Age: 27
6th season with Cubs
Bats – Right, Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 180
Height: 6’1” Weight: 180
Prior to 1958:
Banks,
a native of Dallas, Texas, was signed away from the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs
by the Cubs. Moving directly to the
major league club, he played in the last ten games for the Cubs in 1953 and
took over at shortstop in ’54. He was selected to the All-Star game for the
first time in 1955, a season in which he totaled 44 home runs (a record 5 of
them grand slams) and 117 RBIs. After playing in 424 straight games, an
infection in his right hand sidelined him for part of the ’56 season and his
numbers dropped accordingly. But he was back over forty home runs in 1957 (43)
and a hundred RBIs (102) while playing in every contest.
1958 Season Summary
Appeared in 154 games
SS – 154
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances – 682 [3]
At Bats – 617 [1]
Runs – 119 [2]
Hits – 193 [4]
Doubles – 23
Triples – 11 [2, tied with Willie Mays & Bill Virdon]
Home Runs – 47 [1]
RBI – 129 [1]
Bases on Balls – 52 [19, tied with Gil Hodges & Bill Virdon]
Int. BB – 12 [4, tied with Willie Mays]
Strikeouts – 87 [5, tied with Gil Hodges]
Stolen Bases – 4
Caught Stealing – 4 [14, tied with four others]
Average - .313 [6]
OBP - .366 [9]
Slugging Pct. - .614 [1]
Total Bases – 379 [1]
GDP – 14
Hit by Pitches – 4 [15, tied with eleven others]
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – 8 [2, tied with four others]
League-leading at bats were +2 ahead of runner-up Richie Ashburn
League-leading home runs were +12 ahead of runner-up Frank Thomas
League-leading RBIs were +20 ahead of runner-up Frank Thomas
League-leading slugging pct. was +.031 ahead of runner-up Willie
Mays
League-leading total bases were +29 ahead of runner-up Willie Mays
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 21, RBI - 59, AVG. – 303, SLG PCT.- 602
---
Most hits, game – 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Philadelphia 6/3, (in 6 AB) vs.
San Francisco 8/5 – 10 innings, (in 5 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 9/21
Longest hitting streak – 14 games
HR at home – 30
HR on road – 17
Most home runs, game – 2 on six occasions
Multi-HR games – 6
Most RBIs, game – 5 vs. Pittsburgh 8/21
Pinch-hitting – No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 792
Put Outs – 292
Assists – 468
Errors – 32
DP – 100
Pct. - .960
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star (started for NL at SS)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Ernie Banks, ChiC.: 283 pts. - 16 of 24 first place votes, 84%
share
Willie Mays, SF: 185 pts. – 3 first place votes, 55% share
Hank Aaron, Mil: 166 pts. – 49% share
Frank Thomas, Pitt.: 143 pts. – 2 first place votes, 43% share
Warren Spahn, Mil.: 108 pts. – 1 first place vote, 32% share
(1 first place vote apiece for Bill Mazeroski, Pitt., who ranked eighth
and Bob Skinner, Pitt., who ranked 15th)
---
Cubs
went 72-82 to finish tied for fifth place in the NL with the St. Louis
Cardinals, 20 games behind the pennant-winning Milwaukee Braves, while leading
the league in home runs (182) and slugging percentage (.426).
Aftermath of ‘58:
Banks
repeated as NL MVP in 1959 as he led the league with 143 RBIs. He had his
fourth straight 40-home run season in ’60 (a league-leading 41). Sure-handed at
shortstop but without much range, Banks was moved to first base full time in
1962, following a trial in left field in ‘61. Despite issues with injuries and
illness, he played until age 40 in 1971, ending up with a total of 512 home
runs, 2583 hits, and a .274 lifetime batting average. He had 30 or more home
runs in seven seasons and reached 100 RBIs eight times. With a pleasant and
friendly personality, Banks was highly popular with Cubs fans, a team he played
with for all his 19 major league seasons (without ever seeing postseason
action), and his #14 was retired by the club. The player known as “Mr. Cub” was
elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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