The greatest Yankee: you've never heard of: Snuffy Stirnweiss

If I asked you who was the greatest Yankee from 1944 to 1945 during World War II, what would you say? Joe Dimaggio? No, he was away at war. Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, or Whitey Ford? No, they arrived in the majors later. Bill Dickey? No, he didn't play in '44 or '45 (he would return in 1946 as a player-manager). It was George Henry "Snuffy" Stirnweiss.

Stirnweiss debuted as a 24 year old in 1943. He didn't do terribly, hitting just .219 with 8 doubles, 1 homer, 25 RBI, 4 triples, 11 SB, and a .333 OBP in 83 games, and posting a .938 Fld% in 68 games at SS and an 1.000 Fld% in 4 games at 2B, which would be his full-time position pretty much the rest of his career. (If you think Stirnweiss' stats were bad, see my post "The sad one-year career of Ben Conroy".) Stirnweiss certainly didn't seem like anything special. But, in 1944, Stirnweiss became a star. He hit .319 with 35 doubles, 8 homers, 43 RBI, 16 triples (bold= league leader in that stat), 55 SB, 205 hits, 125 runs, and a .389 OBP in 723 plate appearances and 643 at bats in 154 games. He was also amazing defensively, posting an above-average .982 Fld% with great range. Somehow he finished 4th in the MVP voting (behind Hal Newhouser (29-9, 2.22), Dizzy Trout (27-14, 2.12), and Vern Stevens (.293, 20 HR, 108 RBI). Did they not take into account that he led the league in 4 significant categories (and plate appearances, which doesn't really mean that much other than that you were a leadoff hitter on a team that scores some runs) plus putouts, assists, and Fld% at second base! Even is Newhouser and Trout were better than him, how could he have finished behind Vern Stevens, who only led the league in RBI? Even though he finished 4th in the MVP voting, Stirnweiss was certainly the top hitter in the AL in 1944.

In 1945, Stirnweiss led the league in even more categories! He posted a .309 BA with 32 doubles, 10 homers, 64 RBI, 22 triples, 33 SB, 195 hits, 107 runs, and a .385 OBP in 717 plate appearances and 632 AB in 152 games. He also led the league in slugging percentage, OPS, and total bases. His Fld% did go down to .970 (the league average), but that's because he showed better rage than in '44, and made more errors because he got to more batted balls than other second baseman (proved by the fact that he led the AL in putouts by a second baseman despite all the errors). He finished 3rd in the AL MVP voting behind Newhouser again (25-9, 1.81) and Eddie Mayo (I have no idea how he finished second- he hit .285 with 24 doubles, 10 homers, 54 RBI, 3 triples, 7 SB, 143 hits, 71 runs, and a .347 OBP although he did lead AL second basemen in Fld% at .980). Stirnweiss was once again the top position player in the AL.

In 1946, World War II was over, and the players who went to war came back, such as Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams, and Bob Feller. Stirnweiss wasn't the same player. In 1946, Stirnweiss hit .251 with 19 doubles 0 homers, 37 RBI, 7 triples, 18 SB, 75 runs, and a .340 OBP in 129 games. As a starting third baseman for the only time in his carer, Stirnweiss was ridiculous, posting a .991 Fld% in 79 games, way higher then the league average of .945 at the position. He also posted an above-average .979 Fld% in 46 games at 2B and a .917 Fld% in 4 games at SS. Ironically in 1946, not either of his peak years of 1944 and 1945, Stirnweiss was an All-star for the only time.

In 1947, Stirnweiss had the best season of his career after 1945. He hit .256 with 18 doubles, 5 homers, 41 RBI, 8 triples, 5 SB, 102 runs, and a .358 OBP in 148 games. He posted an above-average .983 Fld% at second base. In '48, Stirnwiess had nearly as good of a season, hitting .252 with 20 doubles, 3 homers, 32 RBI, 7 triples, 5 SB, 90 runs, and a .360 OBP in 141 games. His Fld% at second base was .993, significantly over the league average .976 at second base. In 1949, Stirnweiss turned 30 and his end drew near. He played in just 70 games, hitting .261 with 8 doubles, 0 homers, 11 RBI, 2 triples, 3 SB, 29 runs, and a .380 OBP. His Fld% declined to .974, the league average, although he did post a 1.000 Fld% in 4 games at third base. He wasn't the same player anymore.

In 1950, the end came for Stirnweiss as a Yankee. On June 15th, Stirnweiss was part of a blockbuster 7 player trade between the Yankees and St. Louis Browns. The change of scenery actually made things worse for Stirnweiss, as he hit just .218 with the Browns, with 16 doubles, 1 homer, 24 RBI, 2 triples, 3 SB, 32 runs, and a .324 OBP in 93 games (he had hit .000 in 7 games and 2 AB for the Yankees). He posted below-average fielding percentages at both second based and third base: .975 Fld% in 66 games at second, and a .955 Fld% in 31 games at third. He also posted a way below-average .875 Fld% in 5 games at shortstop. Stirnweiss was traded to the Cleveland Indians right before the 1951 season, and he hit .216 with the Indians, with 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBI, and a .373 OBP in 50 games (but just 88 AB). He finished his career very strong defensively, posting an above-average .993 Fld% in 25 games at second base, and a 1.000 Fld% in 2 games at third base. After one game as a defensive replacement in 1952, Stirnweiss' career was over.

Snuffy Stirnweiss was not a great hitter. But, he had perfect timing to start his career during World War II, and he was probably the best hitter in the AL during that time period. Once the veterans came back, Stirnweiss was just a league average player. But, even though the level of competition was much lower during World War II, you can't deny that Stirnweiss had magical seasons in both 1944 and 1945.

What's ironic about Stirnweiss' timing being so lucky to begin his career is how unlucky he was at the end of life. In 1958, at the tender age of 39, Stirnweiss was killed in the Newark Bay rail incident. The train that he was on plunged into Newark Bay, killing 48 people including him.

Again, Snuffy Stirnweiss was not a great hitter. But, for those two seasons of 1944 and 1945, he played as well as any Yankee in history. Stirnweiss teaches us a valuable lesson: with the right opportunity, you can do anything.