Michael Krsnich (''

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Krznić; September 24, 1931 – April 30, 2011) was an American

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played for the

Milwaukee Braves The Milwaukee Braves were a Major League Baseball club that played in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, from 1953 to 1965, having previously played in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Boston Braves. After relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1966 they were rename ...

during the 1960 and 1962 seasons. Listed at , 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. His older brother,

Rocky Krsnich Rocky Krsnich (born Rocco Peter Krznić; August 5, 1927 – February 14, 2019) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman. Biography He was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. Krsnich originally signed as a free agent in 1945 with the Phi ...

, also played in the majors from 1949 to 1953. Born in

West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Wis ...

, to a Montenegrin Serb father, Mike Krsnich was one of many baseball players whose career was interrupted during

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

conflict. He was the brother of Rocky Krsnich (1927–2019) and Nick Krsnich (b. 1928). Krsnich played briefly for the Braves in part of two seasons. He had previously signed by the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

before landing in Milwaukee, playing mostly at outfield and as

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) 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, Am ...

in just 21 games. Following his major league stint, Krsnich joined the

Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current n ...

of the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

from 1963 to 1965. He slugged a .500 average in his first two years in Japan, belting 36

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in 1964 to finish second to the legendary

Sadaharu Oh Sadaharu Oh ( Japanese: , ''Ō Sadaharu''; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (), is a Japanese-born Chinese former professional baseball player and manager who is currently the chairman of the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of N ...

, who hit 55 homers. Krsnich opened 1966 with the

Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadi ...

and joined the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

for the last half of the 1967 season. In his five years in Japan, he hit a .265 average with a .326

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and a slugging of .475. He also played 13

Minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

seasons between 1950 and 1969, batting .288 with 127 home runs in 1237 games. Krsnich died in

Mesquite, Nevada Mesquite is a city located in the northeast corner of Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, Nevada, United States adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Nevada, Interstate 15. As of the 2020 United State ...

, at the age of 79.

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krsnich, Mike 1931 births 2011 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American military personnel of the Korean War American people of Serbian descent Atlanta Crackers players Baseball players from Wisconsin Bradford Phillies players Evansville Braves players Hagerstown Braves players Hanshin Tigers players Jacksonville Braves players Kintetsu Buffaloes players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Braves players 20th-century American sportsmen Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Paris Lakers players Sportspeople from West Allis, Wisconsin Petroleros de Poza Rica players Sacramento Solons players Taiyō Whales players Topeka Hawks players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Wichita Braves players