Rookie of the Year: Walt Dropo, 1950

First Baseman, Boston Red Sox

Age:  27

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’5”    Weight: 220

Prior to 1950:

A native of Moosup, Connecticut (hence his subsequent nickname, “the Moose from Moosup”), Dropo along with his brother Milt were multi-sport athletes in high school who received athletic scholarships to the Univ. of Connecticut. College was interrupted by service with the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II where he played service baseball. Dropo returned to school and played football and basketball in addition to baseball. He signed with the Red Sox directly out of college in 1947 and appeared in 87 games with Scranton of the Class A Eastern League, batting .297 with 18 doubles and 12 home runs. Dropo started the 1948 season with Louisville of the Class AAA American Association but overmatched by the pitching he was sent to Birmingham of the Class AA Southern Association where he broke out with 14 home runs, and a .359 average in 118 games. “Moose” started the 1949 season with the Red Sox but was sent to Sacramento of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League where he hit .287 with 17 home runs and 85 RBIs. He was back with Louisville to start the 1950 season but was promoted back to Boston due to an injury to infielder/outfielder Billy Goodman and he quickly established himself at first base.

1950 Season Summary

Appeared in 136 games

1B – 134, PH – 2

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 609

At Bats – 559 [13, tied with Vic Wertz]

Runs – 101 [13]

Hits – 180 [6]

Doubles – 28 [12]

Triples – 8 [9, tied with Johnny Groth & Tommy Henrich]

Home Runs – 34 [2]

RBI – 144 [1, tied with Vern Stephens]

Bases on Balls – 45

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 75 [7]

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 0

Average - .322 [8, tied with Yogi Berra]

OBP - .378

Slugging Pct. - .583 [2]

Total Bases – 326 [1]

GDP – 16 [14, tied with five others]

Hit by Pitches – 5 [9, tied with Chico Carrasquel, Johnny Pesky & Hank Bauer]

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading total bases were +5 ahead of runner-up Vern Stephens

Midseason snapshot: HR - 19, RBI - 83, AVG - .343, SLG PCT – .631

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 6 AB) vs. St. Louis Browns 6/8

Longest hitting streak – 13 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) at Detroit 5/17, (in 6 AB) vs. St. L. Browns 6/8, (in 4 AB) vs. Cleveland 7/16, (in 4 AB) vs. NY Yankees 9/7

HR at home – 24

HR on road – 10

Multi-HR games – 4

Most RBIs, game – 7 vs. St. Louis Browns 6/8, vs. NY Yankees 7/1

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 2 (.000)

Fielding

Chances – 1234

Put Outs – 1142

Assists – 77

Errors – 15

DP – 147

Pct. - .988

Awards & Honors:

AL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

All-Star (started for AL at 1B)

6^th in AL MVP voting (75 points, 22% share)

AL ROY Voting:

Walt Dropo, Bos.: 15 of 23 votes, 63% share

Whitey Ford, NYY: 6 votes, 25% share

Chico Carrasquel, ChiWS.: 2 votes, 8% share

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Red Sox went 94-60 to finish third in the AL, four games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees while leading the league in runs scored (1027), hits (1665), doubles (287), batting (.302), on-base percentage (.385), and slugging (.464).

Aftermath of 1950:

Dropo had a rough time in 1951, getting sent down to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League where he hit .286 in 33 games before he returned to Boston where he produced overall totals of 11 home runs, 57 RBIs, and a .239 batting average for the Red Sox. In mid-1952 he was part of a nine-player trade with the Detroit Tigers. Dropo’s average climbed from .265 to .279 the rest of the way with his new team and he ended up with totals of 29 home runs, 97 RBIs, and a .276 average. He had a lesser season in 1953 as he hit .248 with 13 home runs and 96 RBIs. His playing time fell to 107 games in 1954 with a batting average of .281 with only 4 home runs and 44 RBIs. Dropo was traded once again, this time to the Chicago White Sox in 1955. He partially recovered his power stroke, hitting 19 home runs and knocking in 79 runs with a .280 average. Following undistinguished years in 1956 and ‘57, Dropo was waived by the White Sox in late June of 1958 and was claimed by the Cincinnati Reds. Batting only .192 at the time of his release, Dropo hit .290 the rest of the way with 7 home runs and 31 RBIs. Always a slow runner and a limited defensive player, Dropo was strictly a backup for the Reds in 1959 until being traded back to the American League and the Baltimore Orioles in June where his career that began with such promise finally came to an end in 1961. Overall, he hit .270 with 1113 hits that included 168 doubles, 152 home runs, and 704 RBIs. His Rookie of the Year season was by far his best.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.