Jimmie Foxx
From BR Bullpen
James Emory Foxx (Beast or Double X or Maryland Strong Boy)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
- Debut May 1, 1925
- Final Game September 23, 1945
- Born October 22, 1907 in Sudlersville, MD USA
- Died July 21, 1967 in Miami, FL USA
Inducted into Hall of Fame in 1951
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[edit] Biographical Information
"He was the only hitter I ever saw who could hit balls on his fist and still get them out of the park. He had muscles on his muscles." - Lefty Gomez
Jimmie Foxx, often called "Beast" or "Double-X", is generally considered the best first baseman of all time other than Lou Gehrig. His major league career stretched 20 seasons, mostly with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Sox. A prodigious home run hitter, he had 534 home runs lifetime, finishing his career behind only Babe Ruth. He had 1,922 RBI, placing him # 8 on the all-time list as of 2006. His .609 slugging percentage puts him at # 5 on the all-time list (and if active player Albert Pujols drops a bit before his career is over, Foxx will move back up to # 4).
Foxx broke in as a catcher and played 108 games in his career at that position. He also played some third base from time to time, with 141 games at the position in his career. In addition, he pitched 10 games in his career, mostly at the age of 37 in 1945, with an excellent ERA of 1.59 in 22 2/3 innings. In 1945, his last year in the majors, he had the lowest ERA on the staff for the 1945 Phillies. It was the last year of World War II and rosters were thin.
His best year was probably 1932 when he hit 58 home runs and also hit two more over the fence that were not counted as home runs. He slugged .749 that year.
He was a veteran with the Boston Red Sox when rookie Ted Williams came up in 1939, and had an impact on the young Williams. Based on the similarity scores method, the two most similar players to Foxx are Lou Gehrig and Ted Williams.
He played well in the three World Series he was in, in 1929-31, hitting .344 and slugging .609.
He was teammates with Hall-of-Famer Lefty Grove for much of his career, as Grove played on both the Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox with him. He was also a teammate of Hall of Famer Mickey Cochrane for his first 9 years with the Philadelphia Athletics, and Al Simmons for 8 years.
Supposedly, he built up his strength as a youngster doing chores on his father's farm. He had huge arm muscles for the time. Home Run Baker noticed him while in high school, and invited him for a minor league tryout. Baker then recommended him to Connie Mack of the Athletics. His major league debut was at age 17, when he had 6 hits in 9 at-bats.
After his playing days, he managed and coached in the minors, was a college baseball manager, and was a sports announcer in 1946. His managerial stops in the minors were with the 1944 Portsmouth Cubs, 1947 St. Petersburg Saints and 1949 Bridgeport Bees.
He also managed the Fort Wayne Daisies briefly in 1952, and that experience was dramatized in the movie "A League of Their Own".
- Head baseball coach at the University of Miami in 1956-1957.
- Ranked second all time in home runs at the time of his retirement.
- Foxx was originally believed to have died of a heart attack (he had a history of heart trouble), but an autopsy showed the cause of his death as asphixiation (He choked on a piece of meat).
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 9-time AL All-Star (1933-1941)
- 3-time AL MVP (1932, 1933 & 1938)
- AL Triple Crown (1933)
- 2-time AL Batting Average Leader (1933 & 1938)
- 3-time AL On-Base Percentage Leader (1929, 1938 & 1939)
- 5-time AL Slugging Percentage Leader (1932, 1933, 1935, 1938 & 1939)
- 5-time AL OPS Leader (1932, 1933, 1935, 1938 & 1939)
- AL Runs Scored Leader (1932)
- AL Total Bases Leader (1932, 1933 & 1938)
- 4-time AL Home Runs Leader (1932, 1933, 1935 & 1939)
- 3-time AL RBI Leader (1932, 1933 & 1938)
- 2-time AL Bases on Balls Leader (1934 & 1938)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 12 (1929-1940)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 12 (1929-1940)
- 40-Home Run Seasons: 5 (1932-1934, 1936 & 1938)
- 50-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1932 & 1938)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 13 (1929-1941)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 11 (1929, 1930 & 1932-1940)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 2 (1932 & 1933)
- Won two World Series with the Philadelphia Athletics (1929 & 1930)
- Baseball Hall of Fame: Class of 1951
| AL MVP | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1932 | 1933 | 1934 |
| Lefty Grove | Jimmie Foxx | Jimmie Foxx |
| 1933 | 1934 | 1935 |
| Jimmie Foxx | Jimmie Foxx | Mickey Cochrane |
| 1937 | 1938 | 1939 |
| Charlie Gehringer | Jimmie Foxx | Joe DiMaggio |
[edit] Records Held
- Slugging average, right handed batter, career, .609
- OPS, right handed batter, career, 1.037
- Total average, right handed batter, career, 1.143
[edit] Trivia
- Died by choking on a piece of meat
[edit] Further Reading
- Mark R. Millikin: Jimmie Foxx: The Pride of Sudlersville, The Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD, 2005.
