Mo Vaughn facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mo Vaughn |
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Vaughn with the Wareham Gatemen in 1988
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| First baseman | |||
| Born: December 15, 1967 Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| June 27, 1991, for the Boston Red Sox | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| May 2, 2003, for the New York Mets | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .293 | ||
| Home runs | 328 | ||
| Runs batted in | 1,064 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
Maurice Samuel Vaughn, born on December 15, 1967, is a former American baseball player. He was a powerful first baseman known by his nickname, "the Hit Dog." Mo Vaughn played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1991 to 2003. He played for the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets. He was chosen as an All-Star three times. In 1995, he won the American League's MVP award while playing for the Red Sox.
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Mo Vaughn's Early Life and School
Mo Vaughn grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut. He went to New Canaan Country School. Later, he played baseball for Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, New York.
Vaughn continued his baseball journey in college baseball at Seton Hall University. His coach there was Mike Sheppard. While at Seton Hall, he hit 28 home runs, which was a school record. In his three years, he hit 57 home runs and had 218 RBIs. Both of these were also team records.
Some of his teammates at Seton Hall became famous baseball players too. These included Craig Biggio, who is now in the Hall of Fame, and John Valentin, who later played with Vaughn on the Red Sox. In 1987, Vaughn was named MVP of the 1987 Big East Conference Baseball Tournament. This helped his team win the championship.
During his college summers, Vaughn played for the Wareham Gatemen. This team is part of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL). In 2000, he was honored by being named to the CCBL Hall of Fame. His friends in his college fraternity, Omega Psi Phi, gave him the nickname "Hit Dog."
Mo Vaughn's Professional Baseball Career
Playing for the Boston Red Sox
Mo Vaughn became a key player for the Red Sox in 1993. That year, he hit 29 home runs and had 101 RBIs. In 1995, he became known as one of the best hitters in the American League. He hit 39 home runs, had 126 RBIs, and a .300 batting average. He also stole 11 bases.
His great performance helped the Red Sox reach the playoffs. Even though they lost to the Cleveland Indians, Vaughn was given the American League MVP award for his efforts.
Vaughn had his best year with the Red Sox in 1996. He played in 161 games and had a .326 batting average. He also hit a career-high 44 home runs and had 143 RBIs. He got 207 hits and scored 118 runs. On September 24, 1996, he hit three home runs in one game against the Orioles.
On April 15, 1997, MLB decided to retire the number 42 to honor Jackie Robinson. However, Vaughn was one of a few players who were allowed to keep wearing the number for the rest of their careers. On May 30, 1997, Vaughn had another amazing game against the Yankees. He got four hits, and three of them were solo home runs.
Vaughn continued to play very well from 1996 to 1998. His batting average was .315 or higher each year. He averaged 40 home runs and 118 RBIs during this time. In 1998, the Red Sox lost in the playoffs again to the Cleveland Indians. But Vaughn played well, hitting two home runs and driving in seven runs in one game.
He was known for standing very close to home plate when he batted. This made pitchers nervous and often caused them to throw pitches outside the strike zone.
Vaughn's Last Season with the Red Sox
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Mo Vaughn was very popular in Boston because of his strong personality and his charity work. However, he often had disagreements with the Red Sox management and the local media. He especially had issues with a sports writer and the team's general manager. Vaughn, as a leader in the clubhouse, often said that the team's leaders did not want him there.
In 1998, on the first day of the season at Fenway Park, Vaughn hit a walk-off grand slam. This meant he hit a home run with the bases loaded to win the game in the last inning. He and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra were a powerful duo in the Red Sox lineup. Together, they hit 75 home runs in 1998.
After the 1998 season, Vaughn became a free agent. He then signed a big six-year contract with the Anaheim Angels. This was the largest contract in baseball at that time.
Playing for the Anaheim Angels
Mo Vaughn played well for the Angels when he was healthy. He hit over 30 home runs and had over 100 RBIs in both 1999 and 2000. However, he had many injuries in 1999 and missed the entire 2001 season. He even sprained his ankle badly in his very first game with the Angels.
Even with his injury history, Vaughn was still seen as a valuable player. In December 2001, he was traded to the New York Mets. After Vaughn left, the Angels' closer, Troy Percival, said that the team would miss Vaughn's hitting but not his leadership. The year after Vaughn left, the Angels went on to win the World Series.
Playing for the New York Mets
With the Mets, Mo Vaughn was expected to be a key player in their new lineup. He joined other new players like Roger Cedeño and Roberto Alomar. Vaughn started slowly in 2002. Some people in the media made fun of him for being out of shape.
However, he hit his 300th career home run on April 3, 2002. On June 16, he hit a game-winning three-run home run against the Yankees. On June 26, he hit a very long 505-foot home run at Shea Stadium. He finished the 2002 season with 26 home runs and 72 RBIs.
In 2003, Vaughn played for less than a month. Knee problems forced him to end his season early. In January 2004, he announced that his knee issues would not let him play in the upcoming season. His agent said he wasn't officially retiring, but Vaughn knew he likely wouldn't play again. At the time he stopped playing, Vaughn was one of the last players to wear the number 42. The only other player was Mariano Rivera, who retired in 2013.
Mo Vaughn's Career Statistics
Over his 12 seasons in MLB, Mo Vaughn played in 1,512 games played. He had a .293 batting average with 1,620 hits in 5,532 at-bats. He also had 861 runs scored, 270 doubles, and 328 home runs. He drove in 1,064 RBIs and had 725 bases on balls (walks). His on-base percentage was .383, and his slugging percentage was .523.
Vaughn had five years in a row (1994–1998) where his batting average was higher than .300. In seven playoff games, he hit .226 with 4 runs, 2 home runs, and 7 RBIs. As a first baseman, his career fielding percentage was .988.
Mo Vaughn's Life Outside Baseball
In July 1995, Mo Vaughn had an eye injury that caused him to miss two games.
After his baseball career, Vaughn became involved in real estate. He is a managing director of a company called OMNI New York, LLC. This company buys and fixes up old buildings to provide affordable housing. They have worked on over 1,100 housing units in the New York metropolitan area. They also manage these properties. For example, he bought a building in Brownsville, Brooklyn and plans to improve its security and renovate it.
Vaughn has also helped fix up the Whitney Young Manor in Yonkers, New York. This building was first built by a company owned by his hero, Jackie Robinson. His company also has projects in other cities like Cheyenne, Miami, and Las Vegas. He has also shown interest in projects in Boston.
In 2009, news reports said that Vaughn's company planned to invest $6 million to improve a housing complex in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Vaughn said his company does not allow guns or criminal behavior in their properties.
Vaughn used to live in Gates Mills, Ohio. He was also the president of a trucking company called Mo Vaughn Transport. He sold this company in 2018.
On April 18, 2013, Mo Vaughn bought an advertisement in The Boston Globe newspaper. He used it to thank everyone who helped the victims of the Boston Marathon Bombing. He wrote, "You are all heroes in my eyes. Boston will march on."
Mo Vaughn became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. To get into the Hall of Fame, a player needs 75% of the votes. Vaughn received 1.1% of the votes and was removed from the ballot.
See also
In Spanish: Mo Vaughn para niños
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report
