Wally Moon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wally Moon |
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Moon in 1961.
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| Outfielder | |||
| Born: April 3, 1930 Bay, Arkansas, U.S. |
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| Died: February 9, 2018 (aged 87) Bryan, Texas, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 13, 1954, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| September 12, 1965, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .289 | ||
| Home runs | 142 | ||
| Runs batted in | 661 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Wallace Wade Moon (born April 3, 1930 – died February 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. He was an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Moon played for 12 years in the major leagues. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1954–1958) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959–1965). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Wally Moon was named the National League Rookie of the Year in 1954. He was chosen as an All-Star two times. He also won a Gold Glove Award once. Moon had a batting average of .295 or higher for seven seasons. He led the National League in triples in 1959. He also led left fielders in fielding percentage in 1960 and 1961.
Moon was a three-time World Series champion with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They won in 1959, 1963, and 1965.
Early Life and Education
Wally Moon was named after Wallace Wade. Wade was a famous college football coach. He coached at the University of Alabama and Duke University. Wally came from a family of teachers. He earned a master's degree in education. He got this degree from Texas A&M University. He was still playing in the minor leagues at the time. Before playing pro baseball, he coached in Lake City, Arkansas, from 1953 to 1954.
Major League Baseball Career
In the spring of 1954, the Cardinals wanted Moon to train with their minor league team. But Wally decided to go straight to the Cardinals' main camp in St. Petersburg, Florida. He told them he would either make the team or quit baseball. The team let him stay. By the end of spring training, he had earned a spot in the outfield. He took the place of veteran player Enos Slaughter.
Moon played his first major league game on April 13, 1954. In his very first time at bat, he hit a home run against the Chicago Cubs. In that same game, Tom Alston became the first African American player for the Cardinals. Moon had a great rookie season. He finished with a .304 batting average. He also hit 12 home runs and had 76 runs batted in. He set personal bests in runs scored (106) and hits (193). He also had 29 doubles and 18 stolen bases. He played in 151 games that year. For his amazing first year, he won the MLB Rookie of the Year award. He also won The Sporting News Rookie of the Year honors. He easily won over other great players like Ernie Banks and Hank Aaron.
Wally Moon was a skilled left fielder with a strong arm. He also played right field, center field, and even first base. In 1957, he hit a career-high 24 home runs. He was chosen for the All-Star team in 1957 and 1959. In two different seasons, Moon had double-digit numbers in doubles, triples, home runs, and stolen bases. This shows he was a very well-rounded player.
After the 1958 season, the Cardinals traded Moon to the Dodgers. He was traded for another outfielder, Gino Cimoli. Moon was worried about playing in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The right field fence was very far away, which made it hard for left-handed batters like him. However, the left field seats were much closer, only 251 feet away. There was a tall, 42-foot-high screen in left field. After talking with his friend Stan Musial, Moon changed how he stood when batting. He focused on hitting the ball to left field. This change worked very well!
In his first year with the Dodgers, the team won the World Championship. Moon helped the team's offense alongside players like Duke Snider and Gil Hodges. He became famous in 1959 for his "Moon shots." These were home runs he hit over the high left field screen. Moon hit a home run in the final game of that World Series. The Dodgers won the series against the Chicago White Sox. He also caught the last out of the Series.
Moon won a Gold Glove Award for left field in 1960. He led all National League left fielders in assists, double plays, and fielding percentage. He had another great season in 1961. He batted .328 with 17 home runs and 88 runs batted in. He also led National League left fielders in fielding percentage again.
Wally Moon ended his career with a .289 batting average. He hit 142 home runs and had 661 runs batted in over 1457 games. He had a .371 on-base percentage and a .445 slugging average. His total fielding percentage at all outfield positions and first base was .980. He retired from playing after the 1965 season.
After Baseball
After his playing career, Wally Moon stayed involved in baseball. In 1969, he was a batting coach for the San Diego Padres. He later became an athletic director and baseball coach at John Brown University. He also managed minor league teams.
Moon lived in Bryan, Texas, for over 25 years. He retired in 1998. He was married to Bettye and had five children and seven grandchildren.
Wally Moon is remembered for his unique look, including his prominent unibrow, which appears on many of his baseball cards.
Moon passed away on February 9, 2018, at the age of 87.
See also
- Home run in first Major League at-bat
- List of Gold Glove Award winners at outfield
- MLB Rookie of the Year Award
- Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
