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20. Mickey Cochrane

20. Mickey Cochrane
  1. General
  2. Awards
  3. Career Stats
  • Born: April 6, 1903 in Bridgewater, MA USA
  • Weight: 180 lbs.
  • Height: 5'10"
  • Bats: L
  • Throws: R
  • Debut: April 14, 1925
  • Final Game: May 25, 1937
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1925
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1925
  • TSN All-Star - 1925
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1927
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1927
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1928
  • Most Valuable Player - 1928
  • TSN All-Star - 1928
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1929
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1929
  • TSN All-Star - 1929
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1930
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1930
  • TSN All-Star - 1930
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1931
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1931
  • TSN All-Star - 1931
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1932
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1932
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1933
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1933
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1934
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1934
  • Most Valuable Player - 1934
  • TSN All-Star - 1934
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1935
  • Baseball Magazine All-Star - 1935
  • TSN All-Star - 1935
  • MVP - 1925
  • MVP - 1926
  • MVP - 1927
  • MVP - 1928
  • MVP - 1931
  • MVP - 1933
  • MVP - 1934
  • MVP - 1935
 
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10338208233042381664128 0.320
 

Mickey Cochrane was sought after by Connie Mack, who pried him from Portland of the Pacific Coast League after the 1924 season.  Mack wasted no time inserting Cochrane as a starter for the Athletics, and he was quickly entrenched as one of the best hitting Catchers of the game.

Cochrane batted .331 as a rookie and finished tenth in MVP voting.  Batting seemingly came easy for the Catcher as he would bat over .300 six times with the Athletics, which was also the same amount of times he had an On Base Percentage over .400.  He would win the American League in 1933 in that category with .459.

His hitting put him on the map, but he was also known as an excellent defensive player who was also a great team leader.  Cochrane would have five straight seasons where he led all the American League Catchers in Range Factor per Game.  1928 was not his best hitting year (batting .293), but his all-around game was so respected that he won the MVP that year.  Mack had put a lot of talent around him, and in 1929 and 1930, the Athletics won the World Series.  As the A's were cash-strapped, he was sold off to the Detroit Tigers, where he won another MVP (1934) and another World Series (1935).

His statistics with the Athletics show an excellent Slash Line of .321/.412/.490 with 1,317 Hits and 108 Home Runs.

Cochrane would enter the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947.  He would later be inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in 1982 and to the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Catcher
  • Acquired: Traded from Portland (PCL) for Chuck Rowland, Dennis Burns, Bob Hasty, Harry Riconda, Ed Sherling, and $35,000 11/17/24.
  • Departed: Traded to the Detroit Tigers for Johnny Pasek and $100,000 12/12/33.
  • Games Played: 1167
  • Notable Statistics: 823 Runs Scored
    1,317 Hits
    250 Doubles
    59 Triples
    108 Home Runs
    680 Runs Batted In
    50 Stolen Bases
    .321/.412/.490 Slash Line 
    37.3 bWAR

    18 Playoff Games
    12 Runs Scored
    14 Hits
    2 Doubles
    0 Triples
    2 Home Runs
    5 Runs Batted In
    0 Stolen Bases
    .241/.413/.379 Slash Line 
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    World Series Champion (1929 & 1930)
    MVP (1928)
    Highest On Base Percentage (1933)
    Most Putouts by a Catcher (1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930 & 1932)
    Most Assists by a Catcher (1930 & 1932)
    Most Double Plays Turned by a Catcher (1930 & 1932)
    Most Runners Caught Stealing (1926 & 1932)
    Highest Range Factor per Game by Catcher (1926, 1927, 1928, 1929 & 1930)
    Highest Fielding Percentage by a Catcher (1930 & 1932)

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