George Kopacz

George Felix Kopacz
(Sonny)

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Thomas Kelly High School
• Debut September 18, 1966
• Final Game September 29, 1970
• Born February 26, 1941 in Chicago, IL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

George Kopacz played sixteen games in the big leagues and had 14 seasons in the minor leagues, 1960-1973. He had at least 144 minor league home runs, and a peak was in 1970 when he had 29 home runs and a .310 batting average for the Columbus Jets. He was the All-Star first baseman for the 1970 IL, finishing 2nd in the league in dingers (8 behind Hal Breeden), 3rd in RBI (after Roger Freed and Breeden) and 2nd with 100 runs (27 shy of Don Baylor).

George was born in Chicago, IL and attended high school there. He started in the minors at age 19, and was in the Milwaukee/Atlanta organization during 1960-1969. He came up to the majors for six games with the Braves in 1966, their first season in Atlanta, where he was the same age as teammate Joe Torre. In the summer of 1969 he was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, and when he played well at Columbus, he got another chance at the majors, this time appearing in ten games with the Pirates in 1970. On that team, he was one year younger than teammate Willie Stargell. After the 1970 season he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers but returned to the Pirates around the end of spring training in 1971, and he stayed in the Pirates organization until early 1973, when he was traded to the New York Yankees. He played his last minor league season in their organization.

George's son, Derek Kopacz, played minor league ball from 1995 to 2003.

He shared the 1970 International League MVP Award with Roger Freed.

Notable Achievements

• 1970 MVP International League Columbus Jets