Dick Bertell – Baseball Player Biography, Career, Net Worth Information

Dick Bertell wrapped up his eight-year Major League Baseball career in 1967, closing out a journey where he served as a steady catcher for two National League teams. Born Richard George Bertell on November 21, 1935, he spent most of his pro years with the Chicago Cubs, with a short run for the San Francisco Giants at the end.

He called it quits in 1967 after playing his final season back with the Cubs. That capped a career from 1960 to 1967, where he hit .250 and knocked 10 balls out of the park.

Bertell’s path had its share of highs and some rough patches, including a knee injury that sidelined him for all of 1966.

His story gives a glimpse into the life of a journeyman catcher in the 1960s. He worked his way up through the minors, peaked as Chicago’s main catcher, then faced the tough decision to retire at just 32.

His stats and playing style matched what teams wanted from catchers back then. Defense mattered more than offense.

Early Life and Background

Dick Bertell was born on November 21, 1935, in Oak Park, Illinois. He spent his early years there, falling in love with baseball.

He later attended Iowa State University. That’s where he sharpened his skills before jumping into pro ball.

Childhood in Oak Park, Illinois

Bertell grew up in Oak Park, a suburb just west of Chicago. Born in 1935, he was raised in a community with strong youth baseball programs.

Oak Park had plenty of baseball diamonds and active youth leagues during the 1940s and early ’50s.

Bertell showed talent as a catcher pretty early on. His right-handed swing and strong arm helped him stand out.

With Chicago so close, he often caught Cubs and White Sox games. That exposure probably fueled his own baseball dreams.

As a teen, Bertell played for different local teams. He built the fundamentals that would eventually help him in pro ball.

Education and Amateur Baseball

Bertell went to Iowa State University, where he kept developing as a player. The school’s baseball program gave him tougher competition and better coaching.

At Iowa State, he worked on his catching and his approach at the plate. College ball let him face better pitchers and compete with top amateur players.

His college performance caught the eye of pro scouts. The Chicago Cubs eventually signed him.

That college experience got him ready for the grind of pro baseball. The structure and competition at Iowa State helped him bridge the gap.

By the time he finished school, Bertell had become a promising catching prospect. His defense and hitting potential made him a strong candidate for the majors.

MLB Debut and Chicago Cubs Career

Dick Bertell made his MLB debut with the Cubs on September 22, 1960, at 24. He spent most of his seven-year career with Chicago, becoming their main catcher through the mid-1960s.

His best season was 1962, when he hit .302.

Major League Debut in 1960

Bertell broke into the majors on September 22, 1960, with the Cubs. He played just five games that September.

He got 19 plate appearances in those games, picking up two hits in 15 at-bats for a .133 average.

Bertell drove in two runs and walked three times. He only struck out once during that stint.

Behind the plate, he caught 44 innings in four starts. He finished three games and handled 24 chances without an error.

That short run gave him a taste of the big leagues. He came back in 1961 ready to fight for more playing time.

Role as Starting Catcher

Bertell became the Cubs’ main catcher in 1961. He started 75 games and played in 90, getting 287 plate appearances that year.

His defensive chops earned him regular starts, even though his bat was just okay. In 1961, he hit .273 with 73 hits and 33 RBIs.

1962 was his best at the plate. He batted .302 in 77 games, with two homers and 18 RBIs.

Even though he played less than half the team’s games in 1962, Bertell caught more innings than any other Cubs catcher. He started 61 games and caught 537 innings.

In 1963 and 1964, he was the workhorse behind the plate. He started 97 games in 1963 and 105 in 1964.

In 1964, he completed 89 games as catcher and handled 594 chances. He batted .238 with four home runs.

Notable Moments with the Cubs

Bertell’s 1963 season stood out for his defense. He threw out 45 of 74 base stealers, a 60.8% caught stealing rate.

That was way above the league average of 41.8%. His arm and game-calling made him valuable to Cubs pitchers.

The 1962 Cubs finally had a winning record after years of losing, and Bertell’s .302 average helped the turnaround.

He brought consistency behind the plate, catching over 500 innings in four different seasons from 1961 to 1964.

His time with the Cubs paused in May 1965 when Chicago traded him to San Francisco. The deal sent Bertell and Len Gabrielson to the Giants for Ed Bailey, Bob Hendley, and Harvey Kuenn.

San Francisco Giants Tenure

Bertell played for the San Francisco Giants from May 1965 to April 1967, but injuries cut his time short. The Giants picked him up in a multi-player trade, but things didn’t really click for him there.

Trade to the Giants

The Cubs traded Bertell to the Giants on May 29, 1965. Outfielder Len Gabrielson went with him.

In return, the Cubs got three players from San Francisco. The Giants sent catcher Ed Bailey, pitcher Bob Hendley, and outfielder Harvey Kuenn to Chicago.

This trade happened in the middle of the 1965 season. Bertell had been the Cubs’ main catcher for years before the move.

San Francisco probably hoped Bertell would upgrade their catching. His arm strength was a big selling point.

Performance in San Francisco

Bertell’s numbers took a hit after joining the Giants. He played just 22 games in 1965 for San Francisco.

His batting average dropped to .188, a steep fall from his Chicago days.

A knee injury wiped out Bertell’s 1966 season. He stayed on the Giants’ roster but didn’t play in any big-league games that year.

That injury basically ended his run as a regular. His throwing, once his best asset, wasn’t the same.

Before the 1967 season, the Giants traded Bertell back to the Cubs. San Francisco got Don Bryant for him on April 3, 1967.

Retirement in 1967

Dick Bertell’s baseball career ended during the 1967 season after he struggled to come back from injury. His last stint with the Cubs marked the end of an eight-year MLB run that injuries had really interrupted.

Final Major League Games

Bertell played his last games in 1967 with the Cubs, the team he’d spent most of his career with. That year, he only got 6 at-bats.

He managed just one hit in those six tries, finishing with a .167 average for his final season.

The 1967 season was a big drop-off from his earlier years. He once caught 110 games for the Cubs in 1964 and hit .273 and .302 in 1961 and 1962.

His final numbers showed a career batting average of .250, with 10 homers and 112 RBIs in 444 games. That’s a solid, if unspectacular, career for a backup catcher.

Reasons for Retirement

A knee injury really spelled the end for Bertell. It had already cost him all of 1966.

The Cubs gave him another shot in 1967, but his comeback just didn’t work out. His body couldn’t handle catching in the majors anymore.

At 31, Bertell was still pretty young for a ballplayer. But those knee problems added up, and he just couldn’t keep going.

He probably decided to retire when it became clear he couldn’t get back to his old level. With so little playing time in 1967, even the Cubs seemed to realize he was done.

Career Statistics and Playing Style

Dick Bertell finished with a .250 average, 327 hits, and 10 home runs in 444 games from 1960 to 1967. His defense behind the plate made him valuable for both the Cubs and Giants.

Batting and Fielding Achievements

Bertell’s offense was pretty typical for catchers of his era. He collected 327 hits and drove in 112 runs over 1,310 at-bats. His best year with the bat was 1962, when he hit .302 with a .343 on-base percentage.

He hit right-handed and made decent contact, though he didn’t have much power. Ten home runs over his whole career, with 34 doubles and 9 triples making up most of his extra-base hits.

At the plate, Bertell drew 106 walks and struck out 188 times. His .305 on-base percentage was decent for catchers back then.

On defense, Bertell caught 431 games in his career. He ended up with a .985 fielding percentage, just a tick under the league average of .987. In 1963, he caught 99 games and posted a .988 fielding mark.

Defensive Skills as a Catcher

Bertell brought his biggest value on defense. He caught 78 complete games in 1963, his best year as a catcher. He worked well with the Cubs’ pitching staff and earned his starts.

His arm had its moments. In 1963, he threw out 45 of 74 base stealers for a 60.8% success rate, which was way above the league average.

But his results weren’t always that strong. In 1962, he caught just 17 of 58 base stealers, a 29.3% rate.

Even when his bat was quiet, Bertell’s game-calling kept him in the lineup. He worked well with Cubs pitchers during his longest stretch with the team.

Advanced Metrics and rOBA

Modern stats give a better sense of what Bertell brought to the table. His rOBA (runs above average based on on-base average) peaked at .325 in 1962, showing he was an above-average hitter that year.

For his career, his rOBA was .289. That’s a little below league standards but not bad for a catcher.

WAR (Wins Above Replacement) puts Bertell at 3.0 for his career. His best year was 1964, with 1.5 WAR, even though he hit just .238.

The advanced stats point to 1963 and 1964 as his most valuable seasons. His defense and durability added value, even when his bat cooled off.

All in all, Bertell gave teams steady, if not flashy, production during his seven years in the majors.

Legacy and Personal Life

Dick Bertell left behind a legacy shaped by his defensive skills and mentorship of younger players. After baseball, he kept his life mostly private until he passed away in 1999.

He made a mark on the Cubs organization, and fans remembered him as a reliable catcher. Even in his later years, he stayed out of the spotlight.

Influence on Teammates and Franchise

Bertell really stood out for his defensive abilities and leadership behind the plate. He threw out base runners at a 47.74% success rate—that put him fourth all-time, which says a lot about his arm and instincts.

During his best seasons with the Cubs in 1961 and 1962, Bertell hit .273 and .302 as a part-timer. That steady presence gave Chicago’s pitching staff a bit of much-needed stability.

He set an example for younger players with his work ethic and defensive fundamentals. Bertell handled pitchers well and called games with confidence, so teammates valued his mentorship even if his bat wasn’t always hot.

In 1964, he caught a career-high 110 games, showing his durability. He also tied for the National League lead in errors with 11, which pointed to areas where he still needed to improve. Still, he never shied away from taking on a bigger role.

Life After Baseball

When Bertell retired in 1967, he stepped away from the public eye. Unlike some former players who stuck around as coaches or broadcasters, he decided to go his own way.

Not much info is out there about what he did after baseball. That kind of privacy was pretty common for players from his era—most just returned to regular jobs once their playing days ended.

Bertell lived quietly for over thirty years after leaving the game. His choice to stay out of the spotlight probably reflected how different the relationship between players and the media was back in the 1960s.

His life stayed mostly undocumented until he died on December 20, 1999, at age 64.

Commemoration and Remembering Dick Bertell

Dick Bertell’s baseball legacy sticks around mostly because of stats and baseball databases. You can still spot his defensive skills, especially how well he stopped base stealers—honestly, that’s still pretty impressive in baseball history.

The Baseball Almanac, along with a few other sites, keeps his career stats and biographical details alive. They follow his path from Oak Park, Illinois, all the way to the majors when he was 24.

You can find his grave site, which stands as a real-world reminder of his baseball years from 1960 to 1967. The inscription calls out that he caught for both the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants.

If you’re a modern baseball fan, you can pull up his full stat line online anytime. Sure, his .250 career batting average and 10 home runs don’t jump off the page, but he made his mark as a defense-first player—sometimes that’s what really counts.