Ex-Brave Claudell Washington dies at age 65

Braves outfielder Claudell Washington confronts a Reds player during a game in the 1980s.

Credit: Lanna Swindler

Credit: Lanna Swindler

Braves outfielder Claudell Washington confronts a Reds player during a game in the 1980s.

According to multiple media reports, former major league outfielder Claudell Washington died Wednesday morning.

Washington, 65, played in 17 seasons for seven teams, including the Braves.

He signed with the Braves as a free agent after the 1980 season and was a key contributor to the 1982 National League West champions. The Braves traded Washington to the Yankees in June 1986, receiving Ken Griffey Sr. in return.

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Washington’s career began with the Oakland Athletics in 1974, when he played in 73 games. His debut came eight weeks before his 20th birthday. That season he played on the third of Oakland’s three consecutive World Series champions. Washington hit .571 against the NL champion Dodgers that October.

Washington played in two All-Star games, including in 1975, when at 21 he became one of the younger All-Stars in history.

In 651 games for the Braves, his most with any team, Washington compiled a .278 batting average, with 67 home runs and 279 RBIs. In 1982, Washington hit .266 with 16 homers and 80 RBIs. He was 3-for-9 as the Cardinals swept the Braves in three games in that year’s NL Championship Series.

In a tweet Wednesday, Susan Slusser, the A’s beat writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, reported that Washington was living in the Bay Area “and had been battling illness for several years.”

Washington was born Aug. 31, 1954 in Los Angeles and went to high school in Berkeley, Calif.