Saturday, May 29, 2010

A Salute to the 15 Greatest U.S. Armed Forces Veteran MLB Players


Memorial Day Weekend Series- Part 6 of 16


No. 11 Hank Greenberg


The original "Hammerin' Hank" anchored the Detroit Tigers lineup for 12 of his 13 seasons in the bigs. The slugging first baseman/ outfielder had a remarkable career, especially when considering that he served over four years in World War II during the prime of his career.


Although he posted spectacular numbers and eventually was elected to the Hall of Fame, there is no telling what he might have accomplished playing the national past-time had he not selflessly enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1941.


Over the seven full seasons that he played from 1934 to 1946, Greenberg averaged 40 HRs and 147 RBI. He earned AL MVP honors in 1935 when he banged 36 HRs, drove in 170 RBI and hit .328.


After missing a year with injury, Greenberg followed that up with sizzling 40-183-.337 and 58-146-.315 stat lines the next two seasons. He was recognized with a second AL MVP in 1940 when he smacked 41 HRs, 150 RBI and batted .340.


The five-time All-Star ranks seventh all-time in both slugging percentage (.605) and OBPS (1.017.) Some other remarkable numbers that he posted included 63 doubles in 1934, 144 runs scored in 1938, and 103 RBI at the All-Star break in 1935.


AB R H HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG

5193 1051 1628 331 1276 58 .313 .412 .605


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