Highlighted Year: Vic Power, 1955

First Baseman, Kansas City Athletics

Age:  27

2^nd season with Athletics

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 186 

Prior to 1955:

A native of Arecibo in Puerto Rico, Power was born Victor Felipe Pellot and had his surname accidentally changed to Power by his first grade teacher. He played sandlot baseball and was signed to play for Caguas of the Puerto Rican Winter League at age 15 for $100 per week. Mentored by former Negro League player Quincy Trouppe he went to Quebec, Canada in 1949 to play for the Drummondville Cubs of the independent Provincial League where he drew the interest of a scout for the New York Yankees and signed a contract. Assigned to the Syracuse Chiefs of the Class AAA International League in 1951, Power batted .294 with 22 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, 56 RBIs, and a .350 on-base percentage. Moving on to Kansas City of the Class AAA American Association in 1952, he played out of position in the outfield and at third base due to the presence of first baseman Bill Skowron. A line-drive hitter to all fields out of his low crouching stance, he batted .331 with 40 doubles, 17 triples, 16 home runs, 109 RBIs, a .370 OBP, and a .553 slugging percentage. Agile, with excellent reflexes, and flashy in the field, he would make one-handed catches with a sweeping motion and was labeled a “showboat” or “hot dog” for his style. Power had another strong season with Kansas City in 1953, leading the league in batting (.349) and hits (217) while also producing 39 doubles, 10 triples, 16 home runs, 93 RBIs, a .380 OBP, and a .521 slugging percentage. His flashy style of play continued to draw criticism and Yankee GM George Weiss referred to him as “impudent” (he responded to rude criticism with sarcasm) and inappropriate in his conduct for dating white women. In the offseason he was traded to the Philadelphia Athletics as part of a multi-player swap. Utilized in the outfield as a rookie in 1954 Power batted a disappointing .255 with 17 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 38 RBIs, and a .287 OBP. With the move of the franchise to Kansas City in 1955, Power returned to the city where he had his most impressive minor league seasons and was now stationed full-time at first base.

1955 Season Summary

Appeared in 147 games

1B – 144, PH – 3

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 639 [9]

At Bats – 596 [6]

Runs – 91 [10, tied with Larry Doby]

Hits – 190 [3, tied with Harvey Kuenn]

Doubles – 34 [2]

Triples – 10 [3]

Home Runs – 19 [14, tied with Walt Dropo]

RBI – 76 [16]

Bases on Balls – 35

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

Strikeouts – 27

Stolen Bases – 0

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .319 [2]

OBP - .354 [20, tied with Gene Woodling]

Slugging Pct. - .505 [4, tied with Larry Doby]

Total Bases – 301 [3]

GDP – 12

Hit by Pitches – 0

Sac Hits – 3

Sac Flies – 5 [18, tied with nine others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 18, 3B – 4, HR - 11, RBI - 42, AVG - .305, SLG - .500, OBP - .345

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Cleveland 4/19, (in 4 AB) at Baltimore 8/4, (in 5 AB) at Boston 8/6

Longest hitting streak – 15 games

HR at home – 12

HR on road – 7

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 6 AB) vs. Detroit 7/3 – 14 innings

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Detroit 7/3 – 14 innings

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 3 (.333) with 1 RBI

Fielding

Chances – 1421

Put Outs – 1281

Assists – 130

Errors – 10

DP – 140

Pct. – .993

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

9^th in AL MVP voting (53 points – 1 first place vote, 16% share)

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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 drew a healthy 1,393,054 fans to Municipal Stadium, which was over a million more than they drew in ’54.

Aftermath of 1955:

The arrival of veteran first baseman Eddie Robinson had Power appearing in 47 games at second base and still receiving an All-Star nod as he batted .309 with 21 doubles, 5 triples, 14 home runs, 63 RBIs, a .340 OBP, and a .447 slugging percentage. Primarily playing at first base in 1957, Power continued to excel defensively as he put together a 69-game errorless streak and committed only two miscues all year for a .998 fielding percentage while also leading the league’s first sackers with 99 assists. Nevertheless, his batting production dipped to .259 with 15 doubles, 14 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .291 OBP. Still maligned for being temperamental and a malcontent (although not by teammates), he was traded to the Cleveland Indians during the 1958 season along with outfielder Woody Held for three players that included up-and-coming outfielder Roger Maris. Hitting .302 and In the midst of a 22-game hitting streak at the time of the deal, he ended up batting .312 with 37 doubles, a league-leading 10 triples, 16 home runs, 80 RBIs, a .332 OBP, and .490 slugging percentage. Two of his three steals were of home in the same game against Detroit, a rare feat and highlighted that he was a smart baserunner if not an especially fast one. He received a Gold Glove for his play at first base although he also saw significant time at second base with Cleveland. With the Indians contending in 1959, Power went on to another Gold Glove performance at first base but, following a fast start offensively, he finished at .289 with 31 doubles, 6 triples, 10 home runs, 60 RBIs, a .334 OBP, and a .412 slugging percentage. He performed well again in 1960, hitting .288 with 26 doubles, 10 home runs, 84 RBIs, a .313 OBP, and a .395 slugging percentage. He was an All-Star and Gold Glove recipient once again. In 1961 Power’s average dropped to .268 with 34 doubles, 5 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .309 OBP, although he remained a Gold Glove performer at first base. Just prior to the 1962 season Power was dealt to the Minnesota Twins along with LHP Dick Stigman for RHP Pedro Ramos. He proved to be a stabilizing influence with his outstanding defense that saved many errant throws from the club’s young infielders from becoming errors and also batted .290 with 28 doubles, 16 home runs, 63 RBIs, a .316 OBP, and a .421 slugging percentage. The Twins rose to second place. Power played very deep at first base and encouraged the infielders to throw to the base rather than to him directly. While his fielding remained solid in 1963 his batting production dropped to .270 with 28 doubles, 10 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .297 OBP. He started the 1964 season with the Twins but was traded to the Los Angeles Angels in June. Hitting .244 in September he was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies who had a pressing need for a veteran first baseman down the stretch as they attempted to nail down the NL pennant. For the year Power batted .239 with 17 RBIs and a .269 OBP. Reacquired by the Angels in the offseason, he was strictly a part-time player in his final major league season in 1965, hitting .259 with a .281 OBP while appearing in 124 games. For his major league career, Power batted .284 with 1716 hits that included 290 doubles, 49 triples, and 126 home runs. He scored 765 runs and compiled 658 RBIs, a .315 OBP, and a .411 slugging percentage. With the A’s he batted .290 with 655 hits, 287 runs scored, 100 doubles, 25 triples, 59 home runs, 246 RBIs, a .321 OBP, and a .435 slugging percentage. Power never appeared in the postseason. A six-time All-Star, he was awarded seven consecutive Gold Gloves. Following his playing career he returned to Puerto Rico where he conducted youth baseball clinics, managed a team, and scouted for the Angels. He died in 2005 at the age of 78. Baseball historians continue to recognize Power for his defensive excellence at first base.   

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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.