spring training with the Yankees. He stuck with the team until April, when he was assigned to the minor league Class A Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern League before the start of the season. Plews played 28 games for Binghamton but was reassigned to the Class B Norfolk Tars because the Yankees had a double play combination at Binghamton, the Charnofsky twins, that they wanted to play together–with the Charnofskys playing every day, Plews, a second baseman, would have gotten very little playing time. At Norfolk, he had immediate success. Through his first 53 games in the Piedmont League, he hit for a .323 batting average, one of the highest in the league, second only to teammate Jerry Lynch's mark of .331. Plews ended the season with a .304 average, good enough for sixth in the league, two home runs, and 111 hits. During 1954 spring training, Plews and teammate Jim Ludtka accomplished the rare feat of hitting two Inside-the-park home runs in a single game, both coming against pitcher Roger Higgins of the Little Rock Travelers. Plews spent the season with the Class AA Birmingham Barons of the Southern Association. In 129 games, he batted .299 with 157 hits and nine home runs. He led the Southern Association in triples, with 16. He moved up to Class AAA in 1955 with the Denver Bears of the American Association. In 140 games, he batted .302 with 160 hits, no home runs, and 44 runs batted in (RBI). Plews ranked among the league leaders in runs scored (100, eighth), triples (11, tied with Don Blasingame for third), and stolen bases (nine, ninth). His strong year at Denver drew the attention of the Washington Senators, who traded Mickey McDermott and Bobby Kline to the Yankees for Plews, Lou Berberet, Dick Tettelbach, Bob Wiesler, and a player to be named later (eventually Whitey Herzog) before the 1956 season began. Major league career Plews joined the Senators for 1956 spring training and was added to their roster for 1956. He made his debut with the Senators against the Yankees, on April 18, 1956, at Griffith Stadium, pinch-hitting and driving in a run in the eighth inning, though New York won 9–5. He was used mostly as a pinch-hitter for his first four months in the major leagues. On July 27, though, he became the team's starting second baseman, replacing Tony Roig. Plews batted .450