Mickey Vernon

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James Barton "Mickey" Vernon (born April 22, 1918 in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1939-1948, 1950-1955) for the majority of his career, plus 4 other teams: the Cleveland Indians (1949-1950, 1958), Boston Red Sox (1956-1957), Milwaukee Braves (1959), and Pittsburgh Pirates (1960). Despite missing two seasons to military service during World War II, he retired with 2,495 hits, and holds the major league record for career double plays at first base (2,044), as well as American League records for career games (2,227), putouts (19,754), assists (1,444) and total chances (21,408). He batted and threw left-handed.

Contents 1 Career overview 1.1 Fielding 2 Highlights 3 External links

[edit] Career overview

Mickey Vernon attended Villanova University, before making his debut on July 8, 1939.

Vernon's best quality, according to most, was his sheer hitting skills. In 14 full seasons (400 at bats or more), Vernon batted over .335 twice, over .300 five times, and over .290 nine times.

It can be argued which season was his best; 1946 or 1953. In 1946, Vernon's stats with the Senators were jaw-dropping in the pure hitting area, however, his power numbers were not there yet. Vernon hit a career-high .353 (led the American League), with 8 home runs and 85 runs batted in. He had 14 stolen bases and 88 runs scored in 587 at bats. He had 207 hits, a career high. He had a .403 on base percentage and led the league in doubles with 51. It was his first real great season, and he made his first All-Star team.

In 1953, he put up all-around outstanding numbers, picking up a number of career highs. Again, he led the league in batting average with .337, and this time picked up 15 homers and 115 RBIs, a career high, in 608 at bats. His hit total came out to over 200 again, at 205, while his stolen base numbers went down to 4. He scored over 100 runs for the first and only time, at 101. Again, he led the league in doubles, this time with only 43, and again he had a .403 on base percentage. His 115 RBIs also came on a very bad-hitting Senators team that was 76-76 on the year.

Through the 1940s and most of the '50s, he was consistently putting up very good numbers. He had his career high in home runs in 1954 with 20 (which was 8th in the league). He also had 97 RBIs, 14 triples, a career high, and yet again he led the league in doubles with 33. He also had 294 total bases, which was 2nd in the league, behind Minnie Miñoso.

Over time, Vernon became one of the most well-liked ballplayers, mainly through his unique personality and charismatic, but quiet, style. By his last game on September 27, 1960, before being released by the Pirates, he was the oldest player, at 42, by almost a year, and one of the most popular players in the game. He had spent that season as the Bucs' first-base coach before being activated, and earned a ring as a member of the 1960 World Series champions.

In a 20-season career, Vernon posted a quality .286 batting average with 172 home runs and 1311 RBI's in 2409 games. The left-hander averaged 88 RBI's a year, and had 11 seasons with 80 or more, 3 with 90 or more. He accumulated 1196 runs with 137 stolen bases and a .359 on base percentage. His career slugging percentage came out to .428, with a career high of .518 in 1953. He compiled 2495 hits, with 490 doubles and 120 triples, in 8731 at bats. He had 2741 career total bases, with his career high coming in 1953 (315).

In 1961, one year after his final appearance as a player, he was given the job of managing the expansion Senators in their first year of existence. He did so from 1961 until the beginning of 1963. He had a career record of 135-227, a .373 winning percentage. He was a major league coach for the Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees, managed at the AAA and AA levels of the minor leagues, and served as a batting instructor in the Yankees' farm system before retiring from baseball.

He currently resides in Media, Pennsylvania.

[edit] Fielding

Playing in four different decades (1939-60), Vernon ended his career with 2,237 games at first base, second to only Jake Beckley (2,377) in major league history. He led the American League in fielding percentage four times, and the majors two times.

He became one of the few first basemen to finish his career with a .990 fielding percentage.

[edit] Highlights

• 7-time All-Star (1946, '48, '53, '54, '55, '56, '58)
• Top 10 in MVP voting 3 times (1946, '53, '54), coming the closest in 1953 finishing 3rd behind Al Rosen and Yogi Berra
• 2-time batting champion (1946, '53)
• Led the league in doubles three times (1946, '53, '54)
• Top 10 in the league in triples 9 times (1941, '43, '46, '47, '51, '52, '53, '54, '55)
• 2nd in the league in hits twice (1946, '53)
• With 2495, is #81 on the all-time hit leaderboard [1]

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile

Preceded by Snuffy Stirnweiss	American League Batting Champion 1946	Succeeded by Ted Williams
Preceded by Ferris Fain	American League Batting Champion 1953	Succeeded by Bobby Avila
Preceded by First Manager	Washington Senators Managers 1961-1963	Succeeded by Eddie Yost