| Mo Vaughn | |
|---|---|
 Vaughn with the Wareham Gatemen in 1988 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1967-12-15)December 15, 1967 (age 57) Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| June 27, 1991, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 2, 2003, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .293 |
| Home runs | 328 |
| Runs batted in | 1,064 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Maurice Samuel Vaughn (born December 15, 1967), nicknamed "the Hit Dog", is an American formerMajor League Baseballfirst baseman who played for theBoston Red Sox,Anaheim Angels, andNew York Mets from 1991 to 2003. He was a three-timeAll-Star selection and won theAmerican LeagueMVP award in1995 with Boston.
Vaughn attendedNew Canaan Country School inNew Canaan, Connecticut.[1] He played baseball forTrinity-Pawling School inPawling, New York.[2][3]
Vaughn playedcollege baseball atSeton Hall for head coachMike Sheppard. While there he set the single season school record for home runs with 28. In his three years at Seton Hall he hit a total of 57 home runs and 218 RBIs, both team records.[4] His teammates included seven-time All-Star and Hall of FamerCraig Biggio, Red Sox teammateJohn Valentin, andKevin Morton. Vaughn earned the Jack Kaiser Award as MVP of the1987 Big East Conference baseball tournament while keying the Pirates' championship run.[5]
While at Seton Hall, Vaughn playedcollegiate summer baseball for two years (1987–88) with theWareham Gatemen of theCape Cod Baseball League (CCBL), and in 2000 was named a member of the inaugural class of the CCBLHall of Fame.[6]
At Seton Hall, his brothers inOmega Psi Phi gave him the nickname "Hit Dog."[7]
Vaughn became the centerpiece of the Red Sox'sline-up in 1993, hitting 29home runs and contributing 101RBIs. In 1995, he established a reputation as one of the most feared hitters in the American League when he hit 39 home runs with 126 RBIs and a .300average. He also garnered 11stolen bases. His efforts, which led the Red Sox to the playoffs (only to lose to theCleveland Indians in theAmerican League Division Series), were rewarded with the American LeagueMVP award.
Vaughn had his career year with the Red Sox in 1996, playing in 161 games with a batting average of .326 and a career-high 44 home runs, 143 RBIs, 207 hits and 118 runs scored. On September 24, 1996, he hit three home runs against the Orioles, going 4–5 with five RBI in a 13–8 win. On April 15, 1997, MLB retired the number 42 to honorJackie Robinson, but Vaughn was one of multiple players who were allowed to continue wearing the number for the rest of their careers. In a May 30, 1997, game against the Yankees, Vaughn went 4-for-4 with three solo homers in the Red Sox's 10–4 win.[2]
Vaughn continued to improve over the next several seasons, batting .315 or higher from 1996 to 1998 and averaging 40 home runs and 118 RBIs. The Red Sox lost in the American League Division Series in 1998, once again to theCleveland Indians, although Vaughn played well, hitting two home runs and driving in seven runs in game one.
He was noted for "crowding the plate"; his stance was such that his frontelbow often appeared to be hovering in thestrike zone, which intimidatedpitchers into throwing outside pitches.
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Though Vaughn's powerful personality and extensive charity work made him a popular figure in Boston, he had many issues with the Red Sox management and local media; his disagreements withBoston Globe sports columnistWill McDonough and Red Soxgeneral managerDan Duquette were particularly acute. As an outspoken clubhouse leader, Vaughn repeatedly stated that the concerned Sox administration did not want him around. Incidents in which he allegedly punched a man in the mouth outside of a nightclub and crashed his truck while returning home from a strip club inProvidence led to further rifts with the administration.
Vaughn hit awalk-offgrand slam in the ninth inning ofOpening Day atFenway Park against theSeattle Mariners in 1998. Vaughn was one half of a formidable middle of the lineup with shortstopNomar Garciaparra. The two combined for 75 home runs in 1998, Vaughn's final year with the club. After the Cleveland Indians knocked Boston out of the playoffs in the first round, Vaughn became afree agent. Almost immediately, he signed a six-year, $80-million deal with theAnaheim Angels,[8] the highest contract in the game at that time.
While he hit well for Anaheim when he played—he hit 30-plus home runs and knocked in over 100 runs in both 1999 and 2000—Vaughn was plagued by injuries in 1999 and didn't play a single game in the 2001 season. He started his Anaheim career by falling down the visitor's dugout steps on his first play of his first game, badly spraining his ankle. Vaughn was nevertheless seen as a viable middle of the line-up producer before the 2002 season and was traded to theNew York Mets forKevin Appier on December 27, 2001.
Following Vaughn's departure from Anaheim, Angels closerTroy Percival took a shot at him, saying "We may miss Mo's bat, but we won't miss his leadership.Darin Erstad is our leader." This prompted the normally mild-mannered Vaughn to go off on a profanity-laced tirade, stating such statements as, "They ain't got no flags hanging at friggin' Edison Field, so the hell with them." The year after Vaughn left Anaheim, the Angels would reach and win theWorld Series.[9][10]
With the Mets, Vaughn was counted upon to be a key catalyst in a revamped lineup that featured importsRoger Cedeño,Jeromy Burnitz, andRoberto Alomar. Vaughn got off to a slow start in 2002, and he was ridiculed in local sports columns and on sports talk radio shows for being out of shape; he weighed 268 pounds during his first season in New York. However, he hit his 300th career home run on April 3 against Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcherKip Wells and a game winning three-run home run in the 8th inning of a game on June 16 that gave the Mets a 3–2 win over the Yankees. He hit a memorable 505-foot home run atShea Stadium (in the middle of the "Bud" sign on the Shea scoreboard) on June 26, and he finished the season with 26 home runs and 72 RBI.[11]
In 2003, he played less than a month before knee problems ended the season for him. In January 2004, he announced that his knee problems would not allow him to play in the upcoming season. Vaughn's agent said that Vaughn was not announcing his retirement, but Vaughn acknowledged that he was unlikely to ever play again.[12] At the time of his retirement, Vaughn was one of the two final players to wear the number 42 (and the last position player to do so), the other beingMariano Rivera (who retired in 2013).
Over 12 seasons, Vaughn was in 1512games played, compiling a .293batting average (1620–5532) with 861runs, 270doubles, 328home runs, 1064RBI, 725bases on balls, .383on-base percentage and .523slugging percentage. He had five consecutive seasons with a batting average greater than .300 (1994–98). In seven post-season games, he hit .226 (7–31) with 4 runs, 2 home runs and 7 RBI. His careerfielding percentage was .988 as a first baseman.[2]
In July 1995, Vaughn suffered an eye injury from a fight at a Boston nightclub which caused him to miss two games. No charges were filed or arrests made.[13] In January 1998, Vaughn was arrested and charged with drunk driving after crashing into a disabled car on the side of the road and struggling withfield sobriety tests inNorwood, Massachusetts.[14] He was ultimately acquitted after a jury trial in March.[15]
Vaughn became involved in various business ventures after his playing career. He became a managing director of Omni New York, LLC, which bought and rehabilitated 1,142 units of distressed housing in theNew York metropolitan area and manages these properties to provide low cost housing with government tax credits. He purchased the Noble Drew Ali Plaza inBrownsville, Brooklyn for $21 million.[16] He has also been involved in refurbishing theWhitney Young Manor inYonkers, New York, a development first constructed by a company owned by fellow baseball playerJackie Robinson. Besides the New York metropolitan area, his company is also involved in projects inCheyenne,Miami andLas Vegas.[17] The company bought and refurbished the Sycamore Village complex in Lawrence, Massachusetts, outside Boston, in 2009.[18] Vaughn also was the president of a trucking company (Mo Vaughn Transport) inSolon, Ohio.[19] Vaughn sold the company in 2018.
On April 18, 2013, Vaughn bought an advertisement section ofThe Boston Globe to salute those who helped victims of the2013 Patriots Day Bombing in Boston.[20]
Vaughn became eligible for theNational Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. 75% of the vote was necessary for induction, and 5% was necessary to stay on the ballot. He received 1.1% of the vote and dropped off the ballot.
On December 13, 2007, thereport by SenatorGeorge J. Mitchell revealed that Vaughn purchasedsteroids or otherperformance-enhancing drugs fromKirk Radomski, who said he delivered the drugs to Vaughn personally. Radomski produced three checks, one for $2,200 and two more for $3,200, from Vaughn, one of the latter dated June 1, 2001, and another dated June 19, 2001. Radomski said the higher checks were for two kits ofHGH, while the lower one was for one and a half kits. Vaughn's name, address and telephone number were listed in an address book seized from Radomski's house by federal agents. Vaughn's trainer instructed him to take HGH in attempt to recover from injury.
Mitchell requested a meeting with Vaughn to provide him information about these allegations and an opportunity to respond, but Vaughn did not agree to meet.[21]
In 2025, Vaughn ultimately acknowledged that he took HGH for ongoing knee issues late in his career.
| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month May 1996 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |