George Estock

George John Estock

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
• School Warren Harding High School
• Debut April 21, 1951
• Final Game September 26, 1951
• Born November 2, 1924 in Stirling, NJ USA
• Died November 7, 2010 in Sebastian, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Before the 1943 season righthander George Estock signed with the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent. The 19-year-old was assigned to the Scranton Red Sox, pitched six innings and went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA for the season. The Red Sox then dealt him to the Philadelphia Blue Jays. He spent 1944 and 1945 with the class B Wilmington Blue Rocks, going 10-9 with a 3.92 ERA in 1944 and 22-6 with a 2.90 ERA in 1945. George was then sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates by the Phillies, as they were once again called, in March of 1946 in a multi-player transaction.

George wound up with the class A Albany Senators in 1946, posting a 7-10 record with a 3.46 ERA and before the 1947 season was sent by the Pirates to the Austin Pioneers of the class B Big State League. George spent three years with Austin (1947-1949), won 48 outings and lost 37, with a 4.15 ERA in 114 appearances.

On April 5, 1950, Estock was purchased by the Boston Braves from the Austin Pioneers and spent the season with the AA Milwaukee Brewers where he won 16 games and lost 8 with a 3.35 ERA, which earned his shot at the major leagues. George spent one full season with the Braves in 1951. He appeared in 37 games, all of them except one in relief. His only start came in the second game of a doubleheader against the Pirates. He pitched creditably enough, giving up 3 runs in 8 innings, but was the loser in what would turn out to be his only big league decision when Cliff Chambers threw a no-hitter against the Braves. George did not see the majors again, finishing up with a 0-1 record with a 4.33 ERA in his 37 appearances. He did manage 2 base hits in 7 trips to the plate for a .286 batting average.

Estock spent 1952 back with the minor league Milwaukee Brewers, winning 6 and losing 3 with a 3.10 ERA. He stayed in baseball until 1955, spending time with the Toledo Mud Hens, Jacksonville Braves, Atlanta Crackers and finishing up with the York White Roses of the Piedmont League in 1955. Estock had spent 13 active seasons in pro baseball and was 30 years old when he chose to retire.

At his retirement he spoke of his introduction to a future Braves Hall of Famer: "I was pitching batting practice to a young kid who was up for a tryout during spring training in 1952. He was hitting me pretty good so I started to put a little extra on the ball, but he just kept it up. He really stood out. I asked him his name, and he answered, 'My name is Hank Aaron.'"

After baseball George spent 28 years as an area supervisor for the Du Pont Corporation in Wilmington, DE, retiring after that to Sebastian, FL. In 1988, he was inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame. After moving to Florida, he kept active as the pitching coach for Sebastian River High School until his death in 2010. Among the players he mentored there was future major leaguer Bryan Augenstein.

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• George Estock at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page
• Obituary