BBTF's Newsblog Discussion :: St. Louisian Don Mueller, former big-league star, dies

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Friday, December 30, 2011

St. Louisian Don Mueller, former big-league star, dies

St. Louis native Don Mueller, who led the majors in hits in 1954 and roamed the outfield with Willie Mays of the New York Giants, died on Wednesday. He was 84.

Mueller, who played at CBC, was signed by the Giants in 1944 and made his big-league debut four years later.

At age 23, he became a starter for the Giants in right field and hit .291 in his first full season.

...A career .296 hitter, Mueller became known as “Mandrake the Magician.” He finished his career with two seasons with the White Sox in 1958 and 59.

Repoz Posted: December 30, 2011 at 01:53 PM | 3 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: giants, obituaries, white sox

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1. Bruce Markusen Posted: December 30, 2011 at 05:24 PM (#4025777)

Mueller was the consummate contact hitter. For his career, he had 167 walks and 146 strikeouts. And that was over a span of 12 seasons.

2. Jolly Old St. Neck Wound, Moral Idiot

Posted: December 30, 2011 at 06:09 PM (#4025814)

Mueller got the second of four hits in the Giants' pennant winning rally in the final 1951 playoff game, but then broke a leg sliding into third on Lockman's double and didn't even get to see Thomson's winning home run. OTOH the time that it took to carry him off the field into the centerfield clubhouse gave Branca enough time to warm up, and it's possible that without that broken leg Thomson would have been facing Newcombe and the Dodgers might have hung on.

Yeah, and if I had some ham I could make a ham sandwich, if I had some bread. But it's still a nice little case of the What Ifs.

3. Run Joe Run Posted: December 31, 2011 at 02:46 AM (#4026062)

When I was in college, many years ago, a college prof was a huge NY Giant fan and swore the Giants would have won the 51 World Series if Mandrake could have played. This was about 35 years after the event and he was still white hot passionate about it. I think that kind of fandom is a nice way for a guy like Mueller to go out with. Rest in Peace. Also, went to school with Danny Gardellas daughter.

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Friday, December 30, 2011

St. Louisian Don Mueller, former big-league star, dies

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