Happy Birthday to the late and great Hall of Fame Shortstop, Phil Rizzuto. In a thirteen-year career that only saw him play for one team, the New York Yankees, Rizzuto is remembered by many as one of the most popular players in franchise history.

Career Statistics/Accolades (1941-42; 46-56)

.273 BA 1,588 HITS 38 HR 563 RBI 877 RUNS .351 OBP

  • 5x All-Star
  • 7x World Series Champion
  • 1950 A.L. MVP

During his career, the Yankees were more dominant than any team in baseball history. In his thirteen seasons, Rizzuto and the Yankees were featured in the World Series ten times while winning seven of them. He was known as a leadoff hitter who played “small ball” and was an excellent bunter. Career-wise, while he only averaged 155 Hits a year for a .273 Average, he had a good eye at the plate, drawing 651 career Walks to only 398 Strikeouts. In 1950, Rizzuto had a career year with a slash line of…

 .320 BA 200 HITS 7 HR 66 RBI 125 RUNS .418 OBP .982 FLD%

That year, he won the AL MVP award, which is significant because an MVP is rare for a Shortstop. 

Regarding a position like Catcher or Shortstop, your defense is just as or even more valuable than your offense. Career-wise, Rizzuto spent 13,650.2 Innings at Shortstop, and his lifetime .968 Fielding Percentage is 2nd among A.L. Shortstops behind Lou Boudreaus’ .973. Defensively, his 1,217 career Double Plays are 2nd all-time, behind Luke Applings’ 1,424. 

Now, you may look at Rizzuto’s career and say it’s a little short, but like his fellow Hall of Fame and Italian teammate Joe DiMaggio, he was taken out of baseball for three years, his age 25-27 seasons to serve in WWII. Considering what Rizzuto did at the plate and in the field at Shortstop, what he would’ve done had he not missed three prime years, and him having a significant role in SEVEN Yankee World Series wins, Rizzuto belongs in the Hall of Fame. Almost 40 years after he played his final game, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame via the Veterans’ Comitee in 1994. Long before his induction, the Yankees honored him by retiring his #10 jersey and giving him a plaque in Monument Park with all the other great Yankees. For those who don’t know, he spent many years as a Yankee broadcaster, and in his final year as one, he called the first home run of Derek Jeters’ career.

References:

  1. Phil Rizzuto via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Rizzuto#
  2. Phil Rizzuto Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/rizzuph01.shtml