latter club released him July 27 when his batting average dropped to .194 for 40 games. He was promptly picked up by the Angels.
The 34-year-old Waterbury, Conn., native spent eight seasons with the Red Sox and three with Cleveland, reaching a career high with a .322 batting average in 121 games for the Indians in 1961. He has played in two All-Star games and, in 1953, tied a major league single game record with six hits in six times at bat.
Skowron, also 34, rebounded from a disastrous .203 batting performance with the Dodgers in 1963 to hit .282 in his A.L. comeback.
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