Benny McCoy
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Jenison McCoy was a former second baseman
in Major League Baseball
who played for the Detroit Tigers
(1938–1939) and Philadelphia Athletics
(1940–1941). Listed at 5' 9". 170 lb., he batted left-handed
and threw right-handed. He was born in Jenison, Michigan
.
McCoy was 22 years old when he entered the majors in September 1938 with the Detroit Tigers, appearing in seven games while hitting a .200 batting average
(3-for-15). In 1939, though he played just two months for Detroit after Charlie Gehringer
was injured, McCoy hit .302 with 33 runs batted in and 38 runs
scored in 55 games played
. At the end of the season, he was dealt by the Tigers to the Philadelphia Athletics
in exchange for Wally Moses
.
But McCoy was among 91 Detroit minor league
players declared free agent
s by baseball commissioner
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
. The Tigers had been blocking players in their minor league system for years, players with major league skills, which was a fairly common practice in those days as there were only 16 big league clubs and precious few jobs. For a middle infielder, McCoy was a very good offensive player, but Detroit had Gehringer and he was blocked in the minors.
With the deal canceled, McCoy had bids from ten major-league clubs. The Washington Senators
offered him a bonus of $20,000, the New York Giants
raised it to $25,000, the Brooklyn Dodgers
to $35,000, and the Pittsburgh Pirates
and Cincinnati Reds
to $40,000. McCoy, who got $15 for his first major league season and thought his $5,000 in 1939 was big money, accepted the Philadelphia Athletics'offer: a $45,000 bonus, a two-year contract at $10,000 a year, and a regular job at second base under the tutorial guidance of manager
Connie Mack
. His was not only the biggest bonus in major league history, $20,000 more than the previous top, given Rick Ferrell
by the St. Louis Browns
in 1929, but it made McCoy the highest-paid bigleaguer of the year. His 1940 income of $55,000 will be more than the salary of Joe Di Maggio, Jimmy Foxx or Hank Greenberg
.
McCoy played in 1940 and 1941 with the Athletics. His most productive season came in 1941, when he hit .271 with 61 RBI and posted career-highs in games (141), hits
(140), walks
(95), runs (86), home run
s (8), and triples
(7). He spent the next four years in the US Navy
during World War II
. When he returned from service, his skills had eroded and he never played another game.
In a four-season career, McCoy was a .269 hitter (327-for-1214) with 16 home runs and 156 RBI in 337 games, including 182 runs, 327 hits, 52 doubles
, 18 triples, and eight stolen base
s. A selective and patient hitter, he posted a solid .384 on-base percentage and a respectable 1.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio (190-to-122).
Before his death, he was recognized as one of the oldest living major league ballplayers.
McCoy died on his 96th birthday on November 9, 2011.
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
who played for the Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
(1938–1939) and Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
(1940–1941). Listed at 5' 9". 170 lb., he batted left-handed
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
and threw right-handed. He was born in Jenison, Michigan
Jenison, Michigan
Jenison is an unincorporated community in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a census-designated place for statistical purposes, but has no legal status as an incorporated municipality. The community is governed by Georgetown Charter Township. The population of the CDP was 17,211...
.
McCoy was 22 years old when he entered the majors in September 1938 with the Detroit Tigers, appearing in seven games while hitting a .200 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
(3-for-15). In 1939, though he played just two months for Detroit after Charlie Gehringer
Charlie Gehringer
Charles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
was injured, McCoy hit .302 with 33 runs batted in and 38 runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
scored in 55 games played
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
. At the end of the season, he was dealt by the Tigers to the Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
in exchange for Wally Moses
Wally Moses
Wallace Moses was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1935 through 1951, he played for the Philadelphia Athletics , Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox . Moses batted and threw left-handed...
.
But McCoy was among 91 Detroit minor league
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
players declared free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
s by baseball commissioner
Commissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
. The Tigers had been blocking players in their minor league system for years, players with major league skills, which was a fairly common practice in those days as there were only 16 big league clubs and precious few jobs. For a middle infielder, McCoy was a very good offensive player, but Detroit had Gehringer and he was blocked in the minors.
With the deal canceled, McCoy had bids from ten major-league clubs. The Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
offered him a bonus of $20,000, the New York Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
raised it to $25,000, the Brooklyn Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
to $35,000, and the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
and Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
to $40,000. McCoy, who got $15 for his first major league season and thought his $5,000 in 1939 was big money, accepted the Philadelphia Athletics'offer: a $45,000 bonus, a two-year contract at $10,000 a year, and a regular job at second base under the tutorial guidance of manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
Connie Mack
Connie Mack (baseball)
Cornelius McGillicuddy, Sr. , better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball player, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds records for wins , losses , and games managed , with his victory total being almost 1,000 more...
. His was not only the biggest bonus in major league history, $20,000 more than the previous top, given Rick Ferrell
Rick Ferrell
Richard Benjamin Ferrell was an American professional baseball player, coach, scout and executive. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from to for the St. Louis Browns, Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators. Ferrell was regarded as one of the best catchers in baseball during the...
by the St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
in 1929, but it made McCoy the highest-paid bigleaguer of the year. His 1940 income of $55,000 will be more than the salary of Joe Di Maggio, Jimmy Foxx or Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
.
McCoy played in 1940 and 1941 with the Athletics. His most productive season came in 1941, when he hit .271 with 61 RBI and posted career-highs in games (141), hits
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....
(140), walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
(95), runs (86), home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s (8), and triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(7). He spent the next four years in the US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. When he returned from service, his skills had eroded and he never played another game.
In a four-season career, McCoy was a .269 hitter (327-for-1214) with 16 home runs and 156 RBI in 337 games, including 182 runs, 327 hits, 52 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, 18 triples, and eight stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s. A selective and patient hitter, he posted a solid .384 on-base percentage and a respectable 1.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio (190-to-122).
Before his death, he was recognized as one of the oldest living major league ballplayers.
McCoy died on his 96th birthday on November 9, 2011.