| Royal Stadium | |||||||||
| Player | BA | HR | RBI | Pitcher | W | L | ERA | ||
| C | Smokey Burgess* | .368 | 4 | 46 | Sandy Koufax* | 26 | 8 | 2.04 | |
| C | Thurman Munson | .318 | 12 | 102 | Walter Johnson | 32 | 12 | 1.39 | |
| 1B | Bill Terry* | .401 | 23 | 129 | Ed Walsh | 40 | 15 | 1.42 | |
| 1B | Norm Cash* | .361 | 41 | 132 | Christy Mathewson | 37 | 11 | 1.43 | |
| 2B | Rod Carew* | .359 | 14 | 80 | Joe McGinnity | 35 | 8 | 1.61 | |
| 2B | Glenn Beckert | .342 | 2 | 42 | Denny McLain | 31 | 6 | 1.96 | |
| 3B | Home Run Baker* | .336 | 12 | 126 | Robin Roberts | 28 | 7 | 2.59 | |
| 3B | Al Rosen | .336 | 43 | 145 | Addie Joss | 27 | 10 | 1.83 | |
| SS | Arky Vaughan* | .385 | 19 | 99 | Bucky Walters | 27 | 11 | 2.29 | |
| SS | Luke Appling | .388 | 6 | 128 | Team Totals | 283 | 88 | 1.84 | |
| CF | Mickey Mantle# | .317 | 54 | 128 | |||||
| OF | Sam Crawford* | .378 | 7 | 115 | |||||
| RF | Harry Heilmann | .403 | 18 | 115 | |||||
| RF | Zack Wheat* | .375 | 14 | 97 | |||||
| CF | Earl Averill* | .378 | 28 | 126 | |||||
| LF | Joe Medwick | .374 | 31 | 154 | |||||
| Team Totals | .364 | 328 | 1764 | ||||||
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Forrest Harrill "Smoky" Burgess Born: February 26, 1927, Caroleen, North Carolina Died: September 15, 1991, Asheville, North Carolina Batted: left Threw: right Played for: Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox Smoky Burgess is best known as one of the premier pinch hitters in the game. He lead the league in pinch hits in back-to-back years in 1965-66 with the White Sox, and ranks third (behind Lenny Harris and Manny Mota) on the all-time list with 145 career pinch hits, and held the record in this category for a number of years until his record was broken by Mota. He was also a good defensive catcher- he led National League catchers in fielding three times, and was selected to the All Star team four times. He bounced around a bit in his career, playing for the Cubs, Phillies, Reds, Pirates, and White Sox. The longest he ever lasted with one team was with the Pirates, with whom he played in his only World Series in 1960. All-in-all, Burgess had a top notch career that deserves to be remembered. |
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Thurman Lee Munson Born: June 7, 1947, Akron, Ohio Died: August 2, 1979, Canton, Ohio Batted: right Threw: right Played for: New York Yankees The gruff Munson immediately established his ability to handle veteran pitchers, but had a terrible start as a rookie. Manager Ralph Houk, a former catcher, stuck with him and was vindicated when Munson came around (.302) and captured AL Rookie of the Year honors. Munson's power was slow to develop, but he hit for average and usually batted second in his early years. He was an outstanding fielder, with perhaps the league's quickest release in throwing out basestealers. A sore shoulder later reduced his accuracy. During the Yankees' mini-dynasty of 1976-78 Munson was at his peak. Off the field, he was a leader in the team's vicious clubhouse humor. On the field, he piled up his career-best offensive statistics (even a surprising 14 stolen bases in 1976). He hit over .300 with 100 or more RBI three years in a row (1975-77), won the MVP Award in 1976, and hit .529 in the 1976 WS and .320 in the 1977 and 1978 WS. Munson deserves much of the credit for the late-season surge by a shaky Catfish Hunter during the Yankees' 1978 comeback. During the Yankees' rebuilding years, Bobby Murcer and Munson were the stars around whom the team was constructed, and they were close. Murcer was traded in 1975, but the pair were reunited briefly in 1979. Munson had a more volatile relationship with Reggie Jackson. Initially resented in 1977 for his big free-agent contract, Jackson was shunned by his new teammates. It was Munson, the team captain, who broke the ice and worked to include Jackson in team banter. But then a pre-season interview was published in which Jackson claimed that he was "the straw that stirs the drink. It all comes down to me. Maybe I should say Munson and me, but he really doesn't enter into it. Munson thinks he can be the straw that stirs the drink but he can only stir it bad." Later in the season things were smoothed over, but the relationship was never again more than professional. Eventually the strain of catching 130 games a year began to show, and Munson started playing the outfield and DHing more. However, on August 2, 1979, Munson died as the private plane he was flying crashed in Canton, Ohio |
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William Harold Terry
Born:
October 30, 1898, Atlanta, Georgia Bill Terry's outstanding hitting overshadowed his excellence as a first baseman. The National League's last .400 hitter (.401 in 1930), he batted better than .320 nine years in a row, six times collecting over 200 hits. Terry was the National League's MVP in 1930 and retired with an average of .341 — a modern National League record for left-handed batters. He then succeeded John McGraw as manager and won three pennants with the Giants. Did you know ... that Bill Terry is the last National League player to have garnered a record nine hits in a doubleheader when he turned the trick on June 18, 1929? |
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Norman Dalton Cash Born: November 10, 1934, Justiceburg, Texas Died: October 12, 1986, Beaver Island, Michigan Batted: left Threw: left Played for: Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers Norm Cash had the greatest season of his career in 1961, but it was completely overshadowed by Roger Maris's 61 HR. Cash led the AL with 193 hits and a .361 batting average, 37 points ahead of the runner-up, teammate Al Kaline (they were only the eighth pair of AL teammates to finish one-two in a batting race). Only 12 players have topped his .488 on-base percentage that year, and none since. He had 132 RBI (fourth in the AL), 41 HR (sixth), eight triples (fourth), 119 runs (fourth), 11 stolen bases, 124 walks (second), a .662 slugging percentage (second, ahead of Maris), and 354 total bases (second). The genial, self-deprecating slugger tied two offbeat records. On June 27, 1963, he had no fielding chances at first base. And in the third inning of Game Six of the 1968 World Series, he had two hits as the Tigers scored 10 runs. He batted .385 for the Series, with five RBI and five runs, and hit a homer in Game Two. He also started the Series-winning rally in Game Seven with a two-out, seventh-inning single, and scored the first run of the game on Jim Northrup's triple. In the 1972 LCS, Cash was part of the Tigers' "Over the Hill Gang". He homered in Game One in a losing cause and drove in the tying run of Game Four with a 10th-inning walk as the Tigers came from behind to force a fifth game. Cash drowned in 1986 when he slipped on a boat, fell, and struck his head. |
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Rodney Cline Carew
Born:
October 1, 1945, Gatun, Panama Rod Carew lined, chopped and bunted his way to 3,053 career hits. His seven batting titles are surpassed only by Ty Cobb, Tony Gwynn and Honus Wagner, and equaled only by Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial. He used a variety of relaxed, crouched batting stances to hit over .300 in 15 consecutive seasons with the Twins and Angels, achieving a .328 lifetime average. He was honored as American League Rookie of the Year in 1967, won the league MVP 10 years later and was named to 18 straight All-Star teams. He remains a national hero in Panamá. Did you know ... that Rod Carew's seven steals of home in 1969 is a single-season total surpassed only by Ty Cobb? |
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Glenn Alfred Beckert Born: October 12, 1940, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Bats: right Throws: right Played for: Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres The Cubs' regular second baseman for nine years, Beckert was a reliable contact hitter who hit second in the batting order for most of his career. He was the most difficult batter to strike out in the NL five times (in 1968 he whiffed only 20 times in 643 at-bats), and he walked only slightly more often, but nonetheless led the NL in runs scored with 98 in '68. Although never considered a power hitter, he had 20 or more doubles in six seasons. Throughout Beckert's career, he was overshadowed by two of the greatest second basemen in baseball history. When he first came up, Bill Mazeroski was regularly leading the league in most defensive categories; after Maz faded, Joe Morgan grabbed the second-base spotlight. Beckert was second in the NL in assists from 1966 to 1969, and in 1971 he won a Gold Glove. He received his nickname, Bruno (after the wrestler Bruno Sammartino), from teammate Paul Popovich in the minor leagues, because Beckert frequently knocked down other infielders in pursuit of pop-ups. |
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John Franklin "Home Run" Baker
Born: March 13, 1886, Trappe,
Maryland A powerful slugger of the dead ball era, Frank Baker manned the hot corner in Connie Mack's famous "$100,000 Infield." He led the American League in homers in 1911 and then hit two more in the World Series, earning him the nickname "Home Run." Baker later led the league in homers three more times, although he never hit more than 12 in a season, a result of playing in the dead ball era. Did you know ... that over his 13-year major league career, Frank Baker never played a single big league inning at any position other than third base? |
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Albert Leonard Rosen "Flip" Born: February 29, 1924, Spartanburg, South Carolina Bats: right Throws: right Played for: Cleveland Indians Flip got his nickname as a quick-wristed softball pitcher on Miami's sandlots. A tough guy and amateur boxer, Rosen had his nose broken eleven times. Determined, exuberant, and prematurely gray, Rosen came up in 1947, but his glove work was so bad that he posed no immediate threat to slick-fielding Indian third baseman Ken Keltner. But in 1950, his first full season, he led the AL with 37 homers (a league record for rookies at the time), and he honed his fielding skills sufficiently to lead the AL in assists. In 1953, with his shirt sleeves cut to show his bulging biceps, Rosen led the AL in homers (43) and RBI (145), but lost the batting title to Mickey Vernon on the last day of the season. He was the unanimous choice for AL MVP. In the 1954 All-Star Game, played in Cleveland, Rosen cracked two consecutive home runs. Nagging injuries - including whiplash suffered in an auto accident - and booing from Cleveland fans caused Rosen to quit at age 32 to sell stocks and bonds. He reentered baseball 20 years later as president of the Yankees, then the Astros, and then president and general manager of the Giants. His maneuvering brought San Francisco from last place in 1985 to the NL West title in 1987. |
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Joseph Floyd "Arky" Vaughan
Born: March
9, 1912, Clifty, Arkansas Among Hall of Fame shortstops, Arky Vaughan's .318 lifetime batting average ranks second only to Honus Wagner's .327 mark. Vaughan batted a league-leading .385 in 1935 — a 20th century record for National League shortstops — and averaged .300 or better every one of his 10 seasons with the Bucs. Though not a power hitter, the nine-time All-Star homered twice in the 1941 Midsummer Classic. He was also a good baserunner, leading the league in runs scored and triples three years a piece and in stolen bases once. Did you know ... that despite leaving his home state of Arkansas before his first birthday, one of Floyd Vaughan’s schoolmates tagged the future ballplayer with the monicker “Arky?" |
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Lucius Benjamin Appling
Born: April
2, 1907, High Point, North Carolina Luke Appling was a remarkably steady shortstop with an uncanny batting eye. He spent his entire 20-year career (1930 to 1950) with the White Sox and was twice voted the franchise's greatest player by the fans. A two-time American League batting champion, he topped the .300 mark 14 times. His ability to foul off pitches became his trademark at the plate. Appling was known as "Old Aches and Pains" because of his frequent ailments. Did you know ... that Luke Appling never reached the post-season in 20 seasons with the Chicago White Sox? |
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Mickey Charles Mantle
Born:
October 20, 1931, Spavinaw, Oklahoma Mickey Mantle was a star from the start, parlaying a talent for the game and boyish good looks into iconic status. In spite of a series of devastating injuries, Mantle accumulated a long list of impressive accomplishments, finishing his 18-year career with 536 home runs and a .298 batting average. The switch-hitting "Commerce Comet" won three MVP awards and a Triple Crown (1956). He contributed to 12 pennants and seven World Series titles in his first 14 seasons while establishing numerous World Series records, including most home runs (18). Did you know ... that Mickey Mantle was named after future Hall of Fame catcher Gordon "Mickey" Cochrane? |
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Samuel Earl Crawford
Born: April
18, 1880, Wahoo, Nebraska Sam Crawford was one of the top all-around players from the dead ball era. Combining a powerful stroke and blazing speed, it was with the triple that "Wahoo Sam" would make his mark as he set the major league record with 312, leading the league six times. Over his 19-year major league career he captured 363 steals. Crawford, who teamed with Ty Cobb to lead the Tigers to three straight American League pennants (1907 to 1909), finished his career with 2,964 hits and a batting average of .309. Did you know ... that Sam Crawford holds the single-season record for most inside-the-park home runs, with 12 in 1901?
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Harry Edwin Heilmann
Born:
August 3, 1894, San Francisco, California In the history of the major leagues, Rogers Hornsby and Ed Delahanty are the only right-handed batters to hit for a better average than Harry Heilmann's .342 lifetime mark. Teaming with Ty Cobb for the Detroit Tigers, Heilmann won four batting titles between 1921 and 1927 with averages of .394, .403, .393 and .398; he came within nine hits of hitting .400 each year. Following his retirement from the field, Heilmann broadcast Tigers games for 17 years. Did you know ... that in July of 1916, Harry Heilmann saved the life of a woman who nearly drowned in the Detroit River? |
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Zachary Davis Wheat
Born: May
23, 1888, Hamilton, Missouri A model of consistency, Zack Wheat collected 2,884 hits over 19 seasons and still holds Dodger franchise records for career hits, doubles, triples, and total bases. His hit totals exploded with the advent of the lively ball in 1920, collecting 200 hits three times and batting over .350 three consecutive years. A left-handed line-drive hitter, he batted .300 or better 13 times, hit .317 for his career, and led the Brooklyn Robins to their first two World Series appearances in 1916 and 1920. Did you know ... that in 1916 the outfield wall at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field was adorned with the following advertisement for Tanglefoot Flypaper: "In 1915 Wheat, Brooklyn, caught 345 flies. Tanglefoot caught 50,000,000,000 flies." |
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Howard Earl Averill
Born: May
21, 1902, Snohomish, Washington Earl Averill didn't arrive in the big leagues until he was 26, but made up for lost time in a hurry. "The Earl of Snohomish," homered in his first big league at-bat, hit .332 as a rookie with the Indians in 1929. He hit over .300 in each of his first six seasons and in eight of his first 10, reaching a best of .378 in 1936. The graceful outfielder finished with 238 homers and a .318 average. Did you know ... that Earl Averill was the only American League outfielder to be named to each of the first six All-Star Games (1933-1938)? |
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Joseph Michael Medwick
Born:
November 24, 1911, Carteret, New Jersey Tough and gruff, outfielder Joe Medwick's competitive spirit typified the rowdy "Gashouse Gang" Cardinals of the 1930s. Medwick, nicknamed "Ducky" because of his waddling gait, ended his 17-year career with a .324 batting average. He also accumulated 1,383 RBI, topping the National League three straight years. In 1937, he not only captured the last National League Triple Crown, but also led the senior circuit in nine other categories and was voted the loop's Most Valuable Player. Did you know ... that Joe Medwick was the first player to collect four hits in an All-Star Game when he turned the trick in the 1937 Mid-Summer Classic? |
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Sanford Koufax
Born:
December 30, 1935, Brooklyn, New York After Sandy Koufax finally tamed his blazing fastball, he enjoyed a five-year stretch as perhaps the most dominating pitcher in the game's history. He won 25 games three times, won five straight ERA titles, and set a new standard with 382 strikeouts in 1965. His fastball and devastating curve enabled him to pitch no-hitters in four consecutive seasons, culminating with a perfect game in 1965. He posted a 0.95 ERA in four career World Series, helping the Dodgers to three championships. Did you know ... that Sandy Koufax attended the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship, playing freshman basketball (and baseball) under legendary hoops coach Ed Jucker? |
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Walter Perry Johnson
Born:
November 6, 1887, Humboldt, Kansas There were no sophisticated measuring devices in the early 1900s, but Walter Johnson's fastball was considered to be in a class by itself. Using a sweeping sidearm delivery, the "Big Train" fanned 3,508 over a brilliant 21-year career with the Washington Senators, and his 110 shutouts are more than any pitcher. Despite hurling for losing teams most of his career, he won 417 games — second only to Cy Young on the all-time list — and enjoyed 10 successive seasons of 20 or more victories. Did you know ... that Walter Johnson's final major league appearance came as a pinch hitter in the same game in which Babe Ruth hit his then-record 60th home run of the season, September 30, 1927? |
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Edward Augustine Walsh
Born: May
14, 1881, Plains, Pennsylvania Ed Walsh used a dominating spitball to average 24 victories a season over a seven-year span (1906-12) for the Chicago White Sox. The right-hander, who twice hurled over 400 frames in a season, is best remembered for his 1908 campaign, when he finished with a 40-15 record, 42 complete games in 49 starts, 464 innings pitched, 11 shutouts, and 269 strikeouts. "Big Ed" finished his career with a 195-126 record. Did you know ... that Ed Walsh is credited with the lowest career major league ERA of all time (1.82), but this number is unofficial since ERA was not accepted as a statistic by the AL until 1913? |
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Christopher Mathewson
Born:
August 12, 1880, Factoryville, Pennsylvania As charismatic and popular as any player in the early 1900s, the college-educated Christy Mathewson won 373 games over 17 seasons, primarily for the New York Giants. Using his famous fadeaway pitch, "Matty" won at least 22 games for 12 straight years (and four times won 30 or more) beginning in 1903. A participant in four World Series, Mathewson's lone title came in 1905 when he tossed three shutouts in six days against the Athletics. He set the modern National League mark with 37 wins in 1908. Did you know ... that Christy Mathewson was an accomplished checkers player, once having defeated Newell Banks, world champion checkers player from 1917-1922 and 1933-1934? |
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Joseph Jerome McGinnity
Born: March
19, 1871, Rock Island, Illinois Joe McGinnity was nicknamed "Iron Man" because he worked in a foundry during the offseason, but the moniker eventually came to describe the way he pitched. He was famous for starting both ends of a doubleheader and in 1903 he pulled off the feat three times in a single month, winning all six games. McGinnity was an important part of pennant-winning teams with Brooklyn in 1900 and t |