Word: mize
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Dates: during 1950-1950
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Last season, at the advanced shortstop age of 32, the Scooter was still teaching himself a few new tricks. To get a little more power out of his 5-ft.-6-in. frame, he borrowed Heavyweight John Mize's big 36-oz. bat. It worked just fine; he finished the season with a .324 batting average, highest of his major-league career, and 50 extra-base hits...
Rickey's farm system produced such stars as the Dean brothers, Johnny Mize, Pepper Martin and the rest of the Gashouse Gang, as well as Enos Slaughter and Stan Musial in later days. But the St. Louis turnstiles never clicked as fast as the Rickey brain. He became a master at selling his stars, at the right time, for fabulous prices. He sold a sore-armed Dizzy Dean for $185,000 at the precise moment when Dean was through as a pitcher, unloaded fading, 29-year-old Ducky Medwick for $135,500, and reached into his farm system...
What had kept the aged, ailing Yankees in the race? Big, barrel-shaped Veteran Johnny Mize, 37, was one answer. Called up from Kansas City in the spring, he had hit 19 home runs in 68 games. Three other standbys were Sophomore Outfielder Hank Bauer (.341), Shortstop Phil Rizzuto (.330) and Catcher Yogi Berra (.323). They were having the best seasons of their baseball careers...
...before winning his only championship in '39. He led the league in homers in 1939-40; but when he returned to the Giants in 1946 from three years in the Navy, the Pittsburgh Pirates had a rookie named Ralph Kiner. Kiner played 43 more games than Mize and hit only one more home run to lead the league that year. The next two years Jawn hit 51 and 40; Kiner spoiled the glory with an identical record. At the end of last year, Joe DiMaggio had more home runs than any other active major leaguer: 317. Mize...
...anything happens to Earl Torgeson, manager Billy Southworth will undoubtedly add Mize to the over-lengthening list of ex-Giants on the Boston Braves' roster. It looks like Jawn's only chance...