Eddie Basinski, the violin-playing second baseman for the Portland Beavers, has died at age 99

Edwin Frank Basinski, who played 11 seasons with the Portland Beavers and was the second-oldest former Major League Baseball player, died Saturday at a care facility in Gladstone where he had resided for the last seven years.

“The good side is, he lived 99 years and 65 days,” his son, Dave Basinski, said. “He had a full life, like Betty White. His spirits were good right up until the end.”

Basinski was often included on lists of the greatest Beavers of all time, and was once voted by fans as the “Most Famous Beaver.” In 2006, he was inducted into the Pacific Coast League Hall Of Fame.

During his time as a second baseman in Portland, Basinski had 87 home runs and 231 doubles. His career batting average was .258 over 15 minor league seasons. He was also known to serenade the crowd with his violin. As a classically trained violinist, Basinski had played with the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944.

“He was a celebrity in Portland,” his son said. “I was so young I didn’t really get to appreciate it, but I have vague memories of going to the games and being in the clubhouse and years of hearing these stories. He became a very popular public speaker because he was a colorful storyteller.”

One of his favorite stories was about his start in the major leagues. Rheumatic fever at the age of 4 left Basinski color blind, and was the reason he wasn’t drafted during World War II. Instead, he worked for a mechanical engineering company while also playing in three different Triple-A teams around Buffalo, New York, where he grew up.

During an all-star game among the Triple-A teams, a Dodgers scout invited him to join batting practice at Ebbets Field. Basinski would show up to practice with the team, then change into his street clothes and watch the game from the stands.

This went on for a few days. Then, as he was changing back into his street clothes, Dodgers manager Leo Durocher called the lineup for that day’s game.

“He called ‘Basinski, shortstop.’ And at that moment his life changed forever,” Dave Basinski said. “He got a $5,000 signing bonus with the Dodgers, and that was a lot of money back in 1944.”

Eddie Basinski played two seasons with the Dodgers and one with the Pittsburgh Pirates, before being sold to the Beavers in 1947 and joining the Pacific Coast League.

His son recalled that Basinski always wore the same pair of slacks to every home game in Portland.

“Of all the sports, baseball players are the most superstitious,” Dave Basinski said. “The pace of the game is such that there’s a lot of time to reminisce and to think and to over-think.”

In the days before player pensions, Basinski left baseball in the late 1950s and spent 31 years working as an account manager with Consolidated Freightways before retiring. In his later years, he was active with Portland area Kiwanis Clubs and the Junior League, where he enjoyed speaking about his baseball career.

Around 2014, Basinski started to exhibit signs of dementia.

“He could remember all kinds of details and stories from all those years, but at the same time, when I would talk to him on the phone he would get confused and think I was my brother,” Dave Basinski said.

Eddie’s other son, Jeff Basinski, was a coach, athletic director and assistant principal with the Forest Grove School District. He died suddenly in 2011, and Forest Grove High School’s Basinski Center gym was named in his honor in 2013.

Eddie Basinski had two ex-wives and a long-time partner, all of whom preceded him in death. No funeral services are planned.

-- Samantha Swindler, @editorswindler, sswindler@oregonian.com