Walt Dropo
With his long arms and powerful uppercut right-handed swing, Walt Dropo was the 1950 American League Rookie of the Year when he slugged 34 homers and led the circuit with 144 RBI for the Red Sox. He was dealt to the Tigers in a nine-player swap two years later, and spent the rest of his 13-year career trying to capture the magic of his rookie campaign. After he was realeased by Baltimore in 1961, he retired with 152 homers and a .270 career average.
Played For
Boston Red Sox (1949-1952)
Detroit Tigers (1952-1954)
Chicago White Sox (1955-1958)
Cincinnati Reds (1958-1959)
Baltimore Orioles (1959-1961)
Minor League Experience
A football star in high school and college, Dropo wasn't signed to a professional baseball contract until 1947, when he was 24 years old. He battered opposing pitching for much of his three minor league season, in Scranton, Louisville and Birmingham. After his amazing rookie season with Boston in 1950, Dropo struggled out of the gate in '51 (though it was more of a fact that manager Steve O'Neill was impatient) and was shipped to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League in the middle of the season.
Best Season: 1950
AL Rookie of the Year voting: Dropo (15 votes), Whitey Ford (six votes), and Chico Carrasquel (two votes)... Dropo hit .374 at Fenway Park, and .277 on the road.
Benching the Rookie of the Year
It didn't take long for Red Sox manager Steve O'Neill to shake up his lineup early in the 1951 season. On April 21, after the Sox had lost their first three games by a combined score of 17-4, O'Neill benched his two best run producers. Vern Stephens and Walt Dropo, who tied for the AL lead in runs batted the year before, were both sent to the pine. Dropo had won the Rookie of the Year Award and blasted 34 homers in '50, but had made the mistake of starting the 1951 campaign with one hit in 12 at-bats.
When the pair were returned to the lineup on May 3, Dropo erupted, belting out a double and a single and driving in four runs as the BoSox bested Detroit, 6-1. But the bizarre season was just beginning for "Moose."
Later in May, following more "struggles," Dropo was ordered back to the bench, but when Billy Goodman was injured in early June, Walt was yo-yoed into the lineup once more. On his second night back, Dropo collected five hits in a win over Cleveland. But O'Neill could not accept his streaky hitting, and he was benched again in June, while he was hitting below .240 in Fenway Park after hitting .374 at home as a rookie. Most alarmingly, his power was down, and on June 24, with just four homers in 172 AB's, the Red Sox stunned Dropo by sending him to San Diego of the Pacific Coast League. Goodman was inserted as the everyday first sacker.
"I'm sure he'll be back," O'Neill said. "Going out [to the minors] again will help him regain his confidence.
"Walt has been swinging at too many bad pitches. And the people were getting on him. That didn't help."
As he piled his stuff into his bags to catch a plane to the wes t coast, Dropo was philosophical.
"The only way for me to get back up here is knock the hell out of the ball at San Diego. That's all I want to say. It's up to me."
Dropo was back with the Red Sox in August, and he finished the season strong, belting seven homers over the last five weeks of the season. His days in Boston were numbered however, and he was traded to Detroit the following June in a nine-player trade.
Where He Played
Played first base in all but three defensive games, which he spent at third for the Orioles.
Born
Walter Dropo was born on January 30, 1923, in Moosup, CT.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
Primary Position: 1B
Primary Team: BAL
Major League Debut
April 19, 1949
Nine Other Players Who Debuted in 1949
Monte Irvin
Minnie Minoso
Roy Sievers
Smoky Burgess
Del Crandall
Bobby Avila
Walt Dropo
Don Newcombe
Morrie Martin
Nicknames
Moose
Similar Players
Donn Clendenon
| Hall of Fame Voting |
| Year |
Election |
Votes |
Pct |
| 1967 |
BBWAA |
1 |
.3% |
|
Post-Season Notes
Despite playing for five teams in a 13-year career, Dropo never ended up in the post-season. He played regularly on three teams that finished in second place: the 1947 Red Sox, 1957 White Sox, and 1960 Orioles.
Awards and Honors
1950 AL Rookie of the Year
Feats
From July 14-15, covering three games, Walt Dropo collected 12 consecutive hits, setting a major league record. He eventually tallied 15 hits over a four-game stretch.
Notes
Dropo was hitting .250 at the time he was sent to San Diego in late June of 1951, in a move that left him "dazed and disheartened" according to The Sporting News... After his playing career, Dropo owned a fireworks company in Alabama.
Transactions
Before 1947 Season: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent.
June 3, 1952: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Fred Hatfield, Don Lenhardt, Johnny Pesky, and Bill Wight to the Detroit Tigers for Dizzy Trout, George Kell, Johnny Lipon, and Hoot Evers.
The Sox tried to deal Dropo to the Tigers prior to the June deadline in 1951, but Detroit wouldn't accept him straight-up for Hoot Evers.
December 6, 1954: Traded by the Detroit Tigers with Ted Gray and Bob Nieman to the Chicago White Sox for Leo Cristante, Ferris Fain, and Jack Phillips.
June 24, 1958: Selected off waivers by the Cincinnati Redlegs from the Chicago White Sox.
June 23, 1959: Traded by the Cincinnati Redlegs to the Baltimore Orioles for Whitey Lockman.
May 24, 1961: Released by the Baltimore Orioles.
Hall of Fame Artifacts
The ball that Dropo hit for his 12th consecutive hit, on July 15, 1952, is in the Hall of Fame collection.
All-Star Selections
1950 AL
Replaced
The injured Billy Goodman, in 1950.
Replaced By
Talk about giving up quickly! After Dropo struggled in his freshman season, and got off to a slow start in 1952, Boston traded the former Rookie of the Year to Detroit in a blockbuster, nine-player deal. They didn't get a first baseman in the swap, so they inserted rookie Dick Gernert into the spot. Gernert was nearly as mammoth as Dropo (Walt was 6'5, 220; Dick was 6'3, 210), just as slow, and not nearly as good a hitter. He could slug the ball over the Green Monster on occasion, but never learned to lay off the breaking ball in the dirt. He was a notoriously bad defensive player.
Best Strength as a Player
Hitting for power
Largest Weakness as a Player
Foot speed, of course, but he was also remarkably impatient at the plate. As a very tall guy, most of the pitches he was thrown must have been somewhere in the strike zone. He walked about half as much as he struck out.
Learn More about Walt Dropo
Search Amazon.com for Books about Walt Dropo ⇒
Search for Walt Dropo at Google ⇒
View a map of his hometown at Mapquest ⇒
