Age: 29 (June 9)
4th season
with Reds
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’4” Weight: 205
Prior to 1940:
A native of New
York City, McCormick grew up playing sandlot baseball as well as in high
school. He failed in tryouts with three teams after high school and then was
signed by the Reds in 1934. Initially assigned to the Beckley Black Knights of
the Class C Middle Atlantic League, he hit .347 and received a late-season
call-up to the Reds. He batted .313 in 12 games but was back in the minors in
1935. McCormick played for five teams in as many different leagues from Class C
to Class AA and hit a combined .277. He spent 1936 with the Durham Bulls of the
Class B Piedmont League and after adjusting his batting grip he led the league
with a .381 batting average. McCormick opened the 1937 season with the Reds,
who used him at second base and in the outfield as well as at first, until
sending him down to Syracuse of the Class AA International League, where there
was a need for a first baseman and he could be guaranteed regular playing time.
He hit .322 with 33 doubles, 6 triples, and 6 home runs for Syracuse and returned
to Cincinnati in September. In 24 major league games he batted .325 and took
over as the regular first baseman for the Reds in 1938. Tall and gangly,
McCormick was also graceful and an excellent fielder at first base. He was an
All-Star in his first full major league season and hit .327 while leading the
NL with 209 hits. Lacking power, he hit just 5 home runs to go along with his
40 doubles and 4 triples. He placed fifth in league MVP voting. The Reds won
the NL pennant in 1939 and McCormick topped the circuit again in hits (209) as
well as RBIs (128). His home run total rose to 18 and he was fourth in MVP
balloting. He also hit .400 as the Reds were swept by the Yankees in the World
Series. While it had taken him awhile to find his niche in major league
baseball, by 1940 McCormick was an established star with a winning team.
1940 Season Summary
Appeared in 155
games
1B – 155
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 676 [3]
At Bats – 618
[1]
Runs – 93 [8]
Hits – 191 [1,
tied with Stan Hack]
Doubles – 44 [1]
Triples – 3
Home Runs – 19 [5,
tied with Mel Ott & Vince DiMaggio]
RBI – 127 [2]
Bases on Balls
– 52 [19]
Int. BB – N/A
Strikeouts – 26
Stolen Bases – 2
Caught Stealing
– N/A
Average - .309
[4]
OBP - .367 [12,
tied with Babe Young]
Slugging Pct. -
.482 [5, tied with Hank Leiber & Joe Medwick]
Total Bases – 298
[2]
GDP – 23 [1]
Hit by Pitches
– 5 [8, tied with five others]
Sac Hits – 1
Sac Flies – N/A
League-leading at
bats were +15 ahead of runner-up Stan Hack
League-leading
doubles were +4 ahead of runner-up Arky Vaughan
League-leading
times grounded into DPs were +4 ahead of runner-up Joe Medwick
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 9, RBI - 48, AVG - .295, OBP - .351, SLG PCT - .470
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 6 AB) vs. Brooklyn 6/8, (in 5 AB) at Boston Bees 8/4
Longest hitting
streak – 16 games
HR at home – 10
HR on road – 9
Most home runs,
game – 1 on nineteen occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 6 at Boston Bees 8/4
Pinch-hitting –
N/A
Fielding
Chances – 1693
Put Outs – 1587
Assists – 98
Errors – 8
DP – 146
Pct. - .995
Postseason: 7 G
(World Series vs. Detroit)
PA – 29, AB – 28,
R – 2, H – 6, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 1, IBB – N/A, SO – 1, SB – 0,
CS – 0, AVG - .214, OBP - .241, SLG - .250, TB – 7, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– N/A
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
All-Star
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Frank McCormick,
Cin.: 274 pts. - 16 of 24 first place votes, 82% share
Johnny Mize,
StLC.: 209 pts. – 6 first place votes, 62% share
Bucky Walters,
Cin.: 146 pts. – 43% share
Paul Derringer,
Cin.: 121 pts. – 1 first place vote, 36% share
Fred Fitzsimmons,
Brook.: 84 pts. – 25% share
(1 first place
vote for Ernie Lombardi, Cin., who ranked ninth)
---
Reds went 100-53
to win the NL pennant by 12 games over the Brooklyn Dodgers. Won World Series
over the Detroit Tigers, 4 games to 3.
Aftermath of ‘40:
In 1941,
McCormick injured his back while diving into a hotel swimming pool and needed
to wear a back brace. His performance on the field suffered, although he was
still an All-Star, and he batted .269 with 17 home runs and 97 RBIs. Likely
exempted from World War II military service due to the back injury, he hit .277
in 1942 with 13 home runs and 89 RBIs. He reached .303 in 1943 with 8 home runs
and 59 RBIs and in 1944 batted .305 with 20 home runs and 102 RBIs. The Reds
were no longer a contending team and following the 1945 season, he was sold to
the Philadelphia Phillies for $30,000. McCormick had one last All-Star year in
1946, batting .284 with 11 home runs and 66 RBIs. He was released by the
Phillies in May of 1947 while hitting just .225 and was signed by the Boston
Braves, where he was platooned at first base along with Earl Torgeson. His
production picked up in Boston and he ended up batting .333 for the season.
Used as a sub and pinch-hitter by the pennant-winning Braves in 1948, the
player nicknamed “Buck” hit .250 in his final major league season. Overall for
his career, he batted .299 with 1711 hits that included 334 doubles, 26
triples, and 128 RBIs. He further compiled 954 RBIs. With the Reds he batted
.301 with 1439 hits, 285 doubles, 20 triples, 110 home runs, and 803 RBIs. An
eight-time All-Star, McCormick finished in the Top 10 in NL MVP voting four
times, including his one year when he won the award. Very durable after being considered
injury-prone in the minors, he had a 682-consecutive-game playing streak at one
point during his career. He remained in organized baseball after his playing
career as a minor league manager, coach, scout, and broadcaster for the Reds.
He was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1958, 24 years before
his death at age 71.
--
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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