Bobby Knoop Robert Frank Knoop (born October 18, 1938 in Sioux City, Iowa) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Los Angeles & California Angels (1964-69), Chicago White Sox (1969-70) and Kansas City Royals (1971-72). After retiring, he served as a coach for the Angels (1979-1998). Nicknamed "Nureyev" by sportswriters for his exciting and acrobatic fielding plays, Knoop played a deep second base, with exceptional range and a strong arm. He turned the double play well along with shortstop Jim Fregosi, to give the Angels outstanding keystone defense. As a hitter, he had his best season in 1966 with career-highs of 17 homeruns, 72 RBI, 54 runs and 11 triples.
Knoop was sent to the White Sox in the 1969 mid-season and was traded to the Royals in 1971. With Kansas City, he played mostly as a backup for Cookie Rojas.
In his career Knoop batted .236, with 56 homeruns, 331 RBI, 337 runs, 129 doubles, 29 triples, and 16 stolen bases in 1153 games.
Currently, Knoop works as an infield assistant coach at Seton Catholic High School in Arizona.
Highlights
All-Star (1966) 3-time Gold Glove Awards (1966-68) Led league in triples (1966) Set an AL record for 2B with 12 putouts in a nine-inning game (1966) Set an AL record for 2B with six double plays in game (1966) Teamed with SS Jim Fregosi a duo winner of the Gold Glove award, joining a select list of eight shortstop-second baseman combinations have won the honor in the same season while playing together (1967) See also
List of Gold Glove middle infield duos
