Happy belated Birthday to the late and great Hall of Famer Johnny Mize. In a 15-year career with three of the more historic franchises in all of baseball, the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and the New York Yankees, Mize was amongst the best players of his time. Despite his greatness, Mize was overshadowed by guys who played in his era, like Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, and Stan Musial. Also, not to mention all the other all-time greats who played First Base, like Mize. 

Career Statistics/Accolades (1936-42; 46-53):

.312 BA 2,011 HITS 359 HR 1,337 RBI .397 OBP 1,118 RUNS

  • 10x All-Star
  •  5x World Series Champion

As a Hitter

As a Left Handed Hitter, Mize was an all-around hitter. Mize batted .300 or higher nine times, winning the Batting Title in 1939. As a slugger, he drove in 100 or more RBIs eight times, leading the league thrice. In regards to hitting Home Runs, Mize led the league four times. His patience at the plate, saw him draw more Walks (856), than Strikeouts (524) in his career.

As a Defender

There really isn’t a whole lot to say about Johnny Mize as a defender. The only position he really played was First Base, which, over the span of 14,307.2 Innings, he recorded a lifetime .992 Fielding Percentage. 

Best Years

While Johnny Mize never won an MVP, he was very close multiple times. In 1939-40, he finished runner-up; in 1947, he finished 3rd, and in 1942, he finished 5th in the MVP voting. It’s a toss-up, but I would say that in 1939, Mize had his best season. However, in 1940, he was more deserving of the MVP that year than Frank McCormick. 

1937: .364 BA 204 HITS 25 HR 113 RBI .427 OBP 103 RUNS (145 Games)

1938: .337 BA 179 HITS 27 HR 102 RBI .422 OBP 85 RUNS (149 Games)

1939: .349 BA 197 HITS 28 HR 108 RBI .444 OBP 104 RUNS (153 Games)

1940: .314 BA 182 HITS 43 HR 137 RBI .404 OBP 111 RUNS (155 Games)

1941: .317 BA 150 HITS 16 HR 100 RBI .406 OBP 67 RUNS (126 Games)

1942: .305 BA 165 HITS 26 HR 110 RBI .380 OBP 97 RUNS (142 Games)

1947: .302 BA 177 HITS 51 HR 138 RBI .384 OBP 137 RUNS (154 Games)

1948: .289 BA 162 HITS 40 HR 125 RBI .395 OBP 110 RUNS (152 Games)

Also, Mize was one of many players who took time out of their careers to serve in the military during WWII. In the case of Mize, he missed his ages 30-32 seasons, which were in the prime of his career. Due to missing three prime years, Mize never reached the 500 Home Run or 1,500 Runs Batted In milestones. 

Legacy

Besides being a person who served our country, Mize should be remembered as one of the many great players of his era and as a Hall of Famer. It took until 1981, but on the Veterans Committee, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

References:

  1. Johnny Mize via Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Mize#
  2. Johnny Mize Career Statistics via Baseball-Reference: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/mizejo01.shtml