Wally Moses
Wally Moses | |||
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Moses later in his career with Philadelphia. | |||
Right fielder | |||
Born: Uvalda, Georgia | October 8, 1910|||
Died: October 10, 1990 Vidalia, Georgia | (aged 80)|||
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MLB debut | |||
April 17, 1935, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 30, 1951, for the Philadelphia Athletics | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .291 | ||
Home runs | 89 | ||
Runs batted in | 679 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Wallace Moses (October 8, 1910 – October 10, 1990) was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics (1935–41; 1949–51), Chicago White Sox (1942–46), and Boston Red Sox (1946–48). Moses batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Uvalda, Georgia.
Baseball career[edit]
Moses started his professional career with Galveston of the Texas League, where he batted .316 in 1934.[1] He debuted with the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1935 season. He batted over .300 each of his seven years with them, with a career-best .345 in his sophomore year.
Moses had by far his most productive season in 1937, when he hit career-highs in home runs (25), RBI (86), runs (113), hits (208) and doubles (48), batting .320 with 13 triples. In 1939, he missed a World Series opportunity when his trade to the Detroit Tigers for Benny McCoy was nullified by Baseball Commissioner K.M. Landis. The verdict made several Tigers free agents.
Through years of last place finishes with Philadelphia, Moses had little chance to display his speed on the basepaths. But in 1943, with the Chicago White Sox, he posted a career-high 56 stolen bases and co-led the American League in triples (12). A strong-armed right fielder, he led the AL in putouts (329) in 1945.
In the 1946 World Series with the Boston Red Sox, Moses hit .417 (5-for-12) and tied a WS record with four hits in a game. He finished his career with the Athletics in 1951.
His first 7 years with the A's (1935-1941) were the most productive in his career. Moses surpassed .300 in every season. He posted 61 home runs, 354 rbi, and hit .317 (1135 for 3580). After being traded away after the 1941 season, he never hit .300 again and his productivity declined, posting 28 home runs, 325 rbi, and batting .266 (1003 for 3776) over the next 10 seasons with the White Sox and Red Sox and the A's again. The closest he came to the .300 plateau is when he hit .295 with the White Sox in 1945. His second tenure with the A's (1949-1951) was not even close to the numbers he put up with them at the beginning of his career.
In a 17-season career, Moses hit .291 with 89 home runs and 679 RBI in 2012 games played. He added 1,124 runs, 2,138 hits, 435 doubles, 110 triples and 174 stolen bases. His career fielding percentage was .973. A patient hitter with a good eye, Moses collected a 1.80 walk-to-strikeout ratio (821-to-457). He also made the American League All-Star team in 1937 and 1945.
Following his playing career, Moses was a coach for the Athletics (1952–54, the A's final three seasons in Philadelphia), Philadelphia Phillies (1955–58), Cincinnati Reds (1959–60), New York Yankees (1961–62; 1966) and Detroit Tigers (1967–70), serving as both a first base coach and hitting instructor. He also was a minor league batting coach and scout for the Yankees.
Moses died in Vidalia, Georgia, just two days after his 80th birthday.
Moses was the last 20th century Athletics player with a 200-hit season. He had 208 in 1937. Sixty-five years later, Miguel Tejada collected 204 (October 5, 2002).
See also[edit]
- List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
- List of MLB all-time leaders in doubles
- List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
- List of athletes on Wheaties boxes
- List of Major League Baseball career triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
References[edit]
- ^ "A Moses Emerges To Aid A's". The Sporting News. January 3, 1935. p. 1.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Wally Moses at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Preceded by Ralph Houk Vern Benson |
New York Yankees first base coach 1961–1962 1966 |
Succeeded by Yogi Berra Loren Babe |
Preceded by Pat Mullin |
Detroit Tigers first base coach 1967–1970 |
Succeeded by Frank Skaff |
- Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state)
- American League All-Stars
- Boston Red Sox players
- Chicago White Sox players
- Philadelphia Athletics players
- Major League Baseball right fielders
- Major League Baseball coaches
- Major League Baseball first base coaches
- Major League Baseball hitting coaches
- New York Yankees coaches
- New York Yankees scouts
- Elmira Colonels players
- Monroe Twins players
- Shreveport Sports players
- Galveston Buccaneers players
- People from Montgomery County, Georgia
- 1910 births
- 1990 deaths
- Detroit Tigers coaches
- Cincinnati Reds coaches
- Philadelphia Athletics coaches
- Philadelphia Phillies coaches