Biography andy pafko

Handy Andy Pafko: A Wisconsin-Born Player Succeeds In Chicago And Milwaukee

Andy “Pruschka” Pafko was born to Czech parents in Boyceville, Wisconsin, in The Wisconsin native enjoyed a quick rise to major league success. By , at the tender age of 22, he won the Pacific Coast League MVP Award, playing with the Los Angeles Angels.

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    • He then appeared in 13 games for the Chicago Cubs, batting in only 61 plate appearances. He became established as a regular in , playing center field and batting with occasional power. His rookie performance earned him the approval of Billy Southworth, manager of the rival Cardinals.

    Pruschka became a star in He posted WAR and slashed //, with 12 home runs and RBIs.

    This breakout performance earned him his first All-Star berth. He finished a good fourth in the National League MVP voting, behind Phil Cavarretta, Tommy Holmes, and Red Barrett. He also enjoyed the first of four World Series appearances, though the Cubs couldn’t match the heroics of Hank Greenberg, falling to the Tigers in seven games. Although he struggled in the Series, Pafko managed two doubles and a triple.

    marked a season of substantial injuries.

    Pafko batted in only 65 games, recovering from a June ankle injury only to lose the remainder of the season to a fractured arm in August.

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    • Despite missing three weeks due to a kidney infection, he bounced back in , batting and launching 13 home runs in games. He also returned to the All-Star Game, marking the first of four consecutive appearances.

    Pafko moved to third base in , but the change didn’t stop him from excelling at the plate. He posted WAR, batting with 26 homers, RBIs, and an OPS of He received MVP votes for the third time in four years.

    Pafko returned to the outfield for most of , also logging 49 games at third. He batted , and although his power was down, he posted his third straight three-win season.

    Andy pafko career stats Pafko debuted with the Cubs at the age of 22 as a minor-league call-up on September 24, , fresh from winning the Pacific Coast League batting title. Andy Pafko was not the first Major League Baseball player from Wisconsin , but he was the first from the tiny village of Boyceville to reach the majors! I went back to my home state and finished out my career. The first year, starting games in the outfield, he batted.

    Unfortunately for the Wrigley faithful, the Cubs were sliding down in the standings, posting the third of five consecutive losing seasons.

    might have been the Wisconsin-born Pafko’s best season. He made his fourth consecutive All-Star team and received MVP votes for the fourth time. He drilled 36 homers, with 92 RBIs. He slashed //, leading the Cubs and finishing in the top 10 in the National League in all three categories.

    The WAR stood out as the high point of Pafko’s career.

    Long-simmering trade rumors about Pruschka were finally substantiated in June , when the Cubs sent him to the Brooklyn Dodgers.

    Biography andy pafko Pafko tells of hitting a home run while playing for the Cubs against the Boston Braves that went over the fence and landed on a coal car of a passing train. He played for the Chicago Cubs during their World Series appearance. He also hit a two-run double, and Chicago won, During that time he slugged 93 home runs and averaged 82 RBI a season.

    The Chicago fans were rather upset about losing one of their favorites, especially a native Midwesterner. Pafko hit 30 home runs and knocked in 93 RBIs for the Cubs and Dodgers. He watched from left field when Bobby Thomson belted the famous “Shot Heard ’Round the World” to end the three-game playoff series and Brooklyn’s season on October 3.

    Pafko had a solid with “Dem Bums.” He drilled 19 homers and drove in 85 while batting with a OPS.

    He also played in a career-high games. The Dodgers faced the Yankees in the World Series, but for the second time in Pafko’s career, his team would lose in seven games.

    In , the Dodgers traded Pafko to the Milwaukee Braves, in their first season after moving from Boston. The hometown favorite was still a regular player with solid power numbers in and ’ When Henry Aaron moved to right field in , Pafko lost most of his playing time.

    1952 topps andy pafko card If you enjoyed this baseball biography , make sure and check out the other exclusives written by baseball historian Jim Sargent, who has his own section here Remember Yesterday's Heroes on Baseball Almanac! He hit. Donahue Hulbert Spalding P. Chicago Tribune.

    The late-’50s Braves were a powerhouse, featuring stars like Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, Warren Spahn, and Lew Burdette. Pafko played in both the and ’58 World Series, as his career wound down. was his last season as a player, and he subsequently went on to manage in the minors and scout.

    Pafko’s outstanding career featured some truly memorable games:

    • On July 3, , the Cubs demolished the Braves, Andy went 4-for-6 a walk, a double, and 5 RBIs.
    • On May 16, , Pafko went 5-for-5 with a double and two home runs.

      He both scored and knocked in four runs in a losing effort against the Reds.

    • Just over a month later, on June 19, Pafko lit up Ebbets Field with yet another 5-for-5 performance. All five hits were singles, and Pafko’s three RBIs made the difference in the win over the Dodgers.
    • On August 2, , at the Polo Grounds, Andy went 3-for-3 in a losing cause against the Giants.

      Pafko drilled three homers in the game, all off Sal Maglie.

    Even without the single-game heroics, Andy “Pruschka” Pafko had a very solid career.

    Andy pafko 1952 topps value The Tigers won game two, , behind the seven-hitter fired by Virgil Trucks , who returned from two years of Navy service in time for the fall classic. In , the Dodgers traded Pafko to the Milwaukee Braves, in their first season after moving from Boston. He hustled everything out. But he led the league in errors, too, with

    He received MVP votes in four seasons, finishing fourth in He made five All-Star teams, including four in a row from through He posted an OPS of at least in 11 different seasons, including a stretch of seven in a row. Although he was a career outfielder, he didn’t just transition smoothly when the club needed him to move to the infield, he put up one of the best seasons of his career.

    He was a solid performer on four pennant-winners and one World Series champion, and his great play along with his Wisconsin background made him a fan favorite in both Chicago and Milwaukee.

    STEVE KREVISKY has been a professor of mathematics at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut for many years. His students get used to him bringing baseball into classes, to make it more interesting for them!

    He is also President of the Smoky Joe Wood SABR chapter, which has periodic meetings, chapter breakfasts, and trips to local minor league games. He been attending the national SABR conventions for many years, going back to his first convention in Chicago in He has been a frequent presenter, and will also be presenting this year.

    He has published articles in the journals and has also been on seven teams that won the trivia championships over the years!

    Andy pafko autograph: I guess because the Dodgers were a winning ball club and the Cubs were a totally different organization. Other Chicago hurlers were veterans too. Donahue Hulbert Spalding P. But in his career really took off, as Chicago won the pennant.

    He looks forward to returning to Chicago for this year’s convention. He is in two simulation/fantasy leagues, and looks forward to that committee meeting as well as seeing old friends there!

     

    Sources

    , “Andy Pafko Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More,”

    Voiss, Dale.

    “Andy Pafko,” SABR BioProject.