MVP Profile: Phil Rizzuto, 1950

Shortstop, New York Yankees

Age:  33 (Sept. 25)

7^th season with Yankees

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’6”    Weight: 150 

Prior to 1950:

A New York City native who was born in Brooklyn, the diminutive Rizzuto played baseball at Richmond Hill High School in Queens and also played for a semipro team, under an assumed name, during the summer before his senior year. Regularly told that he was too small to play baseball, he was turned away in tryouts with the Dodgers and Giants before signing with the Yankees in 1937. Assigned to a Class D Bi-State League team in Bassett, Virginia in ’37, the 19-year-old played at shortstop and third base and batted .310, while also dealing with a serious leg injury. Moving on to Norfolk of the Class B Piedmont League in 1938, he hit .336 with 24 doubles, 10 triples, 9 home runs, 58 RBIs, 26 stolen bases, and a .385 on-base percentage. Advancing to the Kansas City Blues of the American Association in 1939, Rizzuto batted .316 and picked up the nickname “Scooter” that proved to be enduring, thanks to his speed. Still with Kansas City in 1940, he received Minor League Player of the Year honors from The Sporting News after batting .347 with 201 hits that included 28 doubles, 10 triples, and 10 home runs. Brought up to the Yankees in 1941 to replace Frank Crosetti as the regular shortstop (much to the chagrin of many of the club’s veteran players), he hit .307 and was noted for his scrappy, intelligent style of play. He was an All-Star for the first time in 1942 as he hit .284 with a .343 OBP. He spent the next three years in the Navy during World War II, returning to the Yankees in 1946, but not without first receiving an offer to jump to the outlaw Mexican League. Dealing with the after-effects of a wartime bout of malaria, his batting average dropped to .257 in ’46. He returned to form in 1947, a pennant-winning year for the Yankees and contributed a .273 average and a .350 OBP, as well as 26 doubles and 9 triples. He also placed second among AL shortstops with 340 put outs, and third with 111 double plays. In the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers, he batted .308 and scored the winning run in the decisive seventh game. In 1948 he hit .252 with a .340 OBP. A skilled batter and an outstanding bunter, in 1949 he led the league in sacrifice hits with 25, to go along with 22 doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs, 65 RBIs, a .275 average, and .352 OBP. Entering the 1950 season, he had established himself as a solid shortstop and offensive contributor who was also appreciated for his enthusiasm and leadership qualities.

1950 Season Summary

Appeared in 155 games

SS – 155

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 735 [1]

At Bats – 617 [5]

Runs – 125 [2, tied with Vern Stephens]

Hits – 200 [2]

Doubles – 36 [3]

Triples – 7 [12, tied with Cass Michaels & Nellie Fox]

Home Runs – 7

RBI – 66

Bases on Balls – 92 [9]

Int. BB – 0

Strikeouts – 39

Stolen Bases – 12 [2, tied with Elmer Valo]

Caught Stealing – 8 [2, tied with Dick Kokos]

Average - .324 [6]

OBP - .418 [7]

Slugging Pct. - .439

Total Bases – 271 [11]

GDP – 6

Hit by Pitches – 7 [5, tied with Eddie Robinson & Elmer Valo]

Sac Hits – 19 [1]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading plate appearances were +4 ahead of runner-up Eddie Yost

League-leading sac hits were +1 ahead of runner-up Johnny Lipon

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 19, 3B – 4, HR – 2, RBI – 31, AVG – .324, .OBP – .419

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Most hits, game – 4 on seven occasions

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 4

HR on road – 3

Most home runs, game – 1 on seven occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Cleveland 8/6, at Bos. Red Sox 9/7

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 767

Put Outs – 301

Assists – 452

Errors – 14

DP – 123

Pct. - .982

Postseason Batting: 4 G (World Series vs. Phila. Phillies)

PA – 18, AB – 14, R – 1, H – 2, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 0, BB – 3, IBB – 0, SO – 0, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .143, OBP - .294, SLG - .143, TB – 2, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 1, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

AL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star (Started for AL at SS)

 

Top 5 in AL MVP Voting:

Phil Rizzuto, NYY.: 284 points - 16 of 23 first place votes, 85% share

Billy Goodman, BosRS.: 180 points – 4 first place votes, 54% share

Yogi Berra, NYY.: 146 points – 3 first place votes, 43% share

George Kell, Det.: 127 points – 38% share

Bob Lemon, Clev.: 102 points – 30% share

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Yankees went 98-56 to win the AL pennant by 3 games over the Detroit Tigers while leading the league in triples (70) and fewest batter strikeouts (458). Falling behind the Tigers during a 15-17 June, the Yankees remained a close second well into July before briefly regaining the lead. Again dropping behind, they recovered during August to take a small lead into September which they held until season’s end for their second straight pennant. Rizzuto overcame a sore arm during the spring to turn in an MVP performance. Won World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 0.

Aftermath of ‘50:

The Yankees won a third straight championship in 1951 and Rizzuto contributed a .274 batting average and .350 on-base percentage and again topped the AL in sacrifice hits. He also hit .320 and handled 40 chances in the field during the six-game World Series triumph over the cross-town Giants and received the Babe Ruth Award as the top World Series performer. His average dropped to .254 in 1952 but his OBP was still a solid .337 and “Scooter” remained stellar in the field as the club’s title streak reached four. It was more of the same in 1953 as Rizzuto batted .271 with a .383 OBP and placed sixth in league MVP voting as the Yanks won yet another pennant and World Series. In 1954, a year in which the club fell short of another pennant, Rizzuto showed signs of wear at age 36 as his average dropped to .195 and his OBP to .291. In 1955 he made only 79 appearances at shortstop and hit .259. The end came in 1956 when, after playing in 31 games, he was abruptly released in August to make way for veteran outfielder Enos Slaughter. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Yankees, Rizzuto batted .273 with 1588 hits that included 239 doubles, 62 triples, and 38 home runs. He scored 877 runs and compiled 563 RBIs, 149 stolen bases, a .351 OBP, drew 651 walks, and accounted for 193 sacrifice hits (a category in which he topped the American League four times). Rizzuto appeared in 52 World Series games and hit .246 with 2 home runs, 8 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, and a .355 on-base percentage. A five-time All-Star, “Scooter” was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1994 following a long wait. Following his playing career, he moved into the broadcast booth where he remained popular with Yankee fans for 40 years with his rambling style punctuated with shouts of “holy cow!” He made a mark in popular culture when his play-by-play commentary was featured in the Meat Loaf song “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”. For all his contributions to the Yankees over the course of 53 years the club retired his #10 and a plaque was placed in his honor in the Monument Park at Yankee Stadium. He died in 2007 at age 89.

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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.