Hank Greenberg (1956)


Date of Birth: 1/1/1911
Date of Death: 9/4/1986
Birthplace: New York, New York
College: New York University

Hank Greenberg, who was born Hyman Greenberg, played several sports in high school. He was a first baseman for his school's baseball team. In 1929, he decided to attend New York University instead of signing with the New York Yankees. He was drafted by and he signed with the Detroit Tigers in September, 1929.

Detroit Tigers

Greenberg started his career with the Tigers in 1930, but he played in only one game before they sent him to the minor leagues. He didn't return to the Tigers until 1933, his first full season with them. That year he batted .301 with 135 hits, 33 doubles, and 87 RBIs in 117 games.

In 1934, Greenberg led the American League in doubles with a career high of 63. He had 201 hits, 26 home runs, 139 RBIs, and a .339 batting average in 153 games. That September, Greenberg, the first prominent Jewish major league baseball player, refused to play on Yom Kippur even though his team was in a critical championship game.

Greenberg won the AL MVP award and the Sporting News MVP award in 1935. He led the league in home runs and RBIs that year. He batted .328 with a career high 203 hits, 46 doubles, a career high 16 triples, 36 home runs, and 170 RBIs in 152 games. He also played well defensively, leading all AL first basemen in assists with 99. He played in just 12 games the following season.

In 1937, Greenberg led the AL in RBIs with a career high of 183. He finished the season with 200 hits, 49 doubles, 14 triples, 40 home runs, and a .337 batting average in 154 games. He again played well defensively and he led all AL players in putouts with 1,477.

Greenberg had another strong season in 1938, when he led the AL in home runs, walks, and putouts. He also led all AL first basemen in assists with 120. He had career highs in games played (155), home runs (58), and walks (119 to 92 strikeouts). He batted .315 with 175 hits, 23 doubles, and 146 RBIs.

Greenberg batted .312 in 138 games in 1939. He had 156 hits, 42 doubles, 33 home runs, and 112 RBIs. He walked 91 times and struck out 95 times.

In 1940, Greenberg again won the AL MVP award and the Sporting News MVP award and he led the league in doubles, home runs, RBIs, and OPS. He batted .340 with 195 hits, 50 doubles, 41 home runs, and 150 RBIs in 148 games. He had an OPS of 1.103.

From 1941 through 1945, Greenberg served in the U.S. army, playing in only 19 games in 1941, and in 78 games in 1945. In 1946, his last season with the Tigers, he batted .277 and he led the AL in home runs with 44 and in RBIs with 127.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Greenberg was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on January 18, 1947. He led the AL in walks in 1947, with 104 walks to 73 strikeouts. He batted .249 in 125 games, and he had 100 hits, 25 home runs, and 74 RBIs. The Pirates released him on September 29, 1947.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL MVP (2 times)
  • Sporting News MVP (2 times)
  • Led AL in doubles (2 times)
  • Led AL in home runs (4 times)
  • Led AL in RBIs (4 times)
  • Led AL in walks (2 times)
  • Led AL in putouts (2 times)

Career Statistics

Greenberg played in over 100 games in each of 9 seasons (1933-1935, 1937-1940, 1946-1947). His batting statistics during that time include:

  • 6 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 203 in 1935
  • 6 seasons with over 30 doubles, with a high of 63 in 1934
  • 8 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 58 in 1938
  • 7 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 183 in 1937
  • 7 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .340 in 1940

Career batting statistics for Greenberg include:

  • 1,394 games played
  • 1,628 hits
  • 379 doubles
  • 331 home runs
  • 1,276 RBIs
  • 844 strikeouts to 852 walks
  • .313 batting average
  • .412 on-base percentage
  • 1.017 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Greenberg at first base include:

  • 1,138 games played
  • 104 errors
  • 724 assists
  • 973 double plays
  • 10,564 putouts
  • .991 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Greenberg include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 23 games played
  • 85 at-bats
  • 27 hits
  • 7 doubles
  • 2 triples
  • 5 home runs
  • 1 stolen base
  • 22 RBIs
  • 19 strikeouts to 13 walks
  • .318 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a player, Greenberg joined the Cleveland Indians as director of their farm system. He served in that position from 1947 through 1949, and he then moved to general manager and part owner of the team. He continued in that role until 1957.

Greenberg was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956 on the ninth ballot with 85.0% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Hank Greenberg
ESPN - Hank Greenberg
Baseball Reference - Hank Greenberg

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