Nellie Fox Fought to Win

Dustin Pedroia was recently voted the American League's Most Valuable Player Award. He is the first American League second baseman to win the award since Jacob Nelson Fox nosed out teammate and double play partner Luis Ernesto Aparicio for the 1959 MVP award. Nellie Fox was as hard nosed a player who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1997. In 1959, Nellie Fox helped lead the White Sox to their first pennant in forty years.

Nellie Fox Was a Tough Baseball Player

Nellie Fox looked like a little boy playing second base, but no one was tougher than Nellie Fox. With his trademark chew of tobacco making his jaw jut out, the 5'9", 150 lb. Nellie Fox did whatever was necessary to win. In 1959, he batted .306 with a .380 on base average and only 2 home runs, but Nellie Fox didn't hit home runs. He used a bottle bat, choked up a few inches, and sprayed the ball all over the field. He made only 10 errors for a .988 fielding percentage, which was .012 points better than the league average for second baseman.

Nellie Fox and the White Sox Battled the Yankees

A Yankees-White Sox game in 1954 illustrates the competition that existed during that era, especially between the White Sox and Yankees. Hank Bauer was on first base when the Yankees' batter hit a ground ball to third. The throw to second was in plenty of time to get Bauer, but despite jumping several feet away from the bag, Fox was prevented from making the relay to first because Bauer barreled into him so fiercely, Nellie could only hold the ball. There were other times when it was Nellie who barreled into pivot men, and the image of Fox battling Bauer or Phil Rizzuto or Jerry Coleman was part of every Yankees-White Sox game.

Nellie Fox's Bloop Single Won the 1954 All-Star Game

The 1954 All-Star game was a prime example that a player like Nellie Fox could be the most valuable player on his team. Nellie pinch hit for pitcher Bob Porterfield in the seventh inning with the American League leading 8-7. He struck out against New York relief pitcher Marv Grissom, which was a rarity because Fox struck out only 216 his entire career, averaging a mere 15 strikeouts a season, Fox took over at second base for starter Bobby Avila as the National League scored twice in the eighth inning to take the lead, but Larry Doby's pinch hit home run tied the game and then, with the bases loaded, Nellie Fox hit a blooper to short left field that scored Mickey Mantle with the lead run and Yogi Berra with an insurance run. In a game that had 5 home runs, Nellie Fox's bloop single won the game.

A Hall of Famer

Nineteen eighty five was Nellie Fox's last year of eligibility for induction into the Hall of Fame. Seventy five percent of the votes was needed. Nellie Fox received 74.68 percent. In 1997, Fox's widow received the news that the Veterans Committee had voted Nellie Fox into the Hall of Fame. Nellie Fox is an excellent example of a player who has become almost non-existent in the modern era of producing runs by sheer power. All hope is not lost however. Dustin Pedroia is the 2008 American League MVP.

References:

By JOHN DREBINGER (1959, November 13). Nellie Fox Is Named Most Valuable :Aparicio Is Second to Chicago Mate in American Loop. New York Times (1857-Current file),35. Retrieved December 4, 2008, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2005) database. (Document ID: 89299092).

By ARTHUR DALEY (1959, November 16). Sports of The Times :A Matter of Value . New York Times (1857-Current File),44. Retrieved December 4, 2008, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2005) database. (Document ID: 80560736).

Battle of Long-Range Slugging Is Decided by Fox's Bloop Single. (1954, July 14). New York Times (1857-Current file),p. 34. Retrieved December 4, 2008, from ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2005) database. (Document ID: 84126256).

Shannon, Mike.Tales from the Dugout: The Greatest True Baseball Stories Ever Told. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 1998