Andrews grew up in Torrance,California,attending the city's South High School,starring in baseball,football and basketball. After he accepted a full football scholarship to the University of California,Los Angeles (UCLA) that required a one-year enrollment at a junior college to complete foreign language courses,he matriculated at El Camino College,earning Junior College All-American honors as a wide receiver. [3]
His baseball skills drew the attention of the Red Sox,who signed him as an amateur free agent with a $12,000 signing bonus on December 1,1961. [3] He spent the next five years working his way through the Red Sox farm system,the first four as a shortstop. He excelled at the plate in his first three seasons,batting .299 with the Class D Olean (NY) Red Sox of the New York–Penn League in 1962,.298 combined between the Waterloo Hawks and Winston-Salem Red Sox in 1963 and .295 with the Reading Red Sox in 1964. However,he struggled with his defense,committing 74,36 and 42 errors in those respective campaigns. [4] He spent his last two years in the minors with the Toronto Maple Leafs,back-to-back Governors' Cup Champions managed by Dick Williams. After his batting average fell to .246 in 1965,Andrews was shifted to second base and responded by hitting .267,with 14 homers and an International League-leading 97 runs scored in 1966. [3]
He was promoted in September 1966 to a Boston team that avoided the American League cellar by only
Oakland Athletics 1973 World Series champions | |
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