| Gil McDougald | |
|---|---|
 McDougald in 1952 | |
| Infielder | |
| Born:(1928-05-19)May 19, 1928 San Francisco, California, U.S. | |
| Died: November 28, 2010(2010-11-28) (aged 82) Wall Township, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 20, 1951, for the New York Yankees | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 2, 1960, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .276 |
| Home runs | 112 |
| Runs batted in | 576 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Gilbert James McDougald (May 19, 1928 – November 28, 2010) was an AmericanMajor League Baseball (MLB)infielder who played for theNew York Yankees from1951 through1960.
McDougald was the 1951American League (AL)Rookie of the Year. He was anAll-Star for five seasons, and was a member of eight American Leaguepennant-winning teams and fiveWorld Series champion teams. He was known for hitting aline drive that severely injuredpitcherHerb Score's righteye during a game atMunicipal Stadium in1957.
McDougald was born in San Francisco, the younger of two sons born to William James McDougald and his wife, the former Ella McGuire. He attended Commerce High School, where he was an All-City basketball player. He did not make the varsity baseball team until his senior year.
After graduation in 1946, he attendedCity College of San Francisco and theUniversity of San Francisco. During this time, he played with the localBoston Braves feeder team, the Bayside Braves, where he adopted his unorthodox but effective batting stance.
The Yankees signed him to a contract in the spring of 1948. He played for various minor league teams before being promoted to the big leagues in 1951.
McDougald played his first major league game on April 20, 1951. On May 3 of that year, he tied a major league record, since broken, bybatting in six runs in one inning.[1] Later in the year, in theWorld Series, he became the firstrookie to hit agrand slamhome run in the Series. He narrowly beat outMinnie Miñoso in the voting for the 1951American LeagueRookie of the Year. His entire major league career was spent on theNew York Yankees. He was a versatile player, playing all the infield positions exceptfirst base: 599 games atsecond base, 508 games atthird, and 284 atshortstop. He was an All-Star in1952,1956,1957,1958, and1959, playing in four of the six games that were played (two All-Star games were held in 1959).
McDougald led allAmerican League infielders indouble plays at three different positions – at third base (1952), at second base (1955) and shortstop (1957). He was the double play leader at shortstop despite sharing time at the position with rookieTony Kubek.
On May 7,1957, McDougald, batting againstHerb Score of theCleveland Indians, hit a line drive that hit Score in the right eye. It caused Score to miss the rest of the 1957 and much of the1958 season. While addressing reporters following the contest, McDougald said, "If Herb loses the sight in his eye, I'm going to quit the game." Score regained his vision and returned to pitching in the majors late in 1958.[2] Only two years before, McDougald was struck in the left ear during batting practice by a ball hit by teammateBob Cerv. Though initially believed to be a concussion (he missed only a few games), McDougald soon lost the hearing in his left ear and later also in his right. He retired in 1960 at only age 32, though not directly because of his hearing loss.[3]
In1958, McDougald was given theLou Gehrig Memorial Award, which is awarded annually by thePhi Delta Theta fraternity (to which Gehrig belonged) atColumbia University.
His last appearance was in Game Seven of the1960 World Series against thePittsburgh Pirates; as apinch runner in the top of the ninth, he scored onYogi Berra's ground ball to tie the game at 9–9. The Pirates, however, won the Series onBill Mazeroski'swalk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth.
On December 9, 1960, McDougald announced his retirement. McDougald said he made up his mind to retire during the World Series and that his inclusion by the Yankees on a list of players eligible to be selected in the1960 Expansion Draft had nothing to do with his decision.[4]
While with the Yankees, McDougald was a resident ofTenafly, New Jersey.[5]
In 1336 games over 10 seasons, McDougald posted a .276batting average (1291-for-4676) with 697runs, 187doubles, 51triples, 112home runs, 576RBI, 45stolen bases, 559bases on balls, .356on-base percentage and .410slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .975fielding percentage playing at second and third base and shortstop. In 53 World Series games, he batted .237 (45-for-190) with 23 runs, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs, 24 RBI, 2 stolen bases and 20 walks.
McDougald was the head baseball coach atFordham University from 1970 to 1976. He resigned this position due to his worsening hearing loss, a result of being hit in the head by a line drive during batting practice in 1955.
His hearing was somewhat restored by acochlear implant he received during surgery at theNew York University Medical Center in 1994.[6] McDougald later became a paid spokesperson for the implant manufacturer, Cochlear Americas. He also became a speaker at benefits for hearing organizations, and testified before Congress.[3]
McDougald died ofprostate cancer at his home inWall Township, New Jersey, at the age of 82. He was survived by his wife of 62 years, the former Lucille Tochilin (1928–2014), seven children, and 14 grandchildren.[7][8]
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