Highlighted Year: Jim Finigan, 1955

Second Baseman/Third Baseman, Kansas City Athletics

Age:  27 (Aug. 19)

2^nd season with Athletics

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175 

Prior to 1955:

A native of Quincy, Illinois, Finigan starred in football and basketball, in addition to baseball at Quincy Notre Dame High School. Following graduation in 1946 he attended St. Ambrose College (now University) on a baseball scholarship. Playing sandlot ball on the side, Finigan signed with the New York Yankees for $400 per month in 1948. He initially was assigned to Independence of the Class D Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League where he played second base and batted .309 with a .393 on-base percentage and 59 RBIs in 109 games before moving up to the Joplin Miners of the Class C Western Association for 18 games in which he hit .361. Spending all of 1949 with Joplin he batted .320 with 180 hits, 120 runs scored, 34 doubles, 19 triples, 7 home runs, 79 RBIs, 22 stolen bases,. and a .393 OBP. Promoted to the Norfolk Tars of the Class B Piedmont League in 1950, Finigan hit .260 with 22 extra-base hits, and a .321 OBP. Following the season, he enlisted in the Army where he played service baseball for Fort Leonard Wood. After missing two minor league seasons, Finigan played for Binghamton of the Class A Eastern League in 1953 where he batted .303 with 38 doubles, 8 triples, 13 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a .377 OBP while playing exclusively at third base. In the offseason he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics as part of a ten-player deal. Expecting that he needed further development before moving up to the majors, Finigan surprisingly stuck with the A’s in 1954 thanks to a strong spring performance. Taking over as the club’s starting third baseman, he had a solid rookie season, gaining selection as an All-Star on his way to hitting .302 with 25 doubles, 6 triples, 7 home runs, 51 RBIs, and a .381 OBP. He also proved to be a solid performer at third base and placed second in AL Rookie of the Year voting. In the offseason, the Athletics were sold and moved to Kansas City.

1955 Season Summary

Appeared in 150 games

2B – 90, 3B – 59, PH – 2, PR – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 615 [12, tied with Yogi Berra, Gil McDougald & Minnie Minoso]

At Bats – 545 [9]

Runs – 72

Hits – 139

Doubles – 30 [4, tied with Sammy White]

Triples – 7 [8, tied with six others]

Home Runs – 9

RBI – 68 [19, tied with Hector Lopez]

Bases on Balls – 61

Int. BB – 6 [10, tied with nine others]

Strikeouts – 49

Stolen Bases – 1

Caught Stealing – 3

Average - .255

OBP - .333

Slugging Pct. - .385

Total Bases – 210

GDP – 18 [4, tied with Minnie Minoso]

Hit by Pitches – 3 [19, tied with sixteen others]

Sac Hits – 5

Sac Flies – 1

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 22, 3B – 6, HR - 9, RBI - 48, AVG - .286, OBP - .358

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Most hits, game – 3 on six occasions

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

HR at home – 5

HR on road – 4

Most home runs, game – 1 on nine occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Boston 4/26 – 11 innings

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 2 (.500)

Fielding (2B)

Chances – 476

Put Outs – 236

Assists – 228

Errors – 12

DP – 72

Pct. – .975 

Awards & Honors:

All-Star (Started for AL at 3B)

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The relocated Athletics went 63-91 to finish sixth in the AL, 33 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees, while leading the league in fewest stolen bases (22) and fewest walks drawn (462). The pitching-poor A’s lost seven of their first nine games which set the tone for a season in which they still finished higher than their final Philadelphia year and they drew a healthy 1,393,054 fans to Municipal Stadium, which was over a million more than they drew in ’54. Following a solid first half, Finigan slumped badly at the plate after the All-Star break, apparently distracted by being moved to second base to make room for rookie third baseman Hector Lopez.

Aftermath of 1955:

Shifted back to third base in 1956, Finigan suffered a leg injury early in the season which sidelined him for a week. He missed more time due to a May illness and a sprained ankle in July. Shifted back to second base again, his hitting suffered and, limited to 91 games he ended up with a miserable .216 average with 11 extra base hits, 21 RBIs, and a .298 OBP. Vision problems that led to him wearing glasses for the remainder of his career also were an apparent contributor to his hitting problems. In the offseason he was traded to the Detroit Tigers, who anticipated that he would fill a need at third base. Overweight when he reported to spring training in 1957, Finigan suffered a hand injury that sidelined him briefly. He returned to action in April and took over the starting job at third base from 22-year-old Reno Bertoia. Lack of batting production caused him to be benched in favor of Bertoia and Finigan was used sparingly the rest of the way. Appearing in 64 games, Finigan batted .270 with a .357 OBP. In the offseason he was dealt to the newly relocated San Francisco Giants. Beaten out at third base by rookie Jim Davenport, Finigan appeared in only 23 games with the Giants in 1958 before being sent down to Phoenix of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. He hit .285 in 60 games with Phoenix with a .336 OBP. In the offseason he was traded within the PCL to Vancouver and that team’s major league parent, the Baltimore Orioles, purchased his contract. Anticipated to be a reserve outfielder in 1959, a strong spring caused him to take over at third base while young Brooks Robinson, coming off a six-month military commitment, was sent down to the minors. Upon Robinson’s return to the Orioles in July, Finigan was sent to Vancouver. Released by the Orioles, he played three more minor league seasons before retiring, his once promising career having faded away. For his major league career, he batted .264 with 422 hits that included 74 doubles, 17 triples, and 19 home runs. He scored 195 runs and compiled 168 RBIs while drawing 190 walks for a .342 OBP. With the Athletics he batted .265 with 340 hits, 158 runs scored, 62 doubles, 15 triples, 18 home runs, 140 RBIs, 155 walks drawn, and a .344 OBP. The two-time All-Star had no postseason appearances. Finigan was an instructor at a baseball school in Florida for a time and managed an unaffiliated minor league team. He also obtained a college degree and coached at the high school and college levels. He died of a sudden heart attack at age 52 in 1981.  

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.