Mark Koenig Mark Anthony Koenig Bats Both Throws Right Height 6' Weight 180 Born July 19, 1902 San Francisco, CA Died April 22, 1993 Willows, CA

Batting  

 Year Ag Tm     G   AB    H  2B  3B  HR    R  RBI   BB    K HBP  IW  SB  CS    BA  lgBA   SLG lgSLG   TB 
+-----------+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
 1928 26 HER       463  149  17   5   4   63   59                     8      .322  .278  .406  .376  188 
 1929 27 HER       246   63  11   2   3   21   16                     2      .256  .265  .354  .391   87 
 1930 28 HER         9    1   0   0   0    0    0                     2      .111  .280  .111  .430    1 
 1931 29 FRE  135  378   94  30   0   7   30   42                     5   2  .249  .263  .384  .388  145 
 1932 30 FRE   95  193   40   5   2   2   19   13                     1   0  .207  .244  .285  .366   55 

 1933 31 FRE   61  118   40   7   0   1   14   14   11    4   1   0   3   0  .339  .286  .424  .411   50 
 1934 32 MON  102  170   48   8   0   0   25   19    7   11   0   1   0   4  .282  .292  .329  .429   56 
 1935 33 MON    8    8    5   2   0   0    2    0    0    0   0   0   0   0  .625  .282  .875  .411    7 
+-----------+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
  8 Seasons   401 1585  440  80   9  17  174  163   18   15   1   1  21   6  .278  .271  .372  .392  589
+-----------+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
 Career High  135  463  149  30   5   7   63   59   11   11   1   1   8   4  .322  ----  .406  ----  188
+-----------+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
 6 Yrs.  FRE  291 1407  387  70   9  17  147  144   11    4   1   0  21   2  .275  .267  .374  .385  526 
 2 Yrs.  MON  110  178   53  10   0   0   27   19    7   11   0   1   0   4  .298  .291  .354  .428   63 
+-----------+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+----+
 Year Ag Tm     G   AB    H  2B  3B  HR    R  RBI   BB    K HBP  IW  SB  CS    BA  lgBA   SLG lgSLG   TB 

Postseason Batting

 Year Tm  Opp WLser  G   AB    H  2B  3B  HR    R  RBI   BB    K HBP  IW  SB  CS    BA   SLG   TB 
+------------------+--+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+----+
 1932 FRE MON   W    4    3    2   0   0   1    3    3    1    0   0   0   0   0  .667 1.667    5
+------------------+--+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+----+
               1-0   4    3    2   0   0   1    3    3    1    0   0   0   0   0  .667 1.667    5
+------------------+--+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+---+-----+-----+----+

WLser shows whether the player's team Won or Lost the series.

Appearances on Leaderboards and Awards  

Stats are Year-Value-Rank

Batting Average 1928-.322-9

Transactions January 1, 1928: Drafted 8th round (58th overall) by Hershey. January 10, 1934: Traded by Fremont with First Round Pick in 1934 to Montgomery for Pie Traynor.

Biography This shortstop of the 1927 "Murderers Row" New York Yankees was also in the center of one of the game’s greatest controversies. History has forgotten that Koenig was the catalyst to the famed "called shot" home run by Babe Ruth off of Charlie Root in the 1932 World Series. Mark Anthony Koenig was born in San Francisco, California on July 19, 1902. The Bay area has historically been a hot bed of baseball throughout the century, and young Koenig spent many a day playing at Big Rec in Golden Gate park. It was there that he was scouted and signed his first professional contract in 1919. His first assignment was with Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. From there, Koenig moved up the minor league ladder to Jamestown, Des Moines and St. Paul, Minnesota. It was in St. Paul that Koenig homered off of future Hall of Famer Lefty Grove in the 1925 Little World Series. Koenig’s hitting in the Series, as well as a powerful throwing arm, earned him a September call up, and Koenig made his major league debut September 8, 1925. In limited action, Koenig batted only .209 (23-110) in 28 games with the Yankees, but a strong spring training earned him the starting position in 1926. Koenig, playing in 146 games, hit .271 (167-617) scoring 93 times and knocking in 62 from the second spot in the order. The Yankees won the American League pennant that year, but lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series. The 1926 World Series is best remembered by the heroic pitching of Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander. Alexander, who had pitched a complete game win over the Yankees in Game Six, was called upon in relief for Game Seven. In a 3-2 game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Alexander struck out Tony Lazzeri to wrap up the championship for the Redbirds. Koenig shared the goathorns with Lazzeri in the New York press. His error in the fourth inning, one of four Koenig would make in the Series, allowed the eventual winning run to score. Fielding would plague Koenig throughout his career. The Yankees returned to the Series in 1927 and 1928, Koenig hitting .285 and .319 respectively, as the Yankees won back to back championships. Koenig led all hitters in the 1927 World Series with a .500 average as the Yankees swept the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1927 Yankees are generally regarded as one of the best teams in baseball history, a claim that Koenig did not dispute when interviewed. However, his fielding was a concern to Yankee management. In his four full season with the Yankees, Koenig made, 52, 47, 49 and 32 errors. In 1930, with younger players and better fielders such as Lyn Lary and Jimmie Reese in tow, the Yankees traded Koenig to the Detroit Tigers on May 30, 1930. Koenig was traded with pitcher Waite Hoyt for pitcher Ownie Carroll, outfielder Harry Rice and Yats Wvestling. Initially, Detroit had plans to convert Koenig into a pitcher. The Tigers had hoped that Koenig's powerful right arm could be of more use on the mound. The experiment lasted two games as Koenig allowed 11 hits in nine innings of work, and collared an 11.00 ERA. He returned to shortstop where he hit .240 in 76 games in the Motor City. A decline in batting average and continued fielding problems led to his release in Detroit, and Koenig was without work on Opening Day 1932. He was laboring in the minor leagues, his career apparently over, when a gunshot propelled him into a pennant race, and later made him a footnote to a baseball legend. Billy Jurges, second-year prodigy shortstop of the National League leading Chicago Cubs was shot in his hotel room in the second half of the year, a scene later re-created in the movie The Natural. Jurges would recover and play 17 seasons in the majors, but for the short-term, the Cubbies were short handed. Enter Mark Koenig. During the stretch run, Koenig entered the Cub lineup and batted .353 (36-102) in 33 games and played sparkling defense. The Cubs won the National League pennant by four games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, before the Series began, Koenig's Cub teammates voted to only give him a half-share of any Series earnings. Babe Ruth, who had been a close friend of Koenig's when Mark was in New York, supposedly was incensed at the poor treatment of his former temmate. Legend has it that the Bambino verbally berated the Cubs when the Series began and continued throughout the second game, both Yankee victories. Much of the verbal warfare had even made the papers. When the Series shifted to Chicago, Ruth was the target of not only the Cub players, but also hostile Wrigley fans. In Game Three Ruth hit his supposed "called shot" home run off of Cub starter Charlie Root, and the Yankees went on to sweep the World Series. Ironically, the motivation for the eventual home run hardly played in the Series. Koenig batted only four times, collecting a triple, a run and a RBI. Jurges made a dramatic return to the Cubs in time for the Series and moved Koenig to the bench. Koenig bounced around the National League for the remaining seasons of his career, moving to Cincinnati in 1934 and back to New York for some time with the Giants in 1935. It was after the 1936 season with New York that Koenig decided to retire. In his life away from baseball, Koenig bought two gas stations in his native San Francisco, and later worked for a brewery. He married, had a daughter and eventually moved to Glen Ellen, California. Koenig spent his golden years caring for his wife, who was confined to a wheelchair after two hip operations while trying to cope with his new role as caregiver and homemaker at 77 years of age. Koenig remained a very congenial fellow throughout his retirement, granting many interview and autograph requests. Mark Koenig passed away on April 22, 1993. He was 90 years old.