George Theodore

{{short description|American baseball player (born 1947)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=George Theodore

|image=George Theodore Mets.jpg

|caption=

|position=Outfielder

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1947|11|13}}

|birth_place=Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=April 14

|debutyear=1973

|debutteam=New York Mets

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 2

|finalyear=1974

|finalteam=New York Mets

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.219

|stat2label=Hits

|stat2value=42

|stat3label=Home runs

|stat3value=2

|teams=

• New York Mets ({{mlby|1973}}–{{mlby|1974}})

|highlights=

}}

George Basil Theodore (born November 13, 1947) is a retired Major League Baseball player. Nicknamed "The Stork", the {{convert|6|ft|4|in|abbr=on}}, {{convert|190|lb|abbr=on}} Theodore played outfield for the New York Mets in 1973 and 1974. He is probably best remembered for a brutal collision in left-center field with Don Hahn in a game against the Atlanta Braves at Shea Stadium on July 7, 1973. As a result of the collision, Ralph Garr scored an inside-the-park home run, and Theodore dislocated his hip and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher.

He is also remembered for his offbeat personality and idiosyncratic interviews. For example, he once remarked, "I've been trying transcendental meditation, and that helps me be passive and wait on the curve. I've got to find something else to hit the slider."Zervos, D. (1998) Baseball's Golden Greeks Aegean Books International, pp.247-8

File:George Theodore 1968.jpeg

Theodore played in 2 games of the 1973 World Series during the Mets' tough loss in 7 games to the Oakland Athletics, where he finished with a .000 batting average in 2 plate appearances. That happened in games 2 and 4, both of which the Mets won.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=theodge01&t=b&post=1 Postseason Batting Game Log]. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on August 17, 2021.

After his baseball career, Theodore returned to the University of Utah and earned a Master of Social Work degree in 1978.{{cite news |last1=Nozawa |first1=Jennifer |title=The Stork |url=https://continuum.utah.edu/features/the-stork/ |access-date=14 September 2022 |work=Continuum |date=Fall 2016}} He went on to work for 38 years as a counselor to elementary school students. In 2016, South Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce named him Educator of the Year.[https://web.archive.org/web/20160423062556/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865652417/A-champion-on-and-off-the-field.html?pg=2 About Utah: A champion on and off the field]. Deseret News. Retrieved on July 21, 2016.

On September 28, 2008, Theodore returned to Shea Stadium for the stadium's closing ceremony. Theodore was interviewed during a game by the TV broadcasters on April 16, 2023, when the Mets played the A's in Oakland for a 1973 World Series reunion segment.