Highlighted Year: Johnny Logan, 1953

Shortstop, Milwaukee Braves

Age: 27

3^rd season with Braves

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 5’11” Weight: 175 

Prior to 1953:

A native of Endicott, New York, Logan was the son of a Russian immigrant and learned sports from his brother and older boys in the community. He excelled at football, in addition to baseball, at Union-Endicott High School. Drafted into the Army immediately following his high school graduation in 1945, he briefly went to an extension college of Syracuse University before signing with the Boston Braves in 1947 for $2500. Initially assigned to Evansville of the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa (or Three I) League the 21-year-old shortstop batted .331 with 32 doubles, 13 triples, 6 home runs, 82 RBIs, a .404 on-base percentage, and a .488 slugging percentage. Named a league all-star, he was promoted up to Milwaukee of the Class AAA American Association in 1948 where he experienced difficulty and was sent down to the Pawtucket Slaters of the Class B New England League where he hit .325 with a .381 OBP in 45 games and was sent to the Dallas Eagles of the Class AA Texas League where in 32 games he batted .283 with a .339 OBP. Logan was back in Class AAA with Milwaukee in 1950, was the starting shortstop in every game, and hit .296 with 28 doubles, 6 home runs, 57 RBIs, and a .347 OBP. Joining the Braves in 1951, he saw scant action prior to being sent back down to Milwaukee. In June the Braves replaced manager Billy Southworth with Tommy Holmes. Logan was soon recalled to the Braves and appeared in 62 games and batted .219 with a .298 OBP. He started 1952 with Milwaukee until the Braves made another managerial change during the Memorial Day weekend and replaced Holmes with Charlie Grimm, who had managed Logan in Class AAA. Logan was again recalled to the Braves and Grimm inserted him in the lineup. He went on to lead NL shortstops with a .972 fielding percentage, although his range was lacking. His hitting improved to .283 with 21 doubles, 4 home runs, and a .334 OBP. Prior to the 1953 season, the Braves moved from Boston to Milwaukee.

1953 Season Summary

Appeared in 150 games

SS – 150

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 668 [9, tied with Bill Bruton]

At Bats – 611 [4]

Runs – 100 [14, tied with Ralph Kiner]

Hits – 167 [17, tied with Bobby Adams]

Doubles – 27 [15]

Triples – 8 [8, tied with seven others]

Home Runs – 11

RBI – 73

Bases on Balls – 41

Int. BB – 0

Strikeouts – 33

Stolen Bases – 2

Caught Stealing – 2

Average - .273

OBP - .326

Slugging Pct. - .398

Total Bases – 243

GDP – 13 [19, tied with five others]

Hit by Pitches – 7 [3, tied with Jackie Robinson]

Sac Hits – 9 [8, tied with four others]

Sac Flies – N/A

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 17, 3B – 3, HR - 7, RBI - 40, AVG - .274, OBP - .333

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Most hits, game – 3 on eight occasions

Longest hitting streak – 12 games

HR at home – 3

HR on road – 8

Most home runs, game – 1 on eleven occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 4 at Pittsburgh 8/30

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 796

Put Outs – 295

Assists – 481

Errors – 20

DP – 104

Pct. - .975 

Awards & Honors:

20^th in NL MVP voting, tied with Gus Bell, Cin. (3 points – 1% share)

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In their first season in Milwaukee, the Braves went 92-62 to finish second in the NL, 13 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Dodgers while drawing 1,826,397 spectators to County Stadium. The Braves quickly moved into contention and were in first place, on and off, from May 23 until June 27. The club ultimately couldn’t keep pace with the Dodgers and dropped into second place.

Aftermath of 1953:

Logan solidified his place as a sure-handed fielder in 1954 by leading NL shortstops in assists (489), attesting to his improved range, as well as fielding percentage (.969). In addition he batted .275 with 17 doubles, 7 triples, 8 home runs, 66 RBIs, and a .339 OBP. He finished eighteenth in league MVP voting. Logan was an All-Star for the first time in 1955 as he co-led the NL in doubles with 37 while hitting .297 with 13 home runs, 83 RBIs, a .360 OBP, and a .442 slugging percentage. He again topped league shortstops with 511 assists. The Braves continued to contend in 1956 and Logan batted .281 with 27 doubles, 15 home runs, 46 RBIs, a .340 OBP, and a .431 slugging percentage. The Braves finally culminated their rise to the top of the National League in 1957 and Logan contributed by hitting .273 with 19 doubles, 7 triples, 10 home runs, 49 RBIs, a .319 OBP, and a .401 slugging percentage. He further burnished his reputation as a clutch hitter and his defense remained solid, helped by the in-season arrival of veteran second baseman Red Schoendienst in a trade with the Giants. The Braves defeated the New York Yankees in the World Series where Logan set a World Series record for shortstops with 10 assists in the 10-inning Game 4, which was won by the Braves when third baseman Eddie Mathews homered in the bottom of the tenth with Logan on base. Fiery and prone to getting into altercations, Logan most notably maintained a long-term feud with Cincinnati second baseman Johnny Temple. Milwaukee again won the NL pennant in 1958 and Logan hit a substandard .226 with 20 doubles, 11 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .286 OBP. Logan’s batting rebounded in 1959 to .291 with 17 doubles, 13 home runs, 50 RBIs, a .369 OBP, and a .411 slugging percentage. The Braves ended up tying for first place with the Los Angeles Dodgers, necessitating a season-extending best-of-three playoff. The Dodgers won the first game in Milwaukee, and In the seventh inning of the second game, Dodger first baseman Norm Larker, running from first and trying to break up a double play, crashed into Logan, knocking him unconscious and out of the game, an event that was viewed as a key moment as LA went on to win. In 1960 Logan’s batting production dropped to .245 with 14 doubles, 7 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .309 OBP. Challenged by young Felix Mantilla at short, he became expendable in the offseason when the Braves obtained veteran shortstop Roy McMillan from Cincinnati. Relegated to part-time duty in 1961, he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in June, providing a veteran bench presence in Pittsburgh, For the year he appeared in a total of 45 games and hit .197 with a .250 OBP. Logan spent two more seasons as a reserve with the Pirates until he was released following the 1963 season. Signed by the Nankai Hawks of Japan’s Pacific League in 1964, Logan had the opportunity to play for another championship club. Nankai finished first and went on to win the Japan Series against the Hanshin Tigers. For the year, Logan batted .189 with a .245 OBP and retired. For his major league career, he batted .268 with 1407 hits that included 216 doubles, 41 triples, and 93 home runs. He scored 651 runs and compiled 547 RBIs, a .330 OBP, and a .378 slugging percentage. With the Braves he batted .270 with 1329 hits, 624 runs scored, 207 doubles, 40 triples, 92 home runs, 521 RBIs, a .330 OBP, and a .384 slugging percentage. Appearing in 14 World Series games he hit .154 with 3 doubles, a home run, and 4 RBIs. A four-time All-Star, he was inducted into the Milwaukee Braves Honor Roll and the Walk of Fame at Milwaukee’s Miller Park. He died in 2013 at the age of 87. An intense competitor and key player for the Braves during their best seasons in Milwaukee, he was also remembered for his colorful speech containing amusing malapropisms.

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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.