Henry Majeski (December 13, 1916 – August 9, 1991) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player,

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and minor league manager. He played as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

from to for the

Boston Bees The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During ...

/ Braves (1939–41),

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

(1946), Philadelphia Athletics (1946–49 and 1951–52),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(1950–51),

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

(1952–55) and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

(1955). He was known as one of the best fielding third basemen of his era, setting a major league single-season record for third basemen with a .988 fielding percentage in .

Baseball career

Born in

Staten Island, New York Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull and ...

, Majeski began his

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

career as a second baseman in at the age of 18 with the

Eau Claire Bears The Eau Claire Bears was the primary nickname of the minor league baseball teams from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Eau Claire was a member of the Class C Northern League (1933-1942, 1946–62) and were affiliates of the Boston Red Sox (1936), Chicago ...

of the Northern League. In his second season at Eau Claire, he posted a .365

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

to finish as runnerup in the Northern League batting championship. His performance brought him to the attention of the Chicago Cubs who signed him to a contract and sent him to play for their Minor League affiliate, the

Moline Plowboys The Moline Plowboys was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Moline, Illinois, one of the Quad Cities. Moline teams played as members the 1892 Illinois-Iowa League, 1894 Western Association, the Mississippi Valley League ( ...

of the Three-I League. Majeski continued to perform well, winning the Three-I League batting championship with a .345 batting average. He was traded to the Birmingham Barons of the

Southern Association The Southern Association was a higher-level minor league in American organized baseball from 1901 through 1961. For most of its existence, the Southern Association was two steps below the Major Leagues; it was graded Class A (1902–1935), Cla ...

in where he hit for a .325 average. Majeski's contract was purchased by the Boston Braves, then known as the Boston Bees and, he made his major league debut with the team on May 17, 1939 at the age of 22. During his rookie season, Bees' manager

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, the expansion New Y ...

converted him into a third baseman. Majeski began the season hitting above .300 for the first half of the season before a mid-season slump saw his average dip to .238 but, he recovered to finish the year with a .272 average along with 7

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 54

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. Majeski only appeared in 19 games for the Bees in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

, spending most of the season with the minor league

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

, a New York Yankees farm team. Majeski hit for a .323 average during the Bears' season, then hit .478 in the post-season to help the Bears defeat the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

in the

Junior World Series The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series (no relation to ...

. At the beginning of the 1941 season, Stengel decided to replace Majeski with Sibby Sisti as the Bees' third baseman and, in May 1941 his contract was purchased by the New York Yankees. In while still playing for the Newark Bears, Majeski won the International League batting championship with a .345 batting average and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Majeski joined the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

in and missed the next three seasons before being discharged in November . He reported back to the Yankees in 1946 and, after an impressive spring training performance, made the team as a utility player. After appearing in only eight games, his contract was sold to

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

's Philadelphia Athletics in June 1946. Majeski immediately became the starting third baseman for the Athletics, appearing in 78 games. On July 29, 1947, he escaped serious injury when he was hit in the head by a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

thrown by Chicago White Sox pitcher, Earl Harrist. He ended the season with a .280

with 8 home runs, 72 runs batted in and, set a major league single-season record for third basemen with a .988 fielding percentage, breaking the previous mark set by

Willie Kamm William Edward Kamm (February 2, 1900 – December 21, 1988) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a third baseman in Major League Baseball from to . Kamm played most of his career for the Chicago White Sox before finishing ...

in . Majeski had his best season in 1948, hitting for a .310 batting average along with 12 home runs, 120 runs batted in, .368 on-base percentage, and a .454 slugging percentage. He led the league once again with a .975 fielding percentage, finished third in assists and in putouts and finished 11th in voting for the American League

Most Valuable Player Award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. On August 27, 1948, Majeski set an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

record for most doubles in a doubleheader with 6. Majeski was a member of the 1949 Philadelphia Athletics team that set a major league team record of 217 double plays, a record which still stood as of . On August 7, , Majeski was once again hit in the head by a fastball, this time thrown by Cleveland Indians pitcher

Early Wynn Early Wynn Jr. (January 6, 1920 – April 4, 1999), nicknamed "Gus", was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, dur ...

. Majeski seemed to fall out of favor with manager Connie Mack and he would be traded to the Chicago White Sox before the

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

season. He rebounded with the White Sox to post a .309 batting average with 6 home runs and 46 runs batted in. After only a year and a half with the White Sox, he was traded back to the Athletics in June

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. A year later, his contract was purchased by the Cleveland Indians where he served as a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

behind

Al Rosen Albert Leonard Rosen (February 29, 1924 – March 13, 2015), nicknamed "Flip" and "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 194 ...

, and helped tutor a young Bobby Ávila. Majeski helped the Indians win the American League Pennant, batting .281 with only 3 errors while backing up Rosen at third base and filling in as a second baseman when Avila was injured. He also hit a

pinch hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Americ ...

three-run

in Game 4 of the

1954 World Series The 1954 World Series matched the National League champion New York Giants against the American League champion Cleveland Indians. The Giants swept the Series in four games to win their first championship since , defeating the heavily favored Ind ...

in a losing cause against the New York Giants. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in June 1955, and then retired as a player at the end of the season at the age of 38.

Career statistics

In a thirteen-year major league career, Majeski played in 1,069 games, accumulating 956 hits in 3,421 at bats for a .279 career batting average along with 57 home runs and 501

. In , Majeski set a then-record .988 fielding percentage, still the fifth highest single-season average for third basemen in major league baseball history. He ended his career with a .968 fielding percentage, the eighteenth highest average for third basemen in major league history.

Managing and coaching career

After retiring as a player, Majeski took on the role of minor league

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in the Cleveland Indians organisation. In , he managed the

Daytona Beach Islanders Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, d ...

to a fourth-place finish in the Florida State League, and in he led the

Cocoa Indians Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

to a sixth-place finish. He returned to baseball in to manage one final time for the New York Yankees organization with the

Oneonta Yankees Oneonta may refer to several places: Communities *Oneonta, New York, A small city and inspiration for some of the other "Oneontas" *Oneonta (town), New York, a town that surrounds the City of Oneonta *Oneonta, Alabama, Blount County * Oneonta, Ke ...

. Majeski also served as a scout for several teams. He later was the baseball

for

Wagner College Wagner College is a private liberal arts college in Staten Island, New York City. Founded in 1883 and with an enrollment of approximately 2,200 students, Wagner is known for its academic program, The Wagner Plan for the Practical Liberal Arts. It ...

and, was a

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

coach for the Houston Astros. Majeski died of cancer on

on August 9, at the age of 74.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Majeski, Hank 1916 births 1991 deaths Baltimore Orioles players Birmingham Barons players Boston Bees players Boston Braves players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Eau Claire Bears players Houston Astros scouts Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Moline Plowboys players Newark Bears (IL) players New York Yankees players New York Yankees scouts Philadelphia Athletics players Sportspeople from Staten Island Baseball players from New York City United States Coast Guard enlisted Wagner Seahawks baseball coaches United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II

Baseball career

Career statistics

Managing and coaching career

See also

References

External links