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Edwin Lee Mathews (October 13, 1931 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons for the Atlanta Braves (1952–1966); Houston Astros (1967) and Detroit Tigers (1967–68). Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1978, he is the only player to have represented the Braves in the three cities they have called home. He played 1,944 games for the Braves during their 13-season tenure in Milwaukee—the prime of Mathews' career.
Mathews is regarded as one of the best third basemen ever to play the game. He was an All-Star for nine seasons. He won the National League (NL) home run title in 1953 and 1959 and was the NL Most Valuable Player runner-up both of those seasons. He hit 512 home runs during his major league career. Mathews coached for the Atlanta Braves in 1971, and he was the team's manager from 1972 to 1974. Later, he was a scout and coach for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics.
As one of 1954's superstars in American sports, Mathews was chosen for the cover of the first-ever issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. Around this time, Ty Cobb said of Mathews: "I've only known three or four perfect swings in my time. This lad has one of them." Mathews was a powerful pull hitter, and for many years of his career teams would implement the "Mathews shift" when he came to bat. The second baseman would shift well to his left, toward first base, and the shortstop would come to the second base side of the bag, leaving a gaping hole between second and third base. Mathews delighted in occasionally punching the ball through that hole.
The Braves won the 1957 National League championship. In the World Series, Mathews hit a game-winning home run in the tenth inning of game four. The Braves went on to defeat the New York Yankees in seven games. Mathews made the final out of the Series, a forceout of Gil McDougald on Moose Skowron's hard-hit grounder.
Mathews was regarded as one of the strongest power hitters of his time, often being compared to American League contemporary Mickey Mantle, in terms of power hitting strength. Hall of Fame teammate Warren Spahn once said of the two: "Mathews is just as strong as Mantle. They don't hit the same – Mantle gets all of his weight into his swing; Mathews uses his wrists more." Spahn's comment on Mathews' use of his wrists was in reference to his unique swing, as believed by many to be one of the more graceful swings in baseball history. Pitcher Sal Maglie noticed, however, that Mathews had a tendency to chase "the low curve on the three-and-two pitch." Mathews is the only player to play for the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee, and Atlanta.100 Things Braves Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die: Revised and Updated, Jack Wilkinson, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2019, ISBN 978-1-62937-694-3, p.48 By the Braves' first season in Atlanta, Matthews was the last Boston Brave still on an active roster.
Mathews is also one of just two players to homer with a teammate in the same game at least 50 times with two different teammates. He did this with Henry Aaron 75 times and with Joe Adcock 56 times. Willie Mays is the other, with Willie McCovey (68) and Orlando Cepeda (50), to do it.
Between 1954 and 1966, he and Braves teammate Hank Aaron hit 863 home runs (Aaron 442, Mathews 421), moving ahead of the Yankees duo of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig as the all-time leaders in major league history.
After just 101 games in Houston, Mathews was traded again — this time from the Astros to the Detroit Tigers, who were in the midst of a heated pennant race with the Boston Red Sox.
Mathews would play his final Major League season in Detroit, as the Tigers would win the American League pennant for the first time since 1945.
He would make his final World Series appearance, getting a hit and drawing a walk in four plate appearances as the Tigers defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.
Upon his retirement, he was sixth in all-time home runs with 512. At the time, his 503 home runs in the National League were second in the Senior Circuit's history, behind only Ott. Over his career, he was named to the All-Star team twelve times (MLB held two All-Star Games from 1959 through 1962), played in three World Series, and drove in 100 or more runs five times. He never won an MVP award (finishing second twice, behind Roy Campanella in 1953 and behind Ernie Banks in 1959), although he did win the NL Player of the Month award in September 1959 (.303, 11 HR, 25 RBI).
Mathews was the Braves' manager when Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run on April 8, 1974. But on July 21, 1974, Mathews was fired when the team went into a slump and fell into fourth place with a 50–49 record. Aaron and Darrell Evans both criticized the decision to terminate Mathews. Evans said that Mathews was a friend and Aaron said that the decision was "a blow to me." Mathews stated the Braves indicated there would be a job for him within the organization, but he said he was not sure what he would do next. The Braves went 149–161 (.481) during Mathews' time at the helm.
In 1978, Mathews was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
In 1982, Mathews was a minor league instructor for the Oakland Athletics when a spot was found on his lung. He was ultimately admitted to a hospital to investigate it, where doctors ruled out cancer, but he was diagnosed with tuberculosis, treated then returned to his work with the Oakland organization.
In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Mathews 63 on their list of 100, "Baseball's Greatest Players". He was also nominated that year as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. In 2020, The Athletic ranked Mathews at number 46 on its "Baseball 100" list, complied by sportswriter Joe Posnanski.
Sportswriter Bob Wolf of the Milwaukee Journal indicated that Mathews' election to the Baseball Hall of Fame may have been delayed because of his cool relationship with the media. Mathews seemed to resent the intrusion of reporters in his personal life, especially early in his career. He gestured with his fist at a reporter when he was in court on charges of reckless driving. He was angered by the presence of the media at his 1954 wedding ceremony at a county clerk's office.
Death
In February 2001, Mathews died from complications of pneumonia in La Jolla in San Diego, California, and was buried in Santa Barbara Cemetery. Later that year during the baseball season, the Atlanta Braves honored Mathews with the placement of patches bearing his retired uniform number, 41, on their jerseys.
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Categories: 1931 Births, 2001 Deaths, Atlanta Braves Coaches, Atlanta Braves Managers, Atlanta Braves Players, Atlanta Crackers Players, Baseball Players From Texarkana, Texas, Baseball Players From Santa Barbara, California, Boston Braves Players, Burials At Santa Barbara Cemetery, Deaths From Pneumonia In California, Detroit Tigers Players, High Point-thomasville Hi-toms Players, Houston Astros Players, Major League Baseball First Base Coaches, Major League Baseball Players With Retired Numbers, Major League Baseball Third Basemen, Minor League Baseball Coaches, Milwaukee Braves Players, 20th-century American Sportsmen, Milwaukee Brewers Players, Milwaukee Brewers Scouts, National Baseball Hall Of Fame Inductees, National League All-stars, National League Home Run Champions, Oakland Athletics Scouts, Baseball Players From San Diego, Santa Barbara High School Alumni, Texas Rangers Scouts
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