Gilbert Ray Hodges was a Major League Baseball first baseman and manager who spent most of his 18-year career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers.
Hodges collapsed en route to his motel room at the Ramada Inn across the street from Municipal Stadium. Hodges had a heart attack.
He had just finished a round of golf with Mets coaches Joe Pignataro, Ruben Walker, and Eddie Yost.
He led the New York Mets to the World Series win in 1969, one of the biggest upsets in sports history, before dying of a heart attack at the age of 47. In 1982, he was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame, and in 2022, he will be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
From 1960 to 1963, Hodges owned the National League (NL) record for career home runs by a right-handed batter, with his ultimate total of 370 temporarily placing seventh in major league history; from 1957 to 1974, he held the NL record for career grand slams.
He was an eight-time All-Star who anchored the infield on six pennant-winning teams and remains one of the team’s most respected and regarded players.
Hodges was a strong defensive player who earned the first three Gold Glove Awards and led the National League in double plays four times, as well as putouts, assists, and fielding % three times apiece.
When his career ended, he was second in NL history with 1,281 assists and 1,614 double plays, and he was among the league’s lifetime leaders in
