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Roger Maris
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Birthdate: 9/10/1934 Died: 12/14/1985
Height / Weight: 6' 0" / 204 lbs. Place of Birth: Hibbing, MN, USA
Bats / Throws: L / R

Baseball Historian Biography

Roger Maris in surpassing Babe Ruth's supposedly unbreakable record, was still an unknown baseball star. Maris faced the hostility of the news media and the baseball public because he was a .269 hitter while Babe Ruth had a .342 lifetime batting average. The media and fans were rooting for Mickey Mantle or Willie Mays, as both players had hit over 50 home runs in a season previously, and were both life-time .300 hitters. During the 1961 baseball season, the pressure was so intense for Maris that he started losing his hair. Maris said, " as an individual, I doubt if I could possibly go through it again. They even asked for my autograph at mass".

Baseball History was made in 1961: The 1961 Season: it was the first year of expansion in baseball history; two new teams were added and the schedule was expanded from 154 games to a 162 game season. After 154 games, Maris had 59 HR's and after 162 games he had 61. Legend Babe Ruth hit 60 HR's in 154 games. In the 1961 season, Maris batted .269, hit 16 doubles, 61 HR's, scored 132 runs and batted in 142. Roger Maris was voted the Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row. In 1960, Maris had hit 39 HR's with 112 RBI's. In 1959, playing for Kansas City, he hit 16 HR's and had 72 RBI's. He retired in 1968. While attending the 1980 All-Star Game, Maris said, "They act as though I was doing something wrong, poisoning the record books." "Do you know what I have to show for 61 home runs? Nothing, Exactly nothing." Roger Maris career totals: .269 batting average in 1463 games, 195 doubles and 275 HR's. baseballhistorian.com - The History of Baseball Famous Baseball Players

Mantle, Maris, and Mays


Pitching Statistics
Year Team G GS W L SV CG SHO IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO WP HBP BK ERA
13 years   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Batting Statistics
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS IBB HBP SH SF AVG OBP SLG
1957 CLE (AL) 116 358 61 84 9 5 14 51 60 79 8 4 5 1 3 2 .235 .344 SLG
1958 KCA (AL) 99 401 61 99 14 3 19 53 28 52 0 0 1 2 2 2 .247 .298 SLG
1958 CLE (AL) 51 182 26 41 5 1 9 27 17 33 4 2 2 0 0 3 .225 .287 SLG
1959 KCA (AL) 122 433 69 118 21 7 16 72 58 53 2 1 5 3 0 4 .273 .359 SLG
1960 NYY (AL) 136 499 98 141 18 7 39 112 70 65 2 2 4 3 1 5 .283 .371 SLG
1961 NYY (AL) 161 590 132 159 16 4 61 142 94 67 0 0 0 7 0 7 .269 .372 SLG
1962 NYY (AL) 157 590 92 151 34 1 33 100 87 78 1 0 11 6 1 3 .256 .356 SLG
1963 NYY (AL) 90 312 53 84 14 1 23 53 35 40 1 0 3 2 1 1 .269 .346 SLG
1964 NYY (AL) 141 513 86 144 12 2 26 71 62 78 3 0 1 6 1 2 .281 .364 SLG
1965 NYY (AL) 46 155 22 37 7 0 8 27 29 29 0 0 1 0 1 1 .239 .357 SLG
1966 NYY (AL) 119 348 37 81 9 2 13 43 36 60 0 0 3 3 0 4 .233 .307 SLG
1967 STL (NL) 125 410 64 107 18 7 9 55 52 61 0 0 3 4 1 5 .261 .346 SLG
1968 STL (NL) 100 310 25 79 18 2 5 45 24 38 0 0 3 1 1 4 .255 .307 SLG
13 years   1463 5101 826 1325 195 42 275 851 652 733 21 9 42 38 12 43 .260 .345 .SLG



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