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Wally Berger

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Full Name: Walter Anton Berger Primary Position: OF
Height/Weight: 6' 2"/198 First Game: April 15, 1930
Birthdate: October 10, 1905 Final Game: July 4, 1940
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois MLB Experience: 11 years
Died: November 30, 1988
Deathplace: Redondo Beach, California
Bat/Throw: Right/Right
Rate this Player
3.42
(50 votes)

Contents

  • 1 Biography
  • 2 Statistics
    • 2.1 Batting Stats
    • 2.2 Fielding Stats
  • 3 Transactions
  • 4 Trivia
  • 5 Video Gallery
  • 6 Picture Gallery
  • 7 See Also
  • 8 Categories

[edit] Biography

Walter Anton Berger (October 10, 1905 - November 30, 1988) was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for four National League teams, primarily the Boston Braves. One of the league's top sluggers of the early 1930s, in his initial 1930 season he hit 38 home runs, a record for rookies which stood until 1987. He still holds a share of the NL record. He also led the league in home runs and runs batted in in 1935, and went on to become the seventh NL player to hit 200 career home runs.

Born in Chicago, Illinois but raised in San Francisco, California, Berger played third base in high school, sharing the infield with future Hall of Fame shortstop and American League president Joe Cronin, who manned second base.

Berger's 38 home runs as a 1930 rookie established a major league record that would stand for 57 years until eclipsed by Mark McGwire's 49 in 1987; his NL record was tied by Frank Robinson in 1956, but has not been broken. Berger still shares the major league record for home runs by a first-year player (no prior major league games). Berger batted .310 that season, and his 119 runs batted in were also an NL rookie record, since topped by Albert Pujols 2001.

Berger made the NL All-Star team in the first four years the game was held (1933-36), starting in the first two. In 1933 he finished third in the Most Valuable Player voting, behind Carl Hubbell and Chuck Klein, after hitting 27 home runs (half the Braves team total), second in the league behind Klein's 28. In 1935, he led NL outfielders in putouts with 458. Eddie Mathews broke his Braves franchise record of 38 home runs in 1953, the team's first year in Milwaukee, and surpassed his mark of 199 career home runs in 1957.

After a 1936 shoulder injury, Berger was traded to the New York Giants in June 1937; his first home run for the team was the 200th of his career. In the 1937 World Series, he made only three pinch-hitting appearances, going hitless. In June 1938 he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, where he would remain until 1940; his 1939 World Series performance was even more dismal than in 1937, going 0 for 15. He ended his career in 1940 with the Philadelphia Phillies. In an 11-season career Berger posted a .300 batting average with 242 home runs and 898 RBI in 1350 games played. Following his retirement as a player, he was a scout for the New York Yankees and managed their Manchester, N.H. minor league team in 1949.

Berger died of a stroke in Redondo Beach, California at age 83.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Batting Stats

Year Team G AB R H HR RBI AVG OBP SLG 2B 3B BB SO HBP SH SB IBB GDP
1930 BOS N 151 555 98 172 38 119 .310 .375 .614 27 14 54 69 4 12 3 0 0
1931 BOS N 156 617 94 199 19 84 .323 .380 .512 44 8 55 70 2 4 13 0 0
1932 BOS N 145 602 90 185 17 73 .307 .346 .468 34 6 33 66 3 1 5 0 0
1933 BOS N 137 528 84 165 27 106 .313 .365 .566 37 8 41 77 3 2 2 0 6
1934 BOS N 150 615 92 183 34 121 .298 .352 .546 35 8 49 65 3 1 2 0 14
1935 BOS N 150 589 91 174 34 130 .295 .355 .548 39 4 50 80 4 1 3 0 14
1936 BOS N 138 534 88 154 25 91 .288 .361 .483 23 3 53 84 8 0 1 0 13
1937 NY N 59 199 40 58 12 43 .291 .359 .548 11 2 18 30 3 1 3 0 5
1937 BOS N 30 113 14 31 5 22 .274 .344 .504 9 1 11 33 1 1 0 0 1
1937 TOT N 89 312 54 89 17 65 .285 .354 .532 20 3 29 63 4 2 3 0 6
1938 NY N 16 32 5 6 0 4 .188 .235 .188 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0
1938 CIN N 99 407 74 125 16 56 .307 .356 .501 23 4 29 44 2 0 2 0 9
1938 TOT N 115 439 79 131 16 60 .298 .347 .478 23 4 31 48 2 0 2 0 9
1939 CIN N 97 329 36 85 14 44 .258 .341 .438 15 1 36 63 5 4 1 0 6
1940 PHI N 20 41 3 13 1 5 .317 .378 .439 2 0 4 8 0 0 1 0 1
1940 CIN N 2 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
1940 TOT N 22 43 3 13 1 5 .302 .362 .419 2 0 4 9 0 0 1 0 1
Total 1350 5163 809 1550 242 898 .300 .359 .522 299 59 435 694 38 27 36 0 69

[edit] Fielding Stats

Year Team POS G GS INN PO A ERR DP TP PB SB CS PkO AVG
1930 BOS N OF 145 0 0 307 10 11 3 0 0 0 0 0 .966
1931 BOS N OF 156 0 0 457 16 11 5 0 0 0 0 0 .977
1931 BOS N 1B 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1932 BOS N 1B 11 0 0 102 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1932 BOS N OF 134 0 0 396 10 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 .993
1933 BOS N OF 136 0 0 382 6 9 4 0 0 0 0 0 .977
1934 BOS N OF 150 0 0 385 9 9 2 0 0 0 0 0 .978
1935 BOS N OF 149 0 0 458 8 17 1 0 0 0 0 0 .965
1936 BOS N OF 133 0 0 384 10 14 1 0 0 0 0 0 .966
1937 NY N OF 52 0 0 107 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .965
1937 BOS N OF 28 0 0 51 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1937 TOT N LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1937 TOT N OF 80 0 0 158 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .976
1938 NY N OF 9 0 0 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
1938 CIN N OF 98 0 0 192 7 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 .966
1938 TOT N OF 107 0 0 221 7 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 .970
1939 CIN N OF 95 0 0 158 6 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 .970
1940 PHI N OF 11 0 0 18 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .947
1940 PHI N 1B 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Total 1B 13 0 0 106 4 0 7 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Total OF 1296 0 0 3324 87 91 21 0 0 0 0 0 .974

[edit] Transactions

  • Traded by Los Angeles (PCL) to Boston Braves in exchange for George Harper, Art Delaney and cash (November 14, 1929).
  • Traded by Boston Bees to New York Giants in exchange for Frank Gabler and $35000 (June 15, 1937).
  • Traded by New York Giants to Cincinnati Reds in exchange for Alex Kampouris (June 6, 1938).
  • Released by Cincinnati Reds (May 10, 1940).
  • Signed by Philadelphia Phillies (May 15, 1940).
  • Released by Philadelphia Phillies (July 5, 1940).

[edit] Trivia

  • All-Star in 1933, 1934, 1935, and 1936

[edit] Video Gallery

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[edit] Picture Gallery

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[edit] See Also

[edit] Categories

Retrieved from "http://armchairgm.wikia.com/Wally_Berger"

This page was last modified 21:56, 6 November 2007. Content is available under the GFDL.

Categories: Athletes | Baseball Players | Retired Athletes | Retired Baseball Players | Outfielders | First Basemen | Left Fielders | Athletes with the Last Name Berger | Baseball Players with the Last Name Berger | Athletes with the First Name Wally | Baseball Players with the First Name Wally | Athletes Born in October | Baseball Players Born in October | Athletes Born on October 10 | Baseball Players Born on October 10 | Athletes Born in 1905 | Baseball Players Born in 1905 | Athletes Born in October 1905 | Baseball Players Born in October 1905 | Athletes Born on October 10, 1905 | Baseball Players Born on October 10, 1905 | Athletes Born in Chicago, Illinois | Baseball Players Born in Chicago, Illinois | Athletes Born in Illinois | Baseball Players Born in Illinois | Boston Braves Players | New York Giants Players | Cincinnati Reds Players | Philadelphia Phillies Players | 1930 Boston Braves Players | 1931 Boston Braves Players | 1932 Boston Braves Players | 1933 Boston Braves Players | 1934 Boston Braves Players | 1935 Boston Braves Players | 1936 Boston Braves Players | 1937 New York Giants Players | 1937 Boston Braves Players | 1938 New York Giants Players | 1938 Cincinnati Reds Players | 1939 Cincinnati Reds Players | 1940 Philadelphia Phillies Players | Baseball Players who bat Right Handed | Baseball Players who throw Right Handed | Athletes Who Debuted in April | Baseball Players Who Debuted in April | Athletes Who Debuted on April 15 | Baseball Players Who Debuted on April 15 | Athletes Who Debuted in 1930 | Baseball Players Who Debuted in 1930 | Athletes Who Debuted in April 1930 | Baseball Players Who Debuted in April 1930 | Athletes Who Debuted on April 15, 1930 | Baseball Players Who Debuted on April 15, 1930 | Athletes Who Played Their Last Game in July | Baseball Players Who Played Their Last Game in July | Athletes Who Played Their Last Game on July 4 | Baseball Players Who Played Their Last Game on July 4 | Athletes Who Played Their Last Game in 1940 | Baseball Players Who Played Their Last Game in 1940 | Athletes Who Played Their Last Game in July 1940 | Baseball Players Who Played Their Last Game in July 1940 | Athletes Who Played Their Last Game on July 4, 1940 | Baseball Players Who Played Their Last Game on July 4, 1940 | Baseball Players Who Debuted with Boston Braves | Players with 5 years experience in the Major Leagues | Baseball Players with 5 years experience in the Major Leagues | Players with 10 years experience in the Major Leagues | Baseball Players with 10 years experience in the Major Leagues | Players with at least 500 At Bats | Players with at least 1000 At Bats | Players with at least 1500 At Bats | Players with at least 2000 At Bats | Players with at least 2500 At Bats | Players with at least 3000 At Bats | Players with at least 3500 At Bats | Players with at least 4000 At Bats | Players with at least 5000 At Bats | Players with at least 100 Games | Players with at least 200 Games | Players with at least 300 Games | Players with at least 400 Games | Players with at least 500 Games | Players with at least 750 Games | Players with at least 1000 Games | Players with at least 100 Runs Scored | Players with at least 200 Runs Scored | Players with at least 300 Runs Scored | Players with at least 400 Runs Scored | Players with at least 500 Runs Scored | Players with at least 750 Runs Scored | Players with at least 100 Hits | Players with at least 200 Hits | Players with at least 300 Hits | Players with at least 400 Hits | Players with at least 500 Hits | Players with at least 750 Hits | Players with at least 1000 Hits | Players with at least 1500 Hits | Players with at least 100 Singles | Players with at least 200 Singles | Players with at least 300 Singles | Players with at least 400 Singles | Players with at least 500 Singles | Players with at least 750 Singles | Players with at least 100 Doubles | Players with at least 200 Doubles | Players with at least 100 Home Runs | Players with at least 200 Home Runs | Players with at least 100 RBI | Players with at least 200 RBI | Players with at least 300 RBI | Players with at least 400 RBI | Players with at least 500 RBI | Players with at least 750 RBI | Players with at least 100 Walks | Players with at least 200 Walks | Players with at least 300 Walks | Players with at least 400 Walks | Players with at least 50 Times Grounding Into a Double Play | Players with at least 100 Strikeouts | Players with at least 200 Strikeouts | Players with at least 300 Strikeouts | Players with at least 400 Strikeouts | Players with at least 500 Strikeouts | Baseball Players Who Debuted at age 24

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