Enos Slaughter (1985)


Date of Birth: 4/27/1916
Date of Death: 8/12/2002
Birthplace: Roxboro, North Carolina

Enos Slaughter signed with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to the 1935 season and he started his professional baseball career that year in the minor leagues. After three years in the minors, Slaughter joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1938.

St. Louis Cardinals

In 1938, his first season in the major leagues, Slaughter batted .276 with 109 hits and 20 doubles in 112 games. The following year, he led the National League in doubles. In 1939, he had 52 doubles, 193 hits, 86 RBIs, and a .320 batting average in 149 games. A good defensive player, Slaughter, led all NL right fielders in putouts in 1939 with 334 and in 1940 with 264.

In 1942, Slaughter led the National League in hits and triples. That season he had 188 hits, 31 doubles, 17 triples, 98 RBIs, and a .318 batting average in 152 games. Slaughter spent the following three years in the US military.

Slaughter returned to the Cardinals in 1946. In his first year back, he led the National League in hits and RBIs. That season he batted .300 with 183 hits, 30 doubles, 18 triples, and 130 RBIs in 156 games. Defensively, he again led all NL right fielders in putouts with 277.

In 1947, Slaughter batted .294 in 147 games. He finished the season with 162 hits, 31 doubles, 13 triples, and 86 RBIs. He had a better season in 1948, when he batted .321 with 176 hits in 146 games.

Slaughter led the NL in triples and he was named the Sporting News Player of the Year in 1949. He finished the season with a career high batting average of .336, 191 hits, 34 doubles, 13 triples, and 96 RBIs in 151 games. He walked 79 times while striking out 37 times.

Slaughter's batting average dropped in 1950 to .290, and to .281 in 1951. He improved in 1952, finishing with 153 hits, 17 doubles, 101 RBIs, and a .300 batting average in 140 games. He once more led all NL right fielders in putouts with 251.

New York Yankees

In 1954, Slaughter left the Cardinals and joined the New York Yankees. He played in just 69 games that season and after 10 games in 1955, the Yankees traded him to the Kansas City Athletics.

Slaughter played in 108 games with the Athletics in 1955 and in 91 games with them in 1956, before returning to the Yankees for 24 games in 1956. He had a .315 batting average in 1955, and a .281 batting average in 1956.

Slaughter had limited playing time with the Yankees in 1957 and 1958. He had a .254 batting average in 96 games in 1957, and a .304 batting average in 77 games in 1958. After 74 games in 1959, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves and he finished his last 11 major league games with them.

Awards and MLB Records

  • Sporting News Player of the Year
  • Led the NL in triples (2 times)

Career Statistics

Slaughter played in over 100 games in each of 15 seasons (1938-1942, 1946-1953, 1955-1956). His statistics during those seasons include:

  • 9 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 193 in 1939
  • 11 seasons with 20 or more doubles, with a high of 52 in 1939
  • 7 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 17 in 1942
  • 3 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 130 in 1946
  • 10 seasons with a batting average of .300 or better, with a high of .336 in 1949

Career batting statistics for Slaughter include:

  • 2,380 games played
  • 2,383 hits
  • 413 doubles
  • 148 triples
  • 1,304 RBIs
  • 538 strikeouts to 1,018 walks
  • .300 batting average
  • .382 on-base percentage
  • .835 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Slaughter as an outfielder include:

  • 2,064 games played
  • 3,925 putouts
  • 82 errors
  • .980 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Slaughter include:

  • 5 postseasons
  • 27 games played
  • 79 at-bats
  • 23 hits
  • 3 doubles
  • 1 triple
  • 3 home runs
  • 1 stolen base
  • 8 RBIs
  • 8 strikeouts to 15 walks
  • .291 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Slaughter returned to the minors in 1960 as a player-manager of a team in the Texas League. The following season, he had the same roles for a team in the Carolina League. He then retired as a player.

From 1971 through 1977, Slaughter was a baseball coach for Duke University.

Slaughter died on August 12, 2002, from lymphoma.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Enos Slaughter
ESPN - Enos Slaughter
Baseball Reference - Enos Slaughter

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