The switch-hitting Scheinblum frustrated his managers by being a slow starter. “Never in my career have I batted over .200 the first month of the season,” he once said. A perennial prospect with Cleveland, he batted just .186 in 1969, was sold to Washington, and was soon back in the minor leagues. After he led the American Association with a .388 batting average and 108 RBI in 1971, he was purchased by the Royals, for whom he hit .300 as an everyday right fielder in 1972. That November, Kansas City sent him to Cincinnati in the trade for Hal McRae. He batted .222 for Cincinnati in the first 29 games in 1973, was traded to California, and batted .328 the rest of the way – .371 after the All-Star break, and .419 in September.
