Gil Hodges

Hodges in 1958-59

First baseman / Manager

Born: April 4, 1924
Princeton, Indiana

Died: April 2, 1972 (aged 47)
West Palm Beach, Florida

Batted: Right

Threw: Right

MLB debut

October 3, 1943, for the Brooklyn Dodgers

Last MLB appearance

May 5, 1963, for the New York Mets

MLB statistics

Batting average

.273

Home runs

370

Runs batted in

1,274

Managerial record

650–753

Winning %

.463

Teams

As player

Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers (1943, 1947–1961)
New York Mets (1962–1963)

As manager

Washington Senators (1963–1967)
New York Mets (1968–1971)

Career highlights and awards

8× All-Star (1949–1955, 1957)
3× World Series champion (1955, 1959, 1969)
3× Gold Glove Award (1957–1959)
Hit 4 home runs in one game on August 31, 1950
New York Mets #14 retired
New York Mets Hall of Fame

As player

As manager

Gilbert Ray Hodges, ne Hodge (April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman and manager who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1982.

Hodges is generally considered to be the best defensive first baseman in the 1950s. He was an All-Star for eight seasons and a Gold Glove Award winner for three consecutive seasons. Hodges and Duke Snider are the only players to have the most home runs or runs batted in together during the decade with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Hodges was the National League (NL) leader in double plays four times and in putouts, assists and fielding percentage three times each. He ranked second in NL history with 1,281 assists and 1,614 double plays when his career ended, and was among the league's career leaders in games (6th, 1,908) and total chances (10th, 16,751) at first base.

Hodges also managed the New York Mets to the 1969 World Series title, one of the greatest upsets in Fall Classic history.

In 2014, Hodges appeared for the second time as a candidate on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's Golden Era Committee election ballot for possible Hall of Fame consideration in 2015. He and the other candidates all missed getting elected. The Committee meets and votes on ten candidates selected from the 1947 to 1972 era every three years.

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Wikipedia