| Irish Meusel | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born:(1893-06-09)June 9, 1893 Oakland, California, U.S. | |
| Died: March 1, 1963(1963-03-01) (aged 69) Long Beach, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| October 1, 1914, for the Washington Senators | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 22, 1927, for the Brooklyn Robins | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .310 |
| Home runs | 106 |
| Runs batted in | 819 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Emil Frederick "Irish" Meusel (June 9, 1893 – March 1, 1963) was an American baseballleft fielder. He played in the major leagues between 1914 and 1927 for theWashington Senators,Philadelphia Phillies,New York Giants, andBrooklyn Robins. With the Giants, he played in four consecutiveWorld Series in the early 1920s. He was the brother of major league playerBob Meusel.[1]
Meusel was born inOakland, California, and he attendedManual Arts High School in Los Angeles.[2] He was of German and French ancestry; he acquired the nickname "Irish" because his pale skin and red hair reminded people of an Irish person.[3]
After playing minor league baseball in thePacific Coast League (PCL), Meusel had his contract purchased by theWashington Senators in 1914, He played one major league game for the Senators that year, but he spent most of the season on loan to theElmira club of theNew York State League. He was one of the best players in that league, finishing first inruns,hits andhome runs, and finishing second to a teammate inbatting average.[4] He played in the PCL and other minor leagues through the 1917 season.
Meusel's major league career started in earnest when he was traded to thePhiladelphia Phillies in 1918. He played four years for the Phillies, batting over .300 in three of those years.
Midway through the 1921 season, he was traded to theNew York Giants. His subsequent play helped the Giants erase a 7½-game deficit to edge out thePittsburgh Pirates and claim the pennant. He finished the year with a career-best .343 batting average. The Giants went on to win the1921 World Series over theNew York Yankees. His brother,Bob Meusel, played for the Yankees.
He appeared in four consecutiveWorld Series for the Giants:1921,1922,1923, and1924. He played against his brother Bob in three of those series from 1921 to 1923, making them the first set of brothers to play against each other on opposing teams in a World Series or anyBig Four championship series.[1]
In 1922, Meusel compiled 204 hits and was second in the league with 132 RBIs, both career highs. In 1923, he led the National League with 125 RBIs while scoring a career-high 102 runs. In 1925 he batted .328 with 111 RBIs and 21 home runs, a personal best. His final year was with theBrooklyn Dodgers in 1927.
In 1289 games over 11 seasons, Meusel posted a .310batting average (1521-for-4900) with 701runs, 250doubles, 93triples, 106home runs, 819RBI, 113stolen bases, 269bases on balls, .348on-base percentage and .464slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .959fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions and first and second base. In 23 World Series games from 1921-'24, Meusel hit .276 (24-for-87) with 10 runs, 3 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 17 RBI and 4 walks.
After his baseball career, Meusel worked as a bartender and as a security guard in California, and he had a number of small roles in baseball-related movies, includingFast Company. He was married twice, the first marriage ending in divorce. He died of a heart attack in 1963 inLong Beach, where he lived with his second wife.[5]
· Baseball Almanac