Wes Westrum

Wesley Noreen Westrum (November 28, 1922 – May 28, 2002) was an American catcher, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball. He served as the second manager in the history of the New York Mets, replacing Casey Stengel in 1965 after the latter fractured his hip and was forced to retire.

Major League playing career

A native of Clearbrook, Minnesota, Westrum was a stalwart defensive player for the New York Giants (1947–57) and, in his prime, a powerful right-handed hitter, although he had trouble making contact and hit for a low .217 career batting average. He began his major league career as the Giants' reserve catcher, playing behind Walker Cooper. When Cooper was traded in 1949, Westrum shared the catching duties with Ray Mueller for the remainder of the season. He became the full time catcher for the Giants in 1950, leading National League catchers with a .999 fielding percentage, 31 baserunners caught stealing, a 54.4% caught stealing percentage and 71 assists, and finished second to Roy Campanella with 608 putouts.<ref...
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