Former infielder Woodie Held, once traded for Roger Maris, dies at age 77

Former MLB infielder Woodie Held dies at age 77

CLEVELAND — Woodie Held, who played 14 years in the majors and was traded for future home run king Roger Maris, died Thursday. He was 77.

The Cleveland Indians announced Held’s death. He died in Dubois, Wyo., after a long bout with cancer.

Held played for seven AL teams and was with the 1966 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles.

He spent the majority of his career with Cleveland after being acquired on June 15, 1958, from the Kansas City Athletics in a multiplayer trade for Maris. A year later, Maris was sent in another big trade to the New York Yankees — the team that originally signed Held and brought him to the major leagues in the early 1950s.

Held was picked for the Indians’ All-Time Top 100 roster in 2001 as a shortstop. During his time with them through the 1964 season, he hit 85 career home runs while playing that position, establishing a team record that stood until being broken this year by Jhonny Peralta.

Held’s best season was his first full year in Cleveland when he set career highs in homers (29), runs (82) and RBIs (71) while batting .251.

Overall, he hit .240 with 179 homers and 559 RBIs in 1,390 games. He also played all three outfield positions, second base and third from 1954 through 1969.

Traded by Cleveland to the Washington Senators in 1965 and then to Baltimore, Held spent the entire 1966 season with the Orioles as a utility infielder. He did not see action in Baltimore’s four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.

Woodson George Held finished his career with 1½ seasons apiece with the California Angels and Chicago White Sox.