Rookie of the Year: Wally Moon, 1954

Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

 

Age:  24 (April 3)

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 169

Prior to 1954:

A native of Bay, Arkansas, Moon was named by his sports-loving father after Wallace Wade, the successful Univ. of Alabama head football coach at the time. He excelled in American Legion baseball as well as high school basketball and received an offer from the Pittsburgh Pirates which he passed up to go to college at Texas A & M. An All-Southwest Conference outfielder, he signed with the Cardinals for a $6000 bonus while continuing his education. In his first pro season in 1950, Moon batted .315 in 82 games with Omaha of the Class A Western League. Returning to school to complete his master’s degree, he played for Omaha briefly in 1951 and for a full season in 1952, hitting .255 with 10 home runs. Advancing to the Rochester Red Wings of the Class AAA International League in 1953, Moon batted .307 with 24 doubles, 8 triples, 12 home runs, and 61 RBIs. After playing winter ball in Venezuela, he played well with the Cardinals in spring training in 1954 and gained a starting job in the outfield after veteran Enos Slaughter was traded just before the start of the season.  

1954 Season Summary

Appeared in 151 games

CF – 140, LF – 9, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 716 [1]

At Bats – 635 [2]

Runs – 106 [6, tied with Gil Hodges]

Hits – 193 [5]

Doubles – 29 [15]

Triples – 9 [4, tied with Stan Musial & Bob Skinner]

Home Runs – 12

RBI – 76

Bases on Balls – 71 [12]

Int. BB – 3

Strikeouts – 73 [10]

Stolen Bases – 18 [4]

Caught Stealing – 10 [2, tied with Rip Repulski & Ernie Banks]

Average - .304 [11, tied with Gil Hodges]

OBP - .371 [12, tied with Ralph Kiner]

Slugging Pct. - .435

Total Bases – 276 [13]

GDP – 10

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 2

Sac Flies – 7 [13, tied with five others]

League-leading plate appearances were +11 ahead of runner-up Stan Musial

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 13, 3B – 6, HR - 7, RBI - 40, AVG - .333, OBP – .394

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Mil. Braves 4/23 – 14 innings, (in 6 AB) at Pittsburgh 5/12

Longest hitting streak – 13 games

Most HR, game – 1 on twelve occasions

HR at home – 8

HR on road – 4

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Pittsburgh 5/12, vs. Brooklyn 6/8, vs. Brooklyn 7/24, at Cincinnati 8/13

Pinch-hitting – 0 for 2 (.000) with 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 407

Put Outs – 387

Assists – 11

Errors – 9

DP – 2

Pct. - .978

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

 

NL ROY Voting:

Wally Moon, StL.: 17 of 24 votes, 71% share

Ernie Banks, ChiC.: 4 votes, 17% share

Gene Conley, Mil.: 2 votes, 8% share

Hank Aaron, Mil.: 1 vote, 4% share

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Cardinals went 72-82 to finish sixth in the NL, 25 games behind the pennant-winning New York Giants, while leading the league in runs scored (799), hits (1518), doubles (285), triples (58, tied with the Philadelphia Phillies), RBIs (748), stolen bases (63), batting (.281), and OBP (.350). The hard-hitting Cardinals were done in by subpar pitching.

Aftermath of ‘54:

The serious and ever-hustling Moon, a slashing hitter with some power and good speed, followed up in 1955 by splitting time between first base and the outfield and batted .295 with 24 doubles, 8 triples, 19 home runs, and 76 RBIs. Continuing to play in the outfield and at first base in 1956, Moon hit .298 with 11 triples, 16 home runs, 68 RBIs, and a .390 on-base percentage. A devout Methodist, Moon avoided alcohol and foul language. On the field in 1957, he played at all three outfield positions and batted .295 with 24 home runs and 73 RBIs. Moon had a down year in 1958 due to an elbow injury, hitting just .238 with 7 home runs and 38 RBIs. In the offseason he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-player deal. In 1959, he proved to be a key component in the Dodgers winning their first pennant on the West Coast. He hit consistently (without his typical late-season slump) on the way to batting .302, a NL-leading 11 triples (tied with teammate Charlie Neal), 19 home runs (14 of them “Moon shots” at the spacious LA Coliseum), and 74 RBIs. He was especially productive down the stretch in a tight pennant race, slugging six homers in six games at one point. In addition to being in All-Star, Moon finished fourth in the NL MVP voting. The Dodgers beat the White Sox in the World Series, as Moon hit a two-run home run in the deciding sixth game. While the Dodgers had a lesser season in 1960, Moon hit .299 with 13 home runs and 69 RBIs, receiving his only career Gold Glove for his play in left field, where he accounted for 15 assists. He remained a solid contributor in 1961, leading the league in on-base percentage (.434) while batting .328 with 17 home runs and 88 RBIs. A victim of LA’s youth movement, Moon split time at first base and the outfield in 1962, hitting .242 with just four home runs. Effective in a utility role as the Dodgers topped the NL in 1963, Moon hit .262 over the course of 122 games with 8 home runs and 48 RBIs. He lasted two more years as a veteran backup and pinch-hitter in 1964 and ’65, retiring after playing for another World Series-winning club. A useful and dedicated player, for his major league career Moon batted .289 with 1399 hits that included 212 doubles, 60 triples, and 142 home runs. He scored 737 runs and compiled 661 RBIs and a .371 OBP. With the Cardinals he batted .291 with 750 hits, 400 runs scored, 113 doubles, 36 triples, 78 home runs, 331 RBIs, and a .366 OBP. Appearing in 8 World Series games (all with the Dodgers), he hit .240 with a home run and two RBIs. Following his playing career, Moon coached baseball collegiately and was hitting coach for the expansion San Diego Padres in 1969. He later served as a hitting instructor in the Baltimore Orioles organization and died in 2018 at age 87.

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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.