Raymond James Mack (born ''Raymond James Mlckovsky,'' August 31, 1916 – May 7, 1969) was a second baseman in

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 1938 to 1946 with the

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 ...

and in 1947 with the

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 ...

and Chicago Cubs. In a nine-season career, he had a

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 ...

of .232 with 34

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 278

RBIs 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 bat ...

. He stole 35 bases, scored 273 runs, and accumulated 113 doubles and 24 triples. He had 629 career hits in 2,707 at-bats. Mack attended Case School of Applied Science, now known as Case Western Reserve University, where he was known as an outstanding football player, earning the nickname the "Case Ace." In fact, he was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 1938 NFL Draft, but declined professional football to play his passion of baseball. After playing semipro baseball, we was eventually scouted and signed by the

in 1938. Mack was born in Cleveland, Ohio. Listed as tall and , he was known more for his fielding than his hitting, teaming up with Cleveland

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Lou Boudreau for a great double play combination in the early 1940s. Mack was selected to the 1940 American League All-Star team and

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 ...

for starting second baseman

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash" in reference to the comic-book character ''Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yank ...

in the eighth inning. Mack

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

against Larry French of the Cubs and handled no chances in the field as the AL bowed, 4–0, at

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on th ...

. Ironically, Gordon would succeed Mack as the Indians' regular second baseman in . Mack ended with a .966 career fielding percentage and helped complete 597 double plays. He saved Bob Feller's 1940 opening day no-hitter with a diving stop on the final out. After the season, Mack was traded to the Yankees by new Indians' owner Bill Veeck. It was one of many deals orchestrated by Veeck, but in it Cleveland obtained

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Gene Bearden, who would pitch the Tribe to the 1948 pennant as a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

. Mack died in Bucyrus, Ohio. His son, Tom played for the Los Angeles Rams in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

and was inducted into the

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

in 1999.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mack, Ray 1916 births 1969 deaths American League All-Stars Baseball players from Cleveland Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Case Western Spartans football players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Fargo-Moorhead Twins players Major League Baseball second basemen Newark Bears (IL) players New York Yankees players People from Crawford County, Ohio