| Wrigley Field | |||||||||
| Player | BA | HR | RBI | Pitcher | W | L | ERA | ||
| C | Yogi Berra* | .322 | 28 | 124 | Lefty Grove* | 31 | 4 | 2.06 | |
| C | Roy Campanella | .312 | 41 | 142 | Lefty Gomez* | 26 | 5 | 2.33 | |
| 1B | Lou Gehrig | .373 | 47 | 175 | Schoolboy Rowe | 24 | 8 | 3.45 | |
| 1B | Ferris Fain* | .344 | 6 | 57 | Andy Mssersmith | 20 | 6 | 2.59 | |
| 2B | Nap Lajoie | .422 | 13 | 125 | Daffy Dean | 19 | 12 | 3.37 | |
| 2B | Pete Runnels* | .320 | 2 | 35 | Dizzy Trout | 27 | 14 | 2.12 | |
| 3B | Pie Traynor | .338 | 12 | 101 | Dazzy Vance | 28 | 6 | 2.16 | |
| 3B | Pinky Higgins | .330 | 16 | 90 | Burleigh Grimes | 23 | 11 | 2.22 | |
| SS | Pee Wee Reese | .309 | 10 | 69 | Gaylord Perry | 24 | 16 | 1.92 | |
| SS | Joe Tinker | .288 | 3 | 69 | Team Totals | 222 | 82 | 2.47 | |
| LF | Billy Williams* | .333 | 37 | 122 | |||||
| LF | Carl Yastrzmski | .326 | 44 | 121 | |||||
| CF | Dom DiMaggio | .328 | 7 | 70 | |||||
| CF | Max Carey# | .343 | 5 | 44 | |||||
| RF | Mel Ott* | .318 | 38 | 123 | |||||
| OF | Heinie Manush* | .378 | 13 | 108 | |||||
| Team Totals | .337 | 322 | 1575 | ||||||
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Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra
Born: May
12, 1925, St. Louis, Missouri No player to date can match Yogi Berra's resume when it comes to playing on 14 pennant-winners and 10 World Championship teams. The heart of the Yankees for 18 seasons, Berra topped the 100-RBI mark four years in a row and became a three-time American League MVP. In every season from 1948 to 1962, Berra was selected to the All-Star team. During his career he called three no-hitters, including Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series. Known for his "Yogi-isms," Berra has always been a fan favorite. Did you know ... that Yogi Berra provided anti-aircraft cover as a gunner's mate aboard a boat during the Normandy invasion on D-Day? Hall of Fame Teammates: Bill Dickey, Joe DiMaggio, Whitey Ford, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Mize, Phil Rizzuto, Red Ruffing, Enos Slaughter, Warren Spahn. |
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Roy Campanella
Born:
November 19, 1921, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania A star with both the bat and glove, Roy Campanella was agile behind the plate, had a rifle arm and was an expert handler of pitchers. He was named National League MVP three times, including a 1953 selection when he set single-season records for catchers with 41 homers and a National League best 142 RBI. Before signing with the Dodgers, the broad-shouldered receiver starred with the Negro National Leagues' Baltimore Elite Giants for seven seasons. His career was cut short by a tragic auto accident prior to the 1958 season. Did you know ... Roy Campanella's final major league game, September 29, 1957, was also the last big league game ever played at Brooklyn's famed Ebbets Field? |
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Henry Louis Gehrig
Born: June
19, 1903, New York, New York Lou Gehrig teamed with Babe Ruth to form baseball's most devastating hitting tandem ever. "The Iron Horse" had 13 consecutive seasons with both 100 runs scored and 100 RBI, setting an American League mark with 184 RBI in 1931; hit a record 23 grand slams; and won the 1934 Triple Crown. His .361 batting average in seven World Series led the Yankees to six titles in 13 years. A true gentleman and a tragic figure, Gehrig's consecutive games streak ended at 2,130 when he was felled by a disease that later carried his name. Did you know ... that Lou Gehrig was the first baseball player to have his uniform number retired? |
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Ferris Roy Fain "Burrhead or Cocky" Born: May 29, 1921, San Antonio, Texas Died: October 18, 2001 Batted: left Threw: left Played for: Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox Fain won consecutive AL batting titles in 1951 (.344, when a broken foot held him to 117 games) and 1952 (.327). Although those were the only two full seasons in which he hit .300, he also hit .302 in 1954, when a knee injury limited him to 65 games and started the decline that cut off his career a year later after just nine seasons. His career high in HR was just 10 (1950), but he led the AL in doubles in 1952. However, his greatest value lay in his ability to get on base: his on-base percentage was above .400 every year of his career, finishing at .425 lifetime. He walked 100 times in five seasons, and was in the AL top five every season he was healthy; only once did he strike out more than 37 times in a season. Fain was considered the best-fielding first baseman in the league until Vic Power came up. Although he tied the AL record by leading in errors five times, he was a daring, far-ranging fielder who was the first first baseman to regularly field bunts on the third base line. He holds the ML record for double plays in a season with 194 in 1949; it broke the previous record by 31 (his 192 in 1950 is second). He set the since-tied AL record for double plays in a nine-inning game (six on September 1, 1947 in the second game). He led the league four times in assists and twice each in total chances per game and double plays, and ranks third all-time among first basemen in assists per game. |
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Napoleon Lajoie
Born:
September 5, 1874, Woonsocket, Rhode Island Second baseman Napoleon "Larry" Lajoie combined grace in the field with power at the bat. Renowned for hitting the ball hard, Lajoie topped .300 in 16 of his 21 big league seasons, ten times batting over .350 for a lifetime average of 339. In 1901, making the jump from the Phillies to the Athletics of the new American League, Lajoie dominated the junior circuit. He captured the Triple Crown, led league second basemen in fielding average and batted .422 - an American League mark that has yet to be topped.. Did you know ... that on May 23, 1901, Nap Lajoie became the first big league player to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded? |
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James Edward "Pete" Runnels Born: January 28, 1928, Lufkin, Texas Died: May 20, 1991, Pasadena, Texas Batted: left Threw: right Played for: Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox, Houston Colts Runnels, with his line-drive swing, was the American League batting champion with Boston in 1960 (.320) and '62 (.326). A true sportsman and gentleman, he once said, "I enjoyed [Ted] Williams's 1958 catching me [for the batting crown] on the final day more than the later titles of 1960 and 1962 because of the great competition. Wasn't he capable!" Quite capable himself, and versatile, Runnels was first a Washington shortstop, but ultimately played 644 games at first base, 642 at second base, and 463 at shortstop. A graceful fielder, he led the AL in fielding at second base in 1960 and at first base in 1961. He was consistent at the plate in the years 1958-62, hitting over .300 each year, varying only 12 points. In 1966 Runnels managed the Red Sox for 16 games. |
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Harold Joseph "Pie" Traynor
Born: November 11, 1899, Framingham,
Massachusetts The pride of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1920s and '30s, Harold "Pie" Traynor was a superior third baseman and a skillful hitter. He batted .320 during his 17-year career and never struck out more than 28 times in a season. One of the top fielding third basemen in history, Traynor recorded 2,288 putouts, 6,134 chances, and 308 double plays at the hot corner. Considered by John McGraw as "the finest team player in the game," he received his nickname because of his fondness for pastry as a child. Did you know ... that Pie Traynor never learned to drive a car because he feared that if he did, he would then have an excuse not to walk, an activity that he found relaxing and healthy? |
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Michael Franklin "Pinky"
Higgins Born: May 27, 1909, Red Oak, Texas Died: March 21, 1969, Dallas, Texas Batted: right Threw: right Played for: Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers Signed out of the University of Texas, for a dozen years Higgins was a hard-hitting, steady-fielding third baseman. Especially dangerous with men on base, he twice drove in 106 runs. Higgins set a ML record when he hit safely in 12 consecutive at-bats in 1938. He hit .333 in the 1940 World Series with the Tigers and handled a record ten chances at third base in Game Four. After playing in all seven games of the 1946 WS with the Red Sox, Higgins retired. A low-key approach and patience with young players made Higgins a
popular manager in the minors and later with the Red Sox. In 1955, his
first of eight seasons managing Boston, he was named |
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Harold Henry "Pee Wee" Reese
Born: July 23, 1918, at Ekron, Kentucky The captain of the dominating Dodgers teams of the 1950s, scrappy Pee Wee Reese was a quiet force both on the field and in the clubhouse. An outstanding defensive player, he led the National League in putouts four times, double plays twice, and fielding percentage and assists once each. For almost a decade he and Jackie Robinson formed one of Baseball's top double-play combinations. Reese led Brooklyn to seven pennants in his 16 seasons, and his 46 World Series hits rank fifth all-time. Did you know ... that on May 21, 1952, Pee Wee Reese became the only National League player in the 20th century to safely reach base three times in one inning? |
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Joseph Bert Tinker
Born: July
27, 1880, Muscotah, Kansas The standout shortstop in the Chicago Cubs' famed doubleplay trio, Joe Tinker was an aggressive and spirited performer who excelled in clutch situations. He became a regular in 1902 as a 21-year-old rookie and five times led National League shortstops in fielding, contributing greatly to four Chicago pennants. He concluded his career as a player-manager for the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Federals and the Cubs. Did you know ... that on June 28, 1910, Joe Tinker stole home twice in the same game, a feat that has been accomplished less than a dozen times in big league history? |
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Billy Leo Williams
Born: June
15, 1938, Whistler, Alabama Soft-spoken Billy Williams let his bat do the talking for 18 seasons. His picture-perfect swing produced 2,711 hits, a.290 career average and 426 home runs. The six-time All-Star was the National League Rookie of the Year in 1961 and the "Sporting News" Player of the Year in 1972, when he led the league with a .333 batting average while also hitting 37 home runs and driving in 122 runs. He held the National League mark for consecutive games played (1,117) until surpassed by Steve Garvey, and is currently a coach with the Cubs. Did you know ... that while playing for San Antonio in the Texas League, Billy Williams was tutored by Hall of Fame hitting legend and Cubs coach Rogers Hornsby? |
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Carl Michael Yastrzemski
Born:
August 22, 1939, Southampton, New York When Carl Yastrzemski retired in 1983 after 23 seasons in Boston, he was the all-time Red Sox leader in eight major categories — games, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, total bases, RBI and extra base hits. An intense performer, Yaz played in more games (3,308) than any other American Leaguer, topping 3,000 hits and 400 home runs. A three-time batting champion, he was the American League MVP in 1967 when he won the Triple Crown, the last player to achieve the feat. Did you know ... that Carl Yastrzemski set a Long Island high school record in 1957 by scoring 628 points in a single basketball season? |
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Dominic Paul DiMaggio "The Little Professor" Born: February 12, 1917, San Francisco, California Bats: right Throws: right Played for: Boston Red Sox The youngest and smallest of the three DiMaggio brothers, the bespectacled centerfielder was a perennial All-Star with the Red Sox for 11 seasons, missing three years of his prime because of WWII. Twice DiMaggio, together with Ted Williams, was part of a .300-hitting outfield, once in his rookie year of 1940 with Doc Cramer in right field, and again 10 years later in 1950 with Al Zarilla in right. A slick fielder, fans used to yell that he played his own position as well as the slow-footed Williams's spot in left field. DiMaggio set the pace for consistency, hitting in 34 straight games in 1949, and another 27 straight in 1951, and scored more than 100 runs seven times. In the 1946 Series, he scored the deciding run in Game Five to give the Red Sox a 3-2 edge in the Series, eventually lost in seven games to the Cardinals on Enos Slaughter's dash for home. Twice DiMaggio led the league in at-bats from his leadoff spot, and twice in runs scored. He shared the outfield with brother Joe in three All-Star games, and drove him in with a single in the 1941 game. |
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Max George Carey
Born:
January 11, 1890, Terre Haute, Indiana Max Carey enjoyed six seasons in which he hit over .300, but built a more lasting reputation as a superb defensive outfielder and a successful base-stealer. The Pirates' great still holds several National League records for fielding prowess and led the league in steals 10 times — a National League high. In 1922, he approached perfection on the basepaths, stealing 51 bases in 53 attempts. In 1925 at age 35, Carey experienced his best season, hitting .343 during the regular season and .458 in the World Series. Did you know ... that following his big league career, Max Carey managed the Milwaukee Chicks and the Fort Wayne Daisies of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League? |
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Melvin Thomas Ott
Born: March 2, 1909, Gretna, Louisiana Mel Ott was a New York Giants hero for 22 seasons, during which he emerged as one of the game's leading sluggers and a fan favorite. As a 17-year-old "Boy Wonder" in 1926, his size belied his power. Using an unorthodox batting style in which he lifted his right foot prior to impact, he smashed 511 home runs (at the time a National League record), hitting 30 or more in a season eight times and winning or sharing home run honors on six occasions. Did you know ... that on October 5, 1929, Mel Ott set the National League record for most walks in a doubleheader with six, and then repeated the feat on April 30, 1944? |
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Henry Emmett "Heinie" Manush
Born: July
20, 1901, Tuscumbia, Alabama A hitting machine, Henry "Heinie" Manush consistently ranked among the game's top batters, ending his 17-year career with a .330 batting average. He hit .378 to win the 1926 American League batting title, edging out Babe Ruth on the final day of the season by going 6-for-9 in a doubleheader. In 1928, Manush hit .378 again, but lost the batting crown to Goose Goslin's .379 mark. He finished second to Jimmie Foxx in 1933's race for the batting title, but his league-leading 221 hits and 17 triples led the Senators to a pennant. Did you know ... that though Heinie Manush spent the majority of his career playing left field, he took over Ty Cobb's center field job at the end of Cobb's playing days with the Detroit Tigers? |
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Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove
Born: March
6, 1900, Lonaconing, Maryland Considered by one-time teammate Ted Williams to be one of the finest pitchers in baseball history, high strung Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove was the backbone of the Philadelphia Athletics' dynasty of 1929 to 1931. He topped the American League in wins four times, winning percentage five times and strikeouts seven consecutive times. Most impressively, he won an astonishing nine ERA titles, easily the greatest total in history. He also had a lengthy minor league career with the Baltimore Orioles, where he won 112 games in addition to his 300 major league victories. Did you know ... that Lefty Grove made his major league debut on the same day as his teammate and future Hall of Fame catcher Mickey Cochrane, April 14, 1925? |
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Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gómez
Born: November 26, 1908, Rodeo, California
Tall and lanky, Vernon "Lefty" Gómez baffled the opposition with a blazing fastball and sweeping curve, while entertaining teammates with his wit and good humor. He was a 20-game winner four times during the 1930s and comprised half of the Yankees' devastating 1-2 punch, along with right-hander Red Ruffing, helping them to seven pennants. Gómez twice led the league in winning percentage and ERA, and three times in strikeouts. He set a World Series record by winning six games without a loss. Did you know ... that not only was Lefty Gomez the winning pitcher for the American League in the first major league All-Star Game, but he also drove in the first run of that historic game, July 6, 1933? |
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Lynwood Thomas "Schoolboy" Rowe Born: January 11, 1910, Waco, Texas Died: January 8, 1961, El Dorado, Texas Batted: right Threw: right Played for: Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies "How'm I doin', Edna?" asked Rowe of his wife during a 1934 radio interview. He was ribbed unmercifully for the ingenuous question, but Edna and everyone else had to admit he was doing very well. Schoolboy, a name he picked up as a teenaged sandlotter, was one of the top AL righthanders of the Depression years. In his career year, the rugged, broad-shouldered Arkansan compiled a 24-8 mark to lead the Tigers to the '34 pennant. Sixteen of his wins were consecutive to tie the AL record. He followed with two 19-win seasons before chronic arm trouble forced him temporarily back to the minors. He bounced back to lead the AL in winning percentage in 1940 with a 16-3 record, as the Tigers won another pennant. Waived to the NL in 1942, Rowe pitched briefly for the Dodgers before embarking on a productive five-year stint with the Phillies. A career .263 hitter, he was often used as a pinch hitter, and led the NL in pinch hits and appearances in 1943, going 15-for-49. |
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John Alexander Messersmith Born: August 6, 1945, Toms River, New Jersey Bats: right Throws: right Played for: California Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees Messersmith was a good pitcher who spent more than a decade in the majors, but his mound performances will forever be overshadowed by the role he played in the advent of free agency. Both he and Dave McNally tested the reserve clause by playing the 1975 season without contracts in their option years. The players' contention was that this freed them from their contracts; the reserve clause would bind them beyond their contracts for the option year and no further. The owners insisted that the reserve clause was automatically and perpetually renewed. Arbitrator Peter Seitz ruled for the players, and a new era in baseball's labor relations was inaugurated. When he made his decision to challenge the reserve clause, Messersmith was coming off a strong 1974 season. He was 20-6 with a 2.59 ERA, leading the NL in winning percentage and tying for first in wins for a pennant-winning Dodger team. He won Game Two of the LCS 5-2 but lost the World Series opener 3-2 and also failed in Game Five, 5-2. He made himself attractive in his contractless 1975 season by leading the NL in starts (40), complete games (19), innings (322), shutouts (7), and fewest hits per nine innings (6.8). He went 19-14 with a 2.29 ERA to finish third in wins and second in ERA, and his 213 strikeouts ranked third. He made the All-Star team and won the Gold Glove Award both years. He was not the first free agent (Catfish Hunter had been released from his contract by Commissioner Bowie Kuhn the year before, after owner Charlie Finley refused to honor a bonus in the contract), but Messersmith's precedent was more important. He was signed by the Braves for an estimated $1.75 million after owner Ted Turner won a furious month-long bidding war. Signed on April 10, Messersmith missed spring training and proved to be the first in another category: the disappointing free agent. He pitched well enough, going 11-11 with a 3.04 ERA for last-place Atlanta. He was even named to the All-Star team for the third straight season (although he was replaced due to injury), but more was expected of the newly minted baseball millionaire. He lost most of 1977 to injuries and was sold to the Yankees for 1978. He made the rotation with an impressive spring training, but he hurt his shoulder a week before the season started when he stumbled while covering first base. He made only six appearances that year and failed in a comeback in 1979 with the Dodgers. |
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Paul Dee "Daffy" Dean Born: August 14, 1913, Lucas, Arkansas Died: March 17, 1981, Springdale, Arkansas Batted: right Threw: right Played for: St Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, St Louis Browns When Paul joined his famous brother Dizzy on the Cardinals' pitching staff, Dizzy predicted, "Me 'n Paul will win 45 games." They won 49, 19 by Paul, and put the Cards in the World Series, where they each won 2 more. During the September pennant drive, Dizzy shut out the Dodgers on three hits in the first game of a double-header; Paul pitched a no-hitter in the nightcap. "I wished I'da known Paul was goin' to pitch a no-hitter," Dizzy said. "I'da pitched one, too." Paul was dubbed "Daffy" by sportswriters but he was actually shy and rather serious. In 1935, he again won 19 for the Cardinals. The next year, he held out for more money. After signing, he tried to pitch too soon, hurt his arm, and never regained his form. |
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Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout Born: June 29, 1915, Sandcut, Indiana Died: February 28, 1972, Harvey, Illinois Batted: right Threw: right Played for: Detroit Tigers The colorful, fun-loving Trout led the AL in wins in 1943 for Detroit, but his best season was 1944, when he won 27 and led the league in ERA (2.12). He also topped the AL in shutouts (7) and hit five of his 20 career home runs while batting .271. That season, he and lefty Hal Newhouser, who won 29, came closer to teammates winning 30 each than any pair since 1904. In 1945 Trout was the Tigers' workhorse in the pennant drive, pitching six games and winning four over a nine-game late-season stretch. In Game Four of the 1945 WS, Trout beat the Cubs 4-1 on a five-hitter. He remained a Tiger mainstay into the 1950s. Five years after Dizzy "retired," he signed with the Orioles and pitched twice after an impressive showing in an Old-Timers Game. Dizzy is the father of pitcher Steve Trout. |
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Clarence Arthur "Dazzy" Vance
Born: March
4, 1891, Orient, Iowa Although he didn't play his first full season until age 31, Arthur "Dazzy" Vance was the dominant National League pitcher of the 1920s. After a decade in the minors, Vance joined the Dodgers in 1922 and used his blazing fastball to win 187 games for them over the next 11 seasons. He was named MVP in 1924 and pitched a no-hitter the next year. He led the league in wins twice and ERA three times and is the only pitcher to top the National League in strikeouts seven consecutive seasons. Did you know ... that as winner of the 1924 National League Most Valuable Player Award, Dazzy Vance was given $1000 in gold coins? |
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Burleigh Arland Grimes
Born:
August 18, 1893, Emerald, Wisconsin Pitching for seven different teams, fiery spitballer Burleigh Grimes posted five 20-win seasons and won 270 games over his 19-year career. Grimes was just 26 years old when the spitball was banned in 1920, but he was one of 17 veteran hurlers exempted from the ban. He continued using the pitch to his advantage, leading the National League in wins twice and helping his teams to four World Series appearances. By the time he retired in 1934, he was the last of the legal spitballers. Did you know ... that Burleigh Grimes was nicknamed "Ol' Stubblebeard" because he never shaved on days that he was scheduled to pitch? |
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Gaylord Jackson Perry
Born:
September 15, 1938, Williamston, North Carolina Gaylord Perry achieved two of pitching's most magical milestones with 314 wins and 3,534 strikeouts. Distracting and frustrating hitters through an array of rituals on the mound, he was a 20-game winner five times and posted a 3.10 lifetime ERA. As a Giant, Perry no-hit Bob Gibson and the Cardinals 1-0, September 17, 1968. An outstanding competitor, he won Cy Young awards in 1972 with Cleveland and as a Padre in 1978, and was the first to win the prestigious pitching award in both leagues. Did you know ... that Gaylord Perry won 15 straight games for the Cleveland Indians in 1974? |