Eddie Mathews
| Birthdate | 10/13/1931 |
| Death Date | 2/19/2001 |
| Debut Year | 1952 |
| Year of Induction | 1978 |
| Teams | Astros, Braves, Tigers |
| Position | Third Base |
Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron combined to hit 863 homers to move ahead of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the greatest HR-hitting teammates.
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Eddie Mathews blasted 25 homers as a rookie then was an All Star in 9 of the next 10 seasons
Eddie Mathews blasted 25 homers as a rookie then was an All Star in 9 of the next 10 seasons
Twenty-year old Eddie Mathews burst onto the MLB scene in 1952 with the Boston Braves. That year he slugged 25 homers finished third in Rookie of the Year balloting, and received MVP consideration.
In 9 of the next ten seasons, the third baseman was selected to the All Star game. He failed to reach the Mid Summer Classic in 1954 yet despite hitting 40 homers and driving in 103 runs.
Mathews combined power with a keen batting eye. He recorded 90 walks or more in nine seasons. In fact, Mathews had more walks than strikeouts in 8 campaigns. His .376 on-base percentage is more than 100 points higher than his .271 lifetime batting average.
In the 13-year period from 1953-1965, Mathews averaged 6.9 WAR per season. During the run he tallied 1,960 hits, 452 homers, 1,277 RBI and scored 1,300 runs. For his career, Mathews’ 96.1 WAR, and 512 homers, rank second only to Mike Schmidt among third basemen.
Shown here is a pair of baseball cards more than 60 years old. The National League Runs home run leader card features Ernie Banks (41 homers), Hank Aaron (40), Mathews (39), and Ken Boyer (32) and is signed boldly by Mathews. The other card is Mathew’s All Star card from the same season. The 1960 campaign was one of Mathew’s finest as he complimented those 39 homers with a career-high 124 RBI.
Mathews played for the Braves Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta - the only one to do so
Mathews played for the Braves Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta - the only one to do so
Shown here are three Topps baseball cards from 1958, 1961, and 1963. Eddie Mathews spent 15 years with the Braves, following the franchise from Boston to Milwaukee and finally Atlanta. Mathews finished his career with 512 homers, 1,453 RBI and 2,315 hits. The nine-time All Star was inducted into the Hall in 1978.
Mathews combined with Hank Aaron to become the most prodigious home run hitting teammates in the history of the game. From 1954-1966 Aaron hit 442 round trippers while Mathews added 421 bombs. Their 863 combined total eclipsed that of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
Eddie Mathews inexplicably had to wait 5 years on the ballot before gaining election to the Hall
Eddie Mathews inexplicably had to wait 5 years on the ballot before gaining election to the Hall
Eddie Mathews was one of baseball’s premier sluggers during his day. The two-time regular-season leader in homers Mathews smacked 40 or more dingers four times and 30 or more in ten seasons.
When he retired, Mathews had 512 home runs to go along with 1,453 RBI and 2,315 hits. When he first appeared on the Cooperstown ballot, Mathews finished ninth, drawing just 32.3% of the vote. Finishing in front of the third baseman were future Veterans Committee choices Pee Wee Reese, Enos Slaughter, Bob Lemon, and Gil Hodges.
In each ensuing election Mathews climbed closer to the 75% required for induction. Finally in 1978 he was named on 79.4% of the ballots.
The picturesque front of the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown provides a backdrop to Eddie Mathews’ signature shown here.
Marvelous!!!
I had an Eddie Mathews model fielder’s glove. I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. When I look at it now, it really isn’t much of a glove, but it was special. As kids when we had pickup games, I let whoever was playing third use it. Great memory. Dale Isaacson
When Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth were teammates from 1923 to 1939 they hit a combined 1,004 Home Runs (Gehrig 493 and Ruth 511) Aaron and Mathews hit 863 from 1954 to 1966 as teammates Ruth and Gehrig total was for 17 years and Aaron and Mathews was for 13 years.
Gehrig and Ruth were teammates from 23 to 34. Ruth hit his last few homers for the Boston Braves in 35