Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 231

Mize came up through the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system but was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in 1934. However, he suffered a groin injury and the Reds nullified the trade. In 1935, while struggling with one bad leg, he injured the other leg. Mize retired from baseball and returned home until the Cardinals asked him to see a physician in St. Louis. He had surgery for bone spurs.

He was kept with the Cardinals in St. Louis after surgery, as he would not have been able to play regularly that season in the minor leagues anyway. The organization thought that he might get

some opportunities to pinch hit with the major league team. Mize made his major league debut for the Cardinals in 1936. In 126 games, Mize hit for a .329 batting average, 19 home runs and 93 runs batted in. He later said, "I'm the only guy who played in the major leagues because I couldn't play in the minors."

Mize was known as both "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat" for his smooth fielding at first base. In 1937 he batted .364, but Cardinals teammate Joe Medwick took the title with a .374 average. He led the league in triples and OPS in 1938. In 1939, Mize finished second in the league's Most Valuable Player voting after leading the league with a .349 average and 28 home runs.

Mize's 43 home runs in 1940 set a Cardinals team record. At the end of the 1941 season, however, Cardinals general manager