Joe Medwick facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Joe Medwick |
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Medwick with the St. Louis Cardinals
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| Left fielder | |||
| Born: November 24, 1911 Carteret, New Jersey, U.S. |
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| Died: March 21, 1975 (aged 63) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 2, 1932, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| July 25, 1948, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .324 | ||
| Hits | 2,471 | ||
| Home runs | 205 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,383 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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 Baseball Hall of Fame |
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| Induction | 1968 | ||
| Vote | 84.8% (ninth ballot) | ||
Joseph Michael Medwick (born November 24, 1911 – died March 21, 1975) was a famous American baseball player. People called him "Ducky" and "Muscles" because of how he played. He was a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1930s, a team known as the "Gashouse Gang". He also played for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Giants, and Boston Braves.
Medwick is the last player in the National League to win the Triple Crown award, which he did in 1937. He was chosen as an All-Star ten times! In 1968, he was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, one of the highest honors in baseball. In 2014, he also became a member of the first group inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life & Baseball Dreams
Joe Medwick was born and grew up in Carteret, New Jersey. His parents had moved there from Hungary. Joe was a fantastic athlete in high school. He was great at baseball, basketball, football, and even track.
A famous football coach named Knute Rockne wanted Joe to play football at the University of Notre Dame. But Joe loved baseball more and decided to play professionally instead.
Starting His Baseball Career
Joe Medwick began his professional baseball journey in 1930. He played for a minor league team called the Scottdale Scotties. He was amazing, hitting for a .419 batting average and hitting 22 home runs in just 75 games!
For the next two years, he played for the Houston Buffaloes. In 1931, he hit .305 with 19 home runs. The next year, he hit .354 with 26 home runs. His great playing quickly earned him a spot in the major leagues.
Playing for the Cardinals
Joe Medwick joined the St. Louis Cardinals in 1932. By 1934, he was a star. He hit .319, had 18 home runs, and brought in 106 runs for his team (called RBIs). Joe was known for swinging at almost any pitch, but he was very hard to strike out.
He was a rising star, but he was also very competitive. Some people thought he was a bit too focused on himself.
The 1934 World Series Incident
Joe Medwick's strong and aggressive playing style led to a famous moment in the 1934 World Series. In the seventh game, he slid hard into third base. This upset the fans of the Detroit Tigers team. They started throwing fruits and vegetables at him!
The baseball Commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, had to take Joe out of the game for his own safety. Joe Medwick is still the only player ever removed from a game to protect him from the crowd. After the game, when asked about the incident, Joe famously said, "I knew why they threw them. What I don't understand is why they brought them to the ballpark in the first place."
Winning the Triple Crown
In 1937, Joe Medwick had an incredible year. He won the National League Triple Crown and the NL Most Valuable Player Award. This means he led the league in three important stats:
- Batting average: .374 (meaning he got a hit almost 4 out of every 10 times he batted!)
- Home runs: 31
- Runs batted in: 154
He is still the last player in the National League to win a Triple Crown. That year, he also led the league in hits (237), runs scored (111), and doubles (56). Before he even turned 26, Joe had already collected 1,101 hits!
In 1936, Joe hit 64 doubles, which is still a National League record. He also had seven seasons in a row with 40 or more doubles.
Moving to Other Teams
In 1940, the Cardinals traded Joe Medwick to the Brooklyn Dodgers. Even though he was still a good hitter, the Cardinals felt his defense wasn't as strong as it used to be. They also thought he was unhappy with his contract.
The "Beanball" Incident
Just six days after being traded to the Dodgers, Joe Medwick was hit in the head by a pitch from his former Cardinals teammate, Bob Bowman. This type of pitch, called a "beanball," can be very dangerous. Joe was knocked unconscious.
Dodgers players and their manager, Leo Durocher, rushed to the mound, very angry at Bowman. Police officers even had to sit with Bowman to protect him from the crowd. An investigation was started to see if the pitch was thrown on purpose. Bowman said he didn't mean to hurt Joe. Joe Medwick himself said he didn't blame Bowman. Both the local authorities and the National League president decided there wasn't enough proof that it was intentional.
Even though it was a scary moment, baseball experts believe the incident didn't hurt Joe Medwick's playing. In 1941, he helped the Brooklyn Dodgers win their first championship (called a pennant) since 1920.
In 1943, Joe was traded to the New York Giants. In 1944, he went on a special tour with other players to entertain soldiers during World War II. During this trip, he met Pope Pius XII. When the Pope asked him what he did, Joe famously replied, "Your Holiness, I'm Joe Medwick. I, too, used to be a Cardinal." (He was referring to playing for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team, not a religious Cardinal).
Later in his career, Joe said that playing golf helped him stay in shape. He would play 36 holes a day, which meant walking over 10 miles!
Retirement and Later Life
Joe Medwick finished his playing career back with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947 and 1948. He retired with an impressive .324 batting average over 17 seasons. He was a ten-time All-Star.
After his major league career, he continued to play and coach in the minor leagues until 1952.
In 1966, Joe Medwick became a hitting instructor for the Cardinals' minor league teams. He held this job until 1975. Sadly, during spring training that year, he passed away from a heart attack in Florida. He is buried in Missouri.
Legacy and Hall of Fame
For several years after he retired, Joe Medwick didn't get enough votes to be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Some people think this was because he sometimes had a difficult relationship with his teammates and the press. However, in 1968, in his final year of eligibility, he finally received enough votes and was elected!
After his election, he joked, "This was the longest slump of my career. I had gone 0 for 20 before, but never 0 for 20 years."
In 2014, Joe Medwick was honored again when he was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum. A park in New Jersey, Joseph Medwick Park, is named after him.
Career Statistics
In his 17 seasons, Joe Medwick played 1984 games played. He had a .324 batting average with 2471 hits. He also had:
In 12 World Series games, he hit for a .326 average.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle
- Major League Baseball Triple Crown
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball annual home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of St. Louis Cardinals team records
