Shortstop, Pittsburgh
Pirates
Age: 29
7th season
with Pirates
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’11” Weight: 180
Prior to 1960:
A Pennsylvania
native who lettered in basketball and volleyball as well as baseball at
Swissvale High School, Groat went to Duke University on a basketball
scholarship. He was a two-time All-American in basketball as well as baseball.
He set a then-NCAA basketball record by scoring 831 points in a season as a
junior and was a first-round draft pick by the NBA’s Fort Wayne Pistons in
1952, but signed with the Pirates the same year, once his college baseball
season was concluded. Receiving a bonus contract he bypassed the minor leagues
and went to the Pirates immediately, and started at shortstop. In 95 games with
Pittsburgh in ’52 he batted .284 and tied for third in NL Rookie of the Year
balloting. In the offseason, Groat played basketball with the Pistons. Drafted
into the Army, he missed the 1953 and ’54 baseball seasons (he never returned
to the NBA). Coming back to the Pirates in 1955, Groat regained his starting
job at shortstop and hit .267 after a slow start at the plate. He also teamed
up well with second baseman Bill Mazeroski in the field. A contact hitter with
little power, he batted .273 with only 22 extra base hits in 1956. A vocal team
leader and steady fielder, Groat helped fuel Pittsburgh’s rise to
respectability after many years of mostly losing seasons. He hit .315 in 1957
with 30 doubles, 5 triples, 7 home runs, and 54 RBIs. Groat followed up in 1958
with 36 doubles, 9 triples, 3 home runs, 66 RBIs, and a .300 average. He was an
All-Star for the first time in 1959 in a season in which he batted .275 with 22
doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs, and 51 RBIs. In the field he led all NL
shortstops with 803 chances, 301 put outs, and 97 double plays, as well as 29
errors.
1960 Season Summary
Appeared in 138
games
SS – 136, PH –
1, PR – 1
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 629 [12]
At Bats – 573
[7]
Runs – 85 [13]
Hits – 186 [3]
Doubles – 26
[10, tied with Ken Boyer, Pancho Herrera & Norm Larker]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 2
RBI – 50
Bases on Balls
– 39
Int. BB – 0
Strikeouts – 35
Stolen Bases – 0
Caught Stealing
– 2
Average - .325
[1]
OBP - .371 [6]
Slugging Pct. -
.394
Total Bases – 226
[18]
GDP – 7
Hit by Pitches
– 4 [9, tied with eleven others]
Sac Hits – 12
[3]
Sac Flies – 1
League-leading
batting average was +.002 ahead of runner-up Norm Larker
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 19, HR- 0, RBI- 29, AVG - .315, OBP - .359
---
Most hits, game
– 6 (in 6 AB) at Milwaukee 5/13
Longest hitting
streak – 11 games
HR at home – 1
HR on road – 1
Most home runs,
game – 1 (in 4 AB) vs. St. Louis 8/12, (in 5 AB) at LA Dodgers 8/30
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 2 on eleven occasions
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 1 (.000)
Fielding
Chances – 704
Put Outs – 237
Assists – 443
Errors – 24
DP – 92
Pct. - .966
Postseason
Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. NY Yankees)
PA – 28, AB – 28,
R – 3, H – 6, 2B – 2,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 0, IBB – 0, SO – 1, SB – 0, CS
– 0, AVG - .214, OBP - .214, SLG - .286, TB – 8, GDP – 1, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF –
0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star
MLB Lou Gehrig
Memorial Award
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Dick Groat, Pitt.:
276 pts. - 16 of 22 first place votes, 82% share
Don Hoak, Pitt.:
162 pts. – 5 first place votes, 48% share
Willie Mays, SF:
115 pts. – 34% share
Ernie Banks,
ChiC.: 100 pts. – 30% share
Lindy McDaniel,
StL.: 95 pts. – 28% share
(1 first place
vote for Roberto Clemente, Pitt., who ranked eighth)
---
Pirates went 95-59
to win NL pennant by 7 games over the Milwaukee Braves for their first pennant
since 1927. They led the NL in runs scored (734), hits (1493), doubles (236),
RBIs (689), batting (.276), OBP (.335), and total bases (2201). Won World
Series over the New York Yankees, 4 games to 3, capped by Bill Mazeroski’s Game
7 walk-off home run.
Aftermath of ‘60:
The Pirates
dropped to sixth place in 1961 and Groat batted .275 with 25 doubles, 6
triples, 6 home runs, and 55 RBIs. An intelligent player without great range
who was a master at positioning himself in the field, he also led NL shortstops
with 117 double plays and was near the top in chances (740) and assists (473).
Groat’s batting average rose to .294 in 1962, along with 34 doubles, 3 triples,
2 home runs, and 61 RBIs, although in the field he topped all NL shortstops
with 38 errors, as well as 873 chances, 314 put outs, 521 assists, and 126
double plays. Trade bait after the season, he was dealt to the St. Louis
Cardinals. In 1963, all four starting infielders for the Cardinals (including
Groat), started for the NL in the All-Star Game (1B Bill White, 2B Julian
Javier, and 3B Ken Boyer were the others). Groat’s leadership qualities were
considered to be a factor in the Cards’ contending for most of the season and
he ended up placing second in NL MVP voting after leading the circuit with 43
doubles, to go along with 201 hits, 11 triples, 6 home runs, 73 RBIs, and a
.319 batting average. In the field he placed second among NL shortstops with
731 chances and 448 assists. The Cardinals came from behind to win the NL
pennant in 1964, and then beat the Yankees in the World Series. Groat
contributed a .292 batting average and 35 doubles, along with 6 triples, a home
run, and 70 RBIs along with steady play in the field. The team slumped in 1965,
and so did Groat, whose batting average dropped to .254 with 26 doubles, 5
triples, and 52 RBIs. The Cards cleaned house in the offseason and Groat was
traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with first baseman Bill White, and
backup catcher Bob Uecker for RHP Art Mahaffey, catcher Pat Corrales, and
outfielder Alex Johnson. He struggled at the plate during most of the 1966
season and finished with a .260 average. Groat was hindered by a sore ankle in
1967 and played sparingly for the Phillies before being dealt to San Francisco
in June. He played in only 44 games overall and hit .156. He retired after the
season. For his major league career, Groat batted .286 with 2138 hits that
included 352 doubles, 67 triples, and 39 home runs. He also accumulated 707
RBIs. With the Pirates his average was .290 with 1435 hits, 225 doubles, 40
triples, 30 home runs, and 454 RBIs. He was a five-time All-Star. He has been
inducted into the College Baseball and College Basketball Halls of Fame.
--
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment