Nicknamed “The Glider” for his graceful baserunning and third base play, Charles spent eight tough seasons with the Braves organization in the still-segregated South, and wrote published poetry concerning the universe, racism, and baseball. With Eddie Mathews at third, Milwaukee had no place for Charles and finally traded him to Kansas City. His 1962 rookie marks included career highs of .288 and 17 HR. He remained a steady contributor for five seasons, but his home run production was cut in half when owner Charlie Finley moved the fences back in 1965. Traded to the Mets in early 1967, he was their oldest regular and was waived in November. He re-made the club in the spring of 1968 and batted .276 with 15 homers. In the Mets’ 1969 World Championship season, he shared third base duties with Wayne Garrett and Bobby Pfeil.
