Johnny Mize (1981)


Date of Birth: 1/7/1913
Date of Death: 6/2/1993
Birthplace: Demorest, Georgia
College: Piedmont College

As a child, Johnny Mize played tennis. He moved to baseball as his main sport while in high school. He continued with baseball at Piedmont College. In 1930, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals.

St. Louis Cardinals

Mize started his professional baseball career in 1930 in the minor leagues with the Cardinals. In 1934 they traded him to the Cincinnati Reds but after he was injured, the deal was nullified and he returned to the Cardinals' minor league organization.

In 1936, Mize was called up to the Cardinals. That season he batted .329 with 136 hits, 30 doubles, 19 home runs, and 93 RBIs in 126 games. The following season, he had a career high batting average of .364. He finished the 1937 season with a career high 204 hits, 40 doubles, 25 home runs, and 113 RBIs in 145 games.

Mize led the NL in triples and OPS in 1938. He finished the season with 179 hits, 34 doubles, a career high 16 triples, 27 home runs, 102 RBIs, a .337 batting average, and an OPS of 1.036 in 149 games. He walked 74 times and struck out only 47 times. The next year, he led the league in home runs, batting average, and OPS. In 153 games in 1939, he had 197 hits, a career high 44 doubles, 14 triples, 28 home runs, 108 RBIs, 49 strikeouts to 92 walks, a batting average of .349, and a career high OPS of 1.070.

Mize continued to dominate NL hitters in 1940, leading them in home runs with 43, RBIs with 137, and OPS with 1.040. He played in a career high 155 games, and he had 182 hits and a .314 batting average. In 1941, he led the league in doubles with 39. He played in 126 games and he had a .317 batting average.

New York Giants

The Cardinals traded Mize to the New York Giants after the 1941 season and he played with the Giants one season before joining the US military. He finished the 1942 season with 165 hits, 25 doubles, 26 home runs, 110 RBIs, 39 strikeouts to 60 walks, and a .305 batting average in 142 games.

Mize spent the war years, 1943-1945, in the military, rejoining the Giants in 1946. He had a strong first season back, finishing with a .337 batting average in 101 games.

Mize led the NL again in home runs and RBIs in 1947. He had career highs in both home runs (51) and RBIs (138) and he batted .302 in 154 games. He also excelled defensively, leading all major league players in putouts with 1,381. He also led all NL first basemen in assists with 118.

In 1948, Mize once more led the NL in home runs with 40. His batting average dropped to .289, but his walks to strikeouts numbers improved, with a career high 94 walks to just 37 strikeouts. He again proved to be a top defensive player, once more leading major league players in putouts with 1,359. He also led all NL first basemen in assists with 111 and double plays turned with 114.

New York Yankees

In 1949, the Giants traded Mize to the New York Yankees. He struggled that season, finishing with a .263 batting average in 106 games with the Giants and 13 games with the Yankees. The following season, he played in just 90 games and he finished with a .277 batting average.

Mize continued to struggle with the Yankees, finishing with a .259 batting average in 113 games in 1951. He played in just 78 games in 1952, and he had a .263 batting average during the regular season. However, he played well that year in the postseason, winning the Babe Ruth award. In 15 at-bats in 5 postseason games, he had 6 hits, 1 double, 3 home runs, and 6 RBIs, and he batted .400.

In 1953, his last season as a major league player, Mize had just 26 hits and a .250 batting average in 81 games.

Awards and MLB Records

  • AL Babe Ruth award
  • Led the NL in home runs (4 times)
  • Led the NL in RBIs (3 times)
  • Led the NL in OPS (3 times)
  • Led the NL in putouts (2 times)

Career Statistics

Statistics for Mize in 14 seasons (1936-1941, 1946-1953) in the major leagues include:

  • 8 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 204 in 1937
  • 6 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 44 in 1939
  • 3 seasons with over 10 triples, with a high of 16 in 1938
  • 9 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 51 in 1947
  • 8 seasons with 100 or more RBIs, with highs of 137 in 1940 and 138 in 1947
  • 9 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .364 in 1937

Career batting statistics for Mize include:

  • 1,884 games played
  • 2,011 hits
  • 367 doubles
  • 83 triples
  • 359 home runs
  • 1,337 RBIs
  • 524 strikeouts to 856 walks
  • .312 batting average
  • .397 on-base percentage
  • .959 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Mize at first base include:

  • 1,667 games played
  • 1,032 assists
  • 1,320 double plays
  • 14,850 putouts
  • 133 errors
  • .992 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Mize include:

  • 5 postseasons
  • 18 games played
  • 42 at-bats
  • 12 hits
  • 2 doubles
  • 3 home runs
  • 9 RBIs
  • 3 strikeouts to 5 walks
  • .286 batting average

Post Playing Career

From 1955 through 1960, Mize worked for the Giants organization in various roles, including commentator, scout, and hitting coach. After leaving the Giants, he became a coach for the Oakland A's in 1961.

Mize died on June 2, 1993, of cardiac arrest.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Johnny Mize
ESPN - Johnny Mize
Baseball Reference - Johnny Mize

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