Heady Hustle

From Player Profiles at 1960s Baseball …

While certainly not the most athletically talented infielder of his era, Cookie Rojas carved a 16-year career out of baseball smarts and hustle, and a bat that improved with accumulated at-bats.

Cookie Rojas

Rojas was signed by the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. He spent 6 years moving steadily through the Reds’ farm system, and made the team as a utility player (capable of playing any position) in 1962. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Jim Owens and started a 7-year tour with the Phillies in 1963, hitting .221 in 64 games. He got more playing time with the Phillies in 1964 (and hit .291), and in 1965 he became the Phillies’ starting second baseman and the team’s leading hitter at .303. In 1967, he led the National League with 16 sacrifice hits.

Following the 1969 season, Rojas was traded by the Phillies with Dick Allen and Jerry Johnson to the St. Louis Cardinals for Byron Browne, Curt Flood, Joe Hoerner and Tim McCarver. He played in only 23 games for the Cardinals, and then was traded to the Kansas City Royals for Fred Rico.

Rojas spent the next 8 seasons with the Royals, as the team’s starting second baseman for 6 of those seasons. He hit .300 for the Royals in 1971, the first of 4 consecutive years when he would be named to the American League All-Star team. His best season for all-around offensive performance came in 1973, when he hit .276 with 6 home runs and 69 RBIs. He also had 29 doubles and 18 stolen bases, both career highs.

Rojas was released by the Royals after the 1977 season. He signed briefly with the Chicago Cubs, but never played for them, opting instead to retire to coaching and later managing and a broadcasting career.