Oakland, CA October 23, 1972 - Gene and Linda Tenace wtih the Oakland A's 1972 World Series trophy. (Roy H. Williams/Oakland Tribune) Photo by MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images
Gene Tenace went to six World Series as a player or coach and won each time. Chuck Rosciam, a Baseball historian and a member of the Society for American Baseball Research, believes that Tenace deserves a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Using six offensive measures: Average, On-base percentage, Slugging, RBIs, Runs created and Win shares – all League-Era adjusted, Rosciam ranks Tenace sixth offensively behind Mickey Cochrane, Mike Piazza, Bill Dickey, Gabby Hartnett and Joe Torre among catchers. Tenace is tied for third in OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) with Johnny Bench and Torre. He’s only behind Roy Campanella and Yogi Berra.
According to FanGraphs WAR, Tenace is the 16th best catcher in history. He’s tied with Mike Piazza for the highest wRC+ among all catchers (140, meaning he was 40 percent better than league average on offense after league and ballpark are taken into account).
(“Gene Tenace.” https://www.fangraphs.com/players/gene-tenace/1012911/stats?position=C/1B.)
What did Gene think about all of this high praise? To say he is humble is an understatement.
When Cito Gaston took the reins from John Gibbons as the Toronto Blue Jays manager in 2008, Tenace replaced hitting coach Gary Denbo. Gene was one of two members of Gaston's old coaching staff from his last World Series championship team who were brought back to the team.
One day Gaston summoned him to the manager's office.
“Where do you think you rank all-time offensively among catchers?” Gaston asked his pal.
“I don’t know, eighth maybe,” Tenace answered.
“This list I’m looking at has you higher than that,” Gaston said and Tenace zeroed in for a look …
“Look, I’m ahead of Gary Carter,” Tenace said. “Ah, that don’t mean nothin’ to me, I’m just trying to get this team hitting.”
BRONX, NY: Gene Tenace
#38 of the Oakland Athletics poses for a portrait circa 1971-1972 at
Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Photo by Louis Requena/MLB
via Getty Images)
Whatever his reluctance to accept kudos, many would argue that Gene Tenace just did not have a hall of fame career. Unfortunately, Tenace played in the wrong era to be fully appreciated. His career went from 1969 to 1983 and included an outstanding eight-year peak from 1973 to 1980, during which he averaged almost 4.7 WAR per season. That’s essentially the seasonal value that Buster Posey has provided the Giants (average of 4.8 WAR). Gene Tenace had an eight-year stretch during which he was as good as the previous five years of Buster Posey’s career.
Tenace was an on-base machine who didn’t hit for average at a time when batting average was king. In the middle of his career, he had six seasons in a seven-year stretch in which he walked more than 100 times. Although Gene never hit for a lofty batting average, he possessed an exceptional batting eye which gave him an astounding on-base percentages.
(Bobby Mueller. “Baseball Hall of Fame: Best of the one-vote guys since 1988: Gene Tenace.” https://calltothepen.com/2018/01/21/baseball-hall-fame-best-one-vote-guys/2/. Call To the Pen. 2018.)
In addition to catching, he played over 4,500 innings at 1B, but most of that actually happened at the beginning of his career, not the end.
Tenace was a career .241 hitter and as such, absurdly underrated as a hitter. That’s because he hit 201 career home runs and had a 17.8 BB%. 17.8%! He had a career .388 OBP. He had a career 140 wRC+.
(“Looking at borderline Hall of Fame cases with modern catcher framing stats.” SBNation. https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/2020/5/14/21254225/looking-at-borderline-hall-of-fame-cases-with-modern-catcher-framing-stats. May 14, 2020.)
Brian Johnston, author of The Art of Being a Baseball Fan, says Tenace is an underappreciated player in San Diego Padres history. Gene played for the Padres from 1977-1980.
“According to Baseball Reference, the all-time on-base percentage leader in San Diego Padres history isn’t Tony Gwynn, but rather the underappreciated Gene Tenace, who suited up for the Padres between 1977 and 1980 and put up an impressive .403 mark.
“After that, Tenace’s career took off and he became one of the best hitting catchers in the game. Not only did he hit for power on those great A’s teams of the early 1970s, but he also drew a ton of walks in an era before they were appreciated as much as they are now. Before the 1977 season, Tenace signed as a free agent with the Padres.
“Tenace’s power numbers dropped off a bit in San Diego, perhaps at least partially due to Jack Murphy Stadium’s large dimensions, but he still hit between 15 and 20 each of his four years on the club. What was really impressive, however, was his ability to draw walks and to get on base. In 1977, for instance, he led the league with a whopping 125 free passes, which helped him to post a .415 OBP that year.
“Tenace went on to have a great career as a coach after his playing days and was respected by many hitters. Though he only spent four seasons in San Diego, during a lean time in team history, he probably should get more due than he has for his playing accomplishments.”
(Brian Johnston. “Padres history: A look at the underappreciated Gene Tenace.” https://friarsonbase.com/2020/06/04/otd-padres-acquire-fernando-tatis-jr-white-sox/. 2021.)
Baseball: Portrait of
Oakland Athletics owner Charlie Finley (C) with players (clockwise
from top left) Rollie Fingers (34), Joe Rudi (26), Vida Blue (14),
Gene Tenace (18), Bert Campaneris (19), Jim Catfish Hunter (27), Sal
Bando (6), and Reggie Jackson (9) during photo shoot in locker room
at Comiskey Park. Chicago, IL 9/21/1974 CREDIT: Neil Leifer (Photo by
Neil Leifer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X18954
)
World Series Hero
Gene Tenace could play the game well at a young age. His father, a former semi-pro player, drove him hard to improve his baseball skills. Tenace felt so much pressure to excel that he developed an ulcer at the age of 13. The unexpected health problem forced him to miss an entire season. Tenace emerged as an all-state shortstop.
He played for Lucasville Valley and helped lead them to the finals of the Ohio state championship in 1965. He also starred in American Legion ball, where his teammates included future major leaguers Al Oliver and Larry Hisle.
Prior to the 1965 draft, the Kansas City Athletics scouted Tenace and liked him enough to select him in the 20th round, an indication that they regarded him as a prospect, but only a fringe one. Realizing that he was not suited to play shortstop, the A’s quickly switched Tenace to the outfield. In one minor league game for Peninsula of the Carolina League, Tenace showed his versatility by playing all nine positions in a game – a promotional stunt meant to attract more fans to the ballpark.
(Bruce Markusen. “#CardCorner: 1979 Topps Gene Tenace.” https://baseballhall.org/discover/card-corner/1979-topps-Gene-Tenace. National Baseball Hall of Fame.)
By 1979, Tenace was well-established as one of the game’s premier hitting catchers. A decade and a half earlier, he was still living in the small Midwestern town of Lucasville, Ohio, where he grew up. His grandparents had emigrated from Italy and had decided to Americanize their last name, changing it from its original “Tennaci.”
Tenace’s grandfather gave the youngster the nickname, “Steamboat.” It was a reference to the unusually clumsy way that Tenace walked – sort of like a steamboat carrying a load of heavy cargo on a river.
Of course, Tenace became widely known for his incredible Most Valuable Player performance in the 1972 World Series. For the entire Series, he tormented the Cincinnati Reds with four home runs and a .348 batting average and a 1.313 OPS.
Tenace's four homers and nine RBI’s were series records at the time, and his .913 slugging percentage set the record for a seven game Series. (He also tied Babe Ruth’s record of 11 walks in the 1973 World Series.)
Here is a brief summary of Gene's performance in the 1972 fall classic:
Game 1, the A's won 3 to 2. Tenace's 2 home runs accounted for all 3 runs.
Game 4, the A's won 3 to 2. Tenace's home run accounted for the first run, and he singled in the middle of the A's ninth inning 2 run comeback rally that won it.
Game 5, the A's lost 5 to 4, but Tenace's home run drove in the first 3 A's runs, and he walked to lead off the ninth with the A's trailing by a run. He was taken out for a pinch runner, who wound up being thrown out at the plate by Joe Morgan while trying to score on a short pop fly down the right field line, ending the game.
Game 7, the A's won 3 to 2. Tenace drove in the first run with a single, and broke a 1-1 tie in the sixth with a long RBI double down the left field line. He was then taken out for a pinch runner, who then scored the eventual winning run on Sal Bando's double – the one that Cesar Geronimo misplayed.
Tenace's Lifetime Statistics
Games career: 1,555 season high: 160 in 1973
At Bats career: 4,390 season high: 510 in 1973
Hits career: 1,060 season high: 132 in 1973
Doubles career: 179 season high: 24 in 1977
Triples career: 20 season high: 4 in 1977, 1978, and 1979
Home Runs career: 201 season high: 29 in 1975
Runs career: 653 season high: 83 in 1973 and 1975
Runs Batted In career: 674 season high: 87 in 1975
Stolen Bases career: 36 season high: 7 in 1975
Walks career: 984 season high: 125 in 1977 led AL: 110 in 1974 led NL: 125 in 1977
Strikeouts career: 998 season high: 127 in 1975
Batting Average career: .241 season high: .263 in 1979
On Base Percentage career: .388 season high: .415 in 1977
Slugging Percentage career: .429 season high: .464 in 1975
Total Bases career: 1,882 season high: 231 in 1975
Sacrifice Hits career: 21 season high: 8 in 1973
Fielding Percentage career: .989 season high: .993 in 1979 led NL C: .998 in 1979
Double Plays career: 489 season high: 108 in 1973
Putouts career: 8,731 season high: 1,218 in 1973
Assists career: 743 season high: 112 in 1977
Caught Stealing Percentage career: .360 season high: .475 in 1979
Pickoffs career: 13 season high: 3 in 1972 and 1981
And, did you know Tenace …
was an AL All-Star (1975)
was a 2-time League Bases on Balls Leader (1974/AL & 1977/NL)
had five 20-Home Run Seasons: (1973-1976 & 1979)
won the 1972 Babe Ruth Award
finished 18th in the AL MVP Award voting in both 1975 and 1976
won four World Series as a player with the Oakland Athletics (1972, 1973 & 1974) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1982)
won two World Series as a coach and manager with the Toronto Blue Jays (1992) & (1993)
was the AL Player of the month in September 1975
won two career Player of the Week awards
was the first player ever to homer in his first two World Series at bats
hit the last home run in Kansas City’s Municipal Stadium
caught Vida Blue’s no-hitter on September 21, 1970
also played five games at second base, 17 at third base, 11 in the outfield, six as a DH, and eight as a pinch runner
did a voice cameo in an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Regarding Margie" in 2006.
appeared in a television commercial for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2008.
was mentioned by sportscaster Champ Kind in the party scene in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy while describing his signature catchphrase. "Gene Tenace at the plate, and Whammmy!"
(“Gene Tenace: Biography. https://fampeople.com/cat-gene-tenace. October 10, 1946.)
Conclusion
Even though “Steamboat” Fury Gene Tenace is a lifelong baseball man – over 1,600 major league games as a player with four major league teams, an outstanding hitting coach, a six-time MLB champion, and a World Series MVP – he will likely not be enshrined in baseball’s Hall of Fame after falling off the ballot and now relying solely on a bid from the veteran’s committee.
Gene was honored recently by the Ohio High School Athletic Association as a member of its Circle Of Champions at the 90th boys state basketball tournament, in Columbus, Tenace was on hand to receive recognition for being, first and foremost, a product of Ohio’s rich history and tradition of prep sports
“I’m extremely flattered,” he said. “To be included with all the great athletes here from Ohio that have been inducted since 2007…to me that’s a great, great honor.
“I’ve been fortunate to have been in all those World Series. But to be honored by the state that you grew up in, played in, and now to come back and be recognized alongside people like Jerry Lucas and John Havlicek and Al Oliver…that’s very special to me.”
Lucasville and Valley High School were a lease on a bigger life to come for Gene Tenace, who played football and baseball there for the sheer fun of it, and, for the camaraderie it provided as being part of a team.
“Yeah, we were small,” he laughs now. “I think my freshman year we had 100 kids, total enrollment. When I graduated we only had 80. So 20 of them disappeared and know one knew where. But it didn’t seem small to us back then. In the 60s it was all we knew. Everyone knew everyone and everything about everyone. I played football and baseball because it was fun and because it provided the opportunity to do something competitive with my friends. Sports was a big deal to us then, and we had a lot of good athletes in those 80 kids.”
Tenace continued: “I played baseball, but you know, my first love was football. I loved football. My sophomore year we were 10-0 and won the SOC (Southern Ohio Conference). My dad was dead set against that. He kept telling me that I’d tear up a knee and never get get out of Lucasville as a baseball player. If I wanted to go anywhere and play professionally, my dad told me that it had to be in baseball. But he left it up to me and I played football for four years. I never got hurt, outside of some bumps and scrapes, and was selected by the Kansas City Athletics in the 20th round of the 1965 draft after my senior year.”
(Sonny Fulks. “Gene Tenace: From Humble Beginnings, His Latest Honor.” https://pressprosmagazine.com/gene-tenace-from-humble-beginnings-his-latest-honor/comment-page-1/. Press Pros Magazine.)
Tenace said he had never been a “big city guy,” but he lived in California for 27 years. He always wanted to find a place like his hometown of Lucasville to retire and live. Then, some friends showed him central Oregon and he fell in love with it. He built a house there and has remained in Oregon ever since.
Gene Tenace – and Linda (Osmeyer) Tenace, his wife, who also grew up in rural Lucasville – have come full circle, back to a way of life in a small town. Their humble beginnings – a caring community, supportive Valley schools, and down-to-earth role models – evidently made a great impression on them. That's one home run that defines the real Steamboat of Valley High. "Gene Tenace at the plate, and Whammmy!"
The front of Topps' 1979 Gene Tenace card. (Milo Stewart Jr./National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
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