Hank Greenberg | |||
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First baseman | |||
Born: New York City, New York |
January 1, 1911|||
Died: September 4, 1986 Beverly Hills, California |
(aged 75)|||
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MLB debut | |||
September 14, 1930, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 18, 1947, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .313 | ||
Home runs | 331 | ||
Runs batted in | 1,276 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Member of the National | |||
Baseball Hall of Fame | |||
Inducted | 1956 | ||
Vote | 85% (eighth ballot) |
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus" or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman in the 1930s and 1940s. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, he was one of the premier power hitters of his generation and is widely considered as one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history. He had 47 months of military service including service in World War II, all of which took place during his major league career.
Greenberg played the first twelve of his thirteen seasons in the major leagues on the Detroit team. He was an American League (AL) All-Star for four seasons and an AL Most Valuable Player in 1935 (first baseman) and 1940 (left fielder). He had a batting average over .300 in eight seasons, and he was a member of four Tigers World Series teams which won two championships (1935 and 1945). He was the AL home run leader four times and his 58 home runs for the Tigers in 1938 equaled Jimmie Foxx's 1932 mark for the most in one season by anyone but Babe Ruth, and tied Foxx for the most home runs between Ruth's record 60 in 1927 and Roger Maris' record 61 in 1961. Greenberg was the first major league player to hit 25 or more home runs in a season in each league, and remains the AL record-holder for most RBIs in a single season by a right-handed batter (183 in 1937, a 154-game schedule).