Eddie Stanky

Edward Raymond Stanky
(The Brat or Muggsy)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 8", Weight 170 lb.
• High School Northeast Manual Training School
• Debut April 21, 1943
• Final Game July 25, 1953
• Born September 3, 1915 in Philadelphia, PA USA
• Died June 16, 1999 in Fairhope, AL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Eddie Stanky played 11 years in the majors and managed for eight years. He led the league three times in walks and once in runs scored. Primarily a second baseman, he appeared in three World Series and three All-Star Games.

Stanky as a player drew huge numbers of walks, with a peak of 148 with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945. He was in the top 3 in the league in walks six different times. A second baseman with good defensive range, Stanky's walks helped him get on base enough to score many runs even though he wasn't a base-stealer. He led the league in runs scored in 1945.

Stanky's highest finish in the MVP voting was third in 1950 when he was with the New York Giants in the year before Willie Mays broke in. Eddie posted a career best 8.2 WAR that year, becoming, at age 34, the oldest modern era second baseman to lead the NL in WAR (Nap Lajoie, at age 35 in 1910, is the oldest such second baseman to lead the AL in WAR).

For his career, Stanky walked in 19.8% of plate appearances against left-handed pitchers, the highest rate among modern era players with 1,000 or more PA and fewer than 100 home runs against lefties (Stanky hit only 10 home runs against left-handers). Among retired players with career totals of fewer than 500 home runs, Stanky ranks third (behind Max Bishop and Ferris Fain) in walk rate against right-handers (minimum of 2,000 PA) and against all pitchers (minimum of 3,000 PA).

The similarity scores method shows Max Bishop to be the player most similar to Stanky. Bishop and Stanky both recorded three or more qualified seasons with as many walks as hits, a feat matched in the modern era by only Barry Bonds, Mickey Tettleton, Gene Tenace and Jim Wynn.

After serving as a player-manager for the St. Louis Cardinals and a Cleveland Indians coach in the 1950s, the fiery Stanky went on to manage the Chicago White Sox in the 1960s, almost winning the pennant in 1967. He later managed the 1977 Texas Rangers for only one game before quitting.

Stanky was the baseball coach at the University of South Alabama for 14 years, where he had substantial success and coached a number of future major leaguers. Stanky was the son-in-law of Milt Stock.

Notable Achievements

• 3-time NL All-Star (1947, 1948 & 1950)
• 2-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1946 & 1950)
• NL Runs Scored Leader (1945)
• 3-time NL Bases on Balls Leader (1945, 1946 & 1950)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 2 (1945 & 1950)
• ML Manager of the Year Award (1952)

Preceded by Marty Marion

St. Louis Cardinals Manager 1952-1955

Succeeded by Harry Walker

Preceded by Al Lopez

Chicago White Sox Manager 1966-1968

Succeeded by Les Moss

Preceded by Frank Lucchesi

Texas Rangers Manager 1977

Succeeded by Connie Ryan

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1952	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	88-66	3rd	St. Louis Cardinals
1953	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	83-71	3rd	St. Louis Cardinals
1954	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	72-82	6th	St. Louis Cardinals
1955	St. Louis Cardinals	National League	17-19	--	St. Louis Cardinals		replaced by Harry Walker on May 28
1956	Minneapolis Millers	American Association	78-75	4th	New York Giants	Lost in 1st round
1966	Chicago White Sox	American League	83-79	4th	Chicago White Sox
1967	Chicago White Sox	American League	89-73	4th	Chicago White Sox
1968	Chicago White Sox	American League	34-45	--	Chicago White Sox		replaced by Les Moss on July 12
1977	Texas Rangers	American League	1-0	--	Texas Rangers		replaced Frank Lucchesi (31-31) on June 22 / replaced by Connie Ryan on June 23

Related Sites

• Eddie Stanky at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page