Eddie Miksis
From BR Bullpen
Edward Thomas Miksis
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
- Debut June 17, 1944
- Final Game September 26, 1958
- Born September 11, 1926 in Burlington, NJ USA
- Died April 8, 2005 in Huntingdon Valley, PA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Eddie Miksis had a long major league career, playing 14 seasons. He played 382 games at 2nd base in his major league career, 219 in the outfield, 179 at third base, 137 at shortstop, and a couple at first base.
Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in wartime, he came to the major leagues that same year at age 17 for 26 games. He served in the Navy and missed almost two full seasons.
His first six major league seasons, and a piece of his seventh, were spent with the Brooklyn Dodgers. With them, he appeared in the 1947 World Series and in the 1949 World Series.
Coming to the Chicago Cubs in 1951, he was the regular second baseman when Ernie Banks came up in September 1953. Banks and Gene Baker, another black player, came up at almost the same time to become the first black double-play combination in the major leagues, and Baker was the second baseman the following season.
Miksis remained with the Cubs for several more years, playing more in the outfield and at third base.
When he became 30 years old, the Cubs traded him to St. Louis, and he made it to September before the Orioles selected him off of waivers. They released him in May of the following year, and he finished out his career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1958.
He appeared, lifetime, in over 1,000 games, hitting .236.
Based on similarity scores, the most similar player to Eddie Miksis is Sibby Sisti, who played from 1939-54.
- When teamed with middle infield mate Roy Smalley II, Smalley's throwing led to the saying among Cubs fans of "Miksis to Smalley to Addison Street." This was shortly before Ernie Banks and Gene Baker would replace them as the double-play combo.
