Snuffy Stirnweiss
Snuffy Stirnweiss | |
---|---|
Newark Bay, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
April 22, 1943, for the New York Yankees | |
Last MLB appearance | |
May 3, 1952, for the Cleveland Indians | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .268 |
Home runs | 29 |
Runs batted in | 281 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
George Henry "Snuffy" Stirnweiss (October 26, 1918 – September 15, 1958) was an American
Early life and college
Before turning professional, Stirnweiss was a multi-sport star in high school at
Stirnweiss also played baseball while at North Carolina, though he was not as renowned for his baseball exploits. Stirnweiss was a high draft pick by the
Professional baseball
Stirnweiss spent the first three seasons of his professional baseball career in the minor leagues, playing the majority of his first season for the
However, the United States joined World War II after the
Peak years: 1944–1945
In 1944, Gordon joined the military and temporarily vacated his ironclad second base position. As a regular in 1944, Stirnweiss served as the Yankees' leadoff hitter and had a breakout season, leading the league with 205 hits, 125 runs, 16 triples and 55 stolen bases. He also recorded 59 extra base hits in total while hitting .319. Providing sturdy and almost error-less defense from second base as well, Stirnweiss was arguably the most vital player on a Yankee team that won 83 games and finished in third place in the American League in 1944. His contributions were so outstanding that he was awarded with a fourth-place finish in the AL MVP voting at the close of the 1944 season.
Stirnweiss posted a triple slash line in 1945 that was almost identical to the one he posted the year prior, while socking 64 extra base hits in another league-leading season in plate appearances. Despite a ten-point drop in his batting average from the previous season, his .309 clip in 1945 was enough to edge Tony Cuccinello for the batting crown in the American League for 1945. His base stealing was a bit more uneven in 1945, only posting a 66% success rate that was a far cry from his 83% figure the previous year. With another batting average in excess of .300 and on-base percentage in excess of .380, he received another top-4 finish in the American League's MVP balloting, this time finishing in third behind only Detroit ace Hal Newhouser and Detroit second baseman Eddie Mayo.
What had been most impressive about Stirnweiss over the 1944 and 1945 seasons had been the consistency that he exhibited at the plate. Although he experienced a platoon split that showed he fared better against left-handed pitching, he was able to hold his own against same-sided pitching as well. He hit .336 and .340 against left-handed pitching during these two seasons, and .315 and .299 against right-handed pitching. He rarely hit into double plays, using his excellent speed to be able to beat out many ground balls that were kept in the infield, as well as using his speed to leg out many triples as well, leading the league in triples in both seasons, posting 38 in total. He also exhibited a disciplined eye at the plate as well; he drew 151 walks as a regular over the course of these two seasons and posted a comparatively moderate total of 149 strikeouts during this same time period. With Joe Gordon's return to New York for 1946, the most important question was whether Stirnweiss was legitimately burgeoning into a superstar at the major league level, or whether his peak years had coincided with a war-torn league.
Decline: 1946–1952
Gordon spent one more season in New York before joining the
Unable to re-capture his former glory, Stirnweiss spent 1949 as a partially used utility player, often coming in as a
Post-playing career and death
Upon his retirement from Major League Baseball in 1952, Stirnweiss ventured into the field of managing in the minor league ranks. He served as the manager for the
Moving into the banking industry, he worked as a solicitor for Federation Bank and Trust Company, but only for a short while. A father with six children, Stirnweiss fell ill and suffered a heart attack in June 1957, and he needed some time to recuperate from his health problems. He never returned to Federation Bank after he suffered his heart attack.
Not long after his recovery, he returned to work with Caldwell & Company in Manhattan. On September 15, 1958, Stirnweiss was on Train #3314 of the Central Railroad of New Jersey heading into Manhattan when, for reasons that have never been determined, the train drove straight through signals and flew off the open Newark Bay lift bridge and into the bay itself. Stirnweiss was on board one of the passenger cars that fell into Newark Bay, killing him and 47 other passengers. Stirnweiss was 39.[2]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
References
- ^ "1940 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ Edelman, Rob. "Snuffy Stirnweiss". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference