Highlighted Year: Wally Moon, 1959

Outfielder, Los Angeles Dodgers

Age:  29 (April 3)

1^st season with Dodgers

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 169 

Prior to 1959:

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. Overcoming the pressure of succeeding a popular veteran player, Moon homered in his first plate appearance and went on to hit .304 with 29 doubles, 9 triples, 12 home runs, 76 RBIs, a team-leading 19 stolen bases, a .371 on-base-percentage, and a .435 slugging percentage. He was named NL Rookie of the Year. 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 OBP. 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 Dodgers as part of a three-player deal.

1959 Season Summary

Appeared in 145 games

LF – 125, CF – 4, PH – 4, 1B – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 637 [15]

At Bats – 543 [19]

Runs – 93 [10]

Hits – 164 [15]

Doubles – 26 [17, tied with Don Blasingame]

Triples – 11 [1, tied with Charlie Neal]

Home Runs – 19 [17, tied with Charlie Neal & Gus Bell]

RBI – 74 [16, tied with Ed Bouchee]

Bases on Balls – 81 [3]

Int. BB – 1

Strikeouts – 64

Stolen Bases – 15 [8, tied with Bill White & Don Blasingame]

Caught Stealing – 6 [11, tied with six others]

Average - .302 [11, tied with Bill White]

OBP - .394 [3]

Slugging Pct. - .495 [10]

Total Bases – 269 [10]

GDP – 9

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

Sac Hits – 8 [10, tied with Norm Larker & Don Drysdale]

Sac Flies – 2

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 13, 3B – 5, HR - 5, RBI - 37, AVG - .298, OBP – .379, DLG – .438

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Mil. Braves 6/16, (in 6 AB) at Mil. Braves 7/9 – 13 innings

Longest hitting streak – 17 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 9/11

HR at home – 14

HR on road – 5

Multi-HR games – 1

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Pittsburgh 7/28

Pinch-hitting – 2 for 3 (.667)

Fielding

Chances – 241

Put Outs – 224

Assists – 13

Errors – 4

DP – 2

Pct. - .983 

Postseason Batting: 6 G (World Series vs. Chi. White Sox)

PA – 25, AB – 23, R – 3, H – 6, 2B – 0, 3B – 0, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 2, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .261, OBP - .320, SLG - .391, TB – 9, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – 0

Awards & Honors:

All-Star (Started for NL in LF in both games)

4^th in NL MVP voting (161 points – 4 first place votes, 48% share)

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The Dodgers went 86-68 to finish tied for first in the NL with the Milwaukee Braves, which necessitated a season-extending best-of-3 playoff. The Dodgers won the first two games to clinch the NL pennant with a final record of 88-68. They led the league in stolen bases (84) and walks drawn (591). The acquisition of Moon buttressed the lineup. During the season Moon was especially productive down the stretch in a tight pennant race, slugging six homers in six games at one point. Of his 19 home runs, 14 of them were “Moon shots” at the spacious LA Coliseum. The Dodgers were 4.5 games behind the first-place Braves when newcomers who made a further impact joined the team, such as shortstop Maury Wills and pitchers Roger Craig and Larry Sherry. A three-team battle for first ensued with the San Francisco Giants joining the fray and taking the lead for all but two days over the remaining 10 weeks before dropping to third as the Dodgers and Braves deadlocked at the end to force the playoff. Won World Series over the Chicago White Sox, 4 games to 2 and Moon hit a two-run home run in the deciding sixth game.

Aftermath of 1959:

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 OBP (.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 Dodgers he batted .286 with 649 hits, 337 runs scored, 99 doubles, 24 triples, 64 home runs, 330 RBIs, and a .377 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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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.