Ted Simmons was 17 years old when the Cardinals selected him with the 10th overall pick in the 1967 draft. The fresh-faced high schooler played in the minor leagues right after his graduation. After cups of coffee in the big leagues in both ’68 and ’69, Simmons was in the majors to stay by the end of May in 1970.
Simmons’ breakout season came in 1971 when he hit .304 and received votes in MVP balloting. The following season he made his first All Star team. From 1972-1983 Simmons made eight All Star teams, and earned a Silver Slugger.
The switch hitter went on to play in 21 big league seasons. Remarkably consistent, Simmons hit .287 with a .350 on-base percentage as a lefty and .281 with a .345 on-base percentage as a righty. He hit .300 or better in seven seasons, highlighted by his .332 mark in 1975. Simmons drove in 90 or more runs eight times, topping the century mark in three of those seasons.
At the time of his retirement no catcher had ever recorded as many hits or doubles as Simmons. As of 2016 his 1,389 RBI ranks second among catchers and his 248 homers keep him in the top ten. Simmons may have been overshadowed by Johnny Bench’s play and Gary Carter’s personality but the numbers are there.
After earning just 3.7% of the vote in his first year on the Hall of Fame ballot, Simmons was removed from the writers’ ballot. The Veterans Committee recognized his greatness, voting him to Cooperstown in December, 2019. He is the first one-and-done on the writers’ ballot to earn a plaque.
Shown here is a a contract for Simmons’ autograph to appear on stamped autographed souvenir baseballs. The terms of the deal? Simmons earned one cent per ball sold.
Simba is one the most underrated catchers in the game, in my opinion. Easily the most prolific switch hitting backstop in the game’s history and second all times in career hits as a catcher, only behind Pudge Rodriguez. Very glad to see him get inducted a few years back. It was overdue.
Same feeling here. I think Simmons knew during his playing career he was very over shadowed by a few other contemporaries, such as Bench, Fisk, Carter, to name a few at the same position. Not sure why it took so long for the vote to turn in his favor but glad it finally did because as a player he should be in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame, let alone the Cardinals Hall.