Preston Rudolph York (August 17, 1913 – February 5, 1970) was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout, and manager.

A seven-time All-Star, York broke Babe Ruth's record by hitting 18 home runs in a single month – a feat he accomplished as a rookie in 1937.

He was the batting coach for the Boston Red Sox for four years from 1959 to 1962, including one game in July 1959 in which he acted as the team's interim manager.

"[2] In the late 1920s, York's mother moved the family to a mill town operated by the American Textile Company (ATCO) on the outskirts of Cartersville, Georgia.

[5][6] Greenberg missed most of the 1936 season with a broken wrist, but the Tigers traded for Jack Burns rather than calling up York.

While Burns hit .283 with four home runs in Detroit, York played first base for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association.

[1] He hit 18 home runs and collected 35 RBIs in the month of August, breaking the major league records previously held by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

He hit .298, was selected for the All-Star team, and ranked among the American League leaders with 33 home runs (third), 128 RBIs (third), and a .579 slugging percentage (fifth).

[1] During the 1939 season, York shared catching duties with Birdie Tebbetts and started only 78 games – 67 at catcher and 11 at first base.

The move proved successful as Greenberg and York each played 154 games and ranked highly among the league's batters in several key batting statistics: first and second in RBIs (150 and 134); first and second in total bases (384 and 343); first and second in doubles (50 and 46); and first and third in home runs (41 and 33).

[9] The power duo of Greenberg and York helped propel the Tigers to the American League pennant with a 90–64 record.

In the 1940 World Series, the Tigers lost to the Cincinnati Reds as York batted .231 (6-for-26) with one home run and two RBIs.

[1] (On August 24, in the first game of a doubleheader in Boston, York received an unwanted distinction when his future teammate, slugger Ted Williams, was called in to pitch in a 12-1 Tigers rout.

)[10] The Tigers lost Greenberg to military service for the 1941 season, leaving York as the team's principal offensive weapon.

His batting average declined to .259, but he continued to hit for power with 27 home runs (including a three-home-run game on September 1st at Detroit) and 111 RBIs.

Detroit sport writer H. G. Salsinger wrote at the time:"York got away to a bad start and soon found himself in a severe slump.

[1] In 1945, he started 155 games at first base for the Tigers team that won the American League pennant and defeated the Chicago Cubs in the 1945 World Series.

[15] The combination of York, Ted Williams, and Bobby Doerr helped lead Boston to the American League pennant.

On April 26, York escaped an early-morning fire in his Boston hotel suite caused when he fell asleep with a cigarette in his hand and liquor bottles strewn around.

[18] After the trade from Boston, York started 102 games at first base for the White Sox and compiled a .243 batting average with 15 home runs and 64 RBIs.

It is believed that his playing career finally ended in 1952 when he batted .258 with two home runs for Benson-DeGraff in Minnesota's Class AA amateur Western Minny league.

[22] In 13 major league seasons, York compiled a .275 batting average with 1,621 hits in 5,891 at-bats, a .483 slugging percentage, 291 doubles, 52 triples, 792 walks, 277 home runs, and 1,149 RBIs in 1,603 games.

[2] In June 1957, he was named by the Cleveland Indians as the manager of their North Platte team in the Nebraska State League.

[28][29] In 1963, with the hiring of Johnny Pesky as Boston's manager, York lost his job as the team's batting coach.

[31] Hired by former Tiger teammate Paul Richards, he then was listed as a scout for the Houston franchise, renamed the Astros, in 1965.

Lester Maddox unveiled a five-foot high marble monument and a bronze plaque honoring York.