Player Profile:
Duke Snider
| Name: | Edwin Donald "Duke" Snider |
|
Centerfielder | |
| Lived: | 1926 - |
| Career span: | 1947 - 1964 |
| Hall of Fame? | Yes (1980) |
| Primary teams: | Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1947-1962) |
| Best Year: | 1953: .336 batting average, 42 HR, 126 RBI, 16 SB |
| Major Awards: | Sporting News Player of the Year: 1955 |
| Rank on Greatest Players list: | 39th |
Player notes : One of the trio of great centerfielders who played in New York in the mid-Fifties (along with Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle), Snider was a star among stars on the beloved Dodgers teams that closed out the Brooklyn era for the franchise in the late Forties and Fifties. "Willie, Mickey and the Duke" came to symbolize baseball excellence in one of the sport's golden eras.
In his prime Snider was a prodigious home run hitter, swatting over 40 a year for five consecutive years from 1953 to 1957. He was only the third player (after Babe Ruth and Ralph Kiner) to accomplish that feat. He was an eight time All Star and amassed impressive lifetime batting stats: 2,116 hits, 358 doubles, 407 home runs and 1,333 RBI. All told, the Duke's career was one of the most impressive ever, one which has rightfully earned him the title of "Hall of Famer".