First Baseman, Boston Red Sox
Age: 27
5th season
with Red Sox
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 230
Prior to 1995:
A native of
Norwalk, Connecticut, Maurice Vaughn excelled in Little League prior to
entering the private Trinity-Pawling School where he played football as well as
baseball. Following graduation, he moved on to Seton Hall University, where he
was dubbed “Mo” and set a school record as a freshman in 1987 by slugging 28
home runs. In three years at Seton Hall he batted .417 with 57 home runs and
218 RBIs (earning the enduring nickname “The Hit Dog”) and was a collegiate
All-American each year. Chosen by the Red Sox in the first round of the 1989
amateur draft, the 21-year-old Vaughn signed and was first assigned to New
Britain of the Class AA Eastern League where he hit .278 with 8 home runs and
38 RBIs over the course of 73 games. Advancing to Pawtucket of the Class AAA
International League in 1990, he batted .295 with 22 home runs and 72 RBIs. Vaughn
started the 1991 season with Pawtucket and was hitting .274 with 14 home runs
and 50 RBIs when he was called up to the Red Sox in late June. He hit three
home runs in his first 27 major league at bats but only one more the rest of
the way to end up with four along with 32 RBIs and a .260 batting average. Vaughn
saw action at first base, DH, and as a pinch-hitter in 1992, hitting .234 with
13 home runs and 57 RBIs. He established himself at first base in 1993 by
batting .297 with 29 home runs and 101 RBIs. During the strike-shortened 1994
season, “Hit Dog” continued to post solid batting numbers by hitting .310 with
26 home runs and 82 RBIs, while improving somewhat on his unimpressive defense.
1995 Season Summary
Appeared in 140
games
1B – 138, DH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 636 [11]
At Bats – 550
[11, tied with Cal Ripken Jr.]
Runs – 98 [10,
tied with Lance Johnson]
Hits – 165 [11]
Doubles – 28
Triples – 3
Home Runs – 39 [4,
tied with Rafael Palmeiro & Mark McGwire]
RBI – 126 [1,
tied with Albert Belle]
Bases on Balls
– 68
Int. BB – 17 [4]
Strikeouts – 150
[1]
Stolen Bases –
11
Caught Stealing
– 4
Average - .300
OBP - .388
Slugging Pct. -
.575 [6]
Total Bases – 316
[5]
GDP – 17 [7,
tied with five others]
Hit by Pitches
– 14 [2, tied with Mike Macfarlane]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 4
League-leading batter
strikeouts were +3 ahead of runner-up Benji Gil
Midseason
snapshot: HR - 24, RBI - 60, AVG - .290, SLG – .607
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at Oakland 5/31, (in 5 AB) at Toronto 8/6
Longest hitting
streak – 14 games
HR at home – 15
HR on road – 24
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 3 AB) at Milwaukee 5/16, (in 5 AB) vs. Detroit 7/2, (in 4 AB) at
Kansas City 7/3, (in 5 AB) at Baltimore 9/12
Multi-HR games
– 4
Most RBIs, game
– 6 at Kansas City 7/3
Pinch-hitting –
No appearances
Fielding
Chances – 1368
Put Outs – 1262
Assists – 95
Errors – 11
DP – 128
Pct. - .992
Postseason
Batting: 3 G (ALDS vs. Cleveland)
PA – 15, AB – 14,
R – 0, H – 0, 2B – 0,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 7, SB – 0, CS
– 0, AVG - .000, OBP - .067, SLG - .000, TB – 0, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF –
0
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
Silver Slugger
All-Star
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
Mo Vaughn, Bos.:
308 pts. - 12 of 28 first place votes, 79% share
Albert Belle,
Clev.: 300 pts. – 11 first place votes, 77% share
Edgar Martinez,
Sea.: 244 pts. – 4 first place votes, 62% share
Jose Mesa, Clev.:
130 pts. – 1 first place vote, 33% share
Jay Buhner, Sea.:
120 pts. – 31% share
---
Red Sox went 86-58,
in the strike-shortened season, to finish first in the AL Eastern Division by 7
games over the New York Yankees. A 12-game August winning streak allowed the
Red Sox to boost their lead in the AL East to 10 games and they coasted from
there. Lost ALDS to the Cleveland Indians, 3 games to 0.
Aftermath of ‘95:
Vaughn followed
up with another outstanding season in 1996, batting .326 with 207 hits, 44 home
runs, and 143 RBIs, and placed fifth in league MVP voting. In 1997 he hit .315
with 36 home runs and 96 RBIs. With a personality that made him a popular
player and vocal team leader, Vaughn also became appreciated for his charitable
activities in Boston. However, he was discontented with the front office and
local sports media. Following one last solid season with the Red Sox in 1998 in
which he hit .337 with 40 home runs and 115 RBIs, Vaughn signed a six-year, $80
million free agent contract with the Anaheim Angels. In the first inning of his
initial game with the Angels in 1999, he suffered a badly sprained ankle after
falling in the dugout while chasing a foul ball. The injury hindered him all
season but he still batted .281 with 33 home runs and 108 RBIs. Surgery for a
ruptured tendon in his left arm cost Vaughn the entire 2001 season and in the
offseason he was traded to the New York Mets for RHP Kevin Appier. Out of shape
and overweight at 268 pounds in 2002, Vaughn appeared in 139 games and hit .259
with 26 home runs and 72 RBIs. Limited to 27 games in 2003 due to an arthritic
left knee, his career came to an end. For his major league career, Vaughn
batted .293 with 1620 hits that included 270 doubles, 10 triples, and 328 home
runs. He scored 861 runs and compiled 1064 RBIs. With the Red Sox he batted
.304 with 628 runs scored, 1165 hits, 199 doubles, 10 triples, and 230 home
runs. A three-time All-Star, he placed in the top five in AL MVP voting three
times as well. Appearing in seven postseason games, Vaughn hit .226 with two
home runs and 7 RBIs. He was inducted into the Seton Hall University Athletics
Hall of Fame in 1996. The Mitchell Report indicated that Vaughn purchased
performance-enhancing drugs in 2001.
--
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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