Ted Uhlaender

Theodore Otto Uhlaender

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• School Baylor University
• High School McAllen High School
• Debut September 4, 1965
• Final Game September 30, 1972
• Born October 21, 1939 in Chicago Heights, IL USA
• Died February 12 2009 in Atwood, KS USA

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Biographical Information

Outfielder Ted Uhlaender won the Pacific Coast League batting crown in 1965, when he hit .340 with the Denver Bears. He reached the majors with the Minnesota Twins that September and was the team's regular centerfielder the next four seasons. With the Twins, his main teammates were Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Cesar Tovar, Jim Kaat, Dean Chance, Rod Carew, Jim Perry, Bob Allison and Dave Boswell. He had his best year with the club in 1969, hitting .273 with 8 homers and 62 RBIs as the team won the AL West division title.

After the 1969 campaign, Uhlaender was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Luis Tiant along with Graig Nettles and Dean Chance. He spent two years with the Tribe and was then traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Milt Wilcox following the 1971 season. His last game in the majors was Game 7 of the 1972 World Series, which his Reds lost to the A's: he pinch hit in the 7th inning against Catfish Hunter, but flied out to Joe Rudi in left.

Following his playing days, Uhlaender managed the Rio Grande Valley White Wings in 1976 before going into private business. He returned to baseball in 1989 with the New York Yankees and stayed with them through 1996, serving as a minor league coach and as the Yankees' advance scout in 1994 and 1995. He worked for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1997, preparing for the expansion draft.

Uhlaender joined the San Francisco Giants from 1998 to 1999 as a special assistant to GM Brian Sabean, scouting and advancing Major League teams as well as other special assignments in the minor leagues. He was a first base coach for the Cleveland Indians in 2000 and 2001 and then returned to the Giants in 2002. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2008 and had to stop working as a scout while undergoing treatment. He died of a heart attack at his home on a ranch in Atwood, Kansas, in early 2009.

His daughter Katie competed in the 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 winter Olympics in the skeleton event.

Further Reading

• Joseph Wancho: "Ted Uhlaender", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: A Pennant for the Twin Cities: the 1965 Minnesota Twins, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 268-271. ISBN 978-1-943816-09-5

Related Sites

• Ted Uhlaender at the SABR Bio Project