August 22, 1949: The Yankees Purchase Johnny Mize

Mize with the ball from his 2,000th career hit,

June 28, 1953

August 22, 1949: The New York Yankees purchase the contract of slugging 1st baseman Johnny Mize from the New York Giants, for $40,000.

Mize was 36 years old, and in his 11th season in the major leagues, having lost 3 seasons due to serving in the U.S. Navy in World War II. "The Big Cat" had won the National League batting title in 1939, with a .349 average, while with the St. Louis Cardinals; led the NL in home runs 4 times, including the last 2; and had topped 100 RBIs in 7 seasons.

He was losing playing time, and the Yankees couldn't promise him more. But he played 5 more seasons, and helped the Yankees win the World Series all 5 times. He had never played on a Pennant winner before. He hit 3 home runs in the 1952 World Series. He closed his career in 1953, with a .312 batting average, 358 home runs, and an OPS+ of 158. He appeared in 10 All-Star Games.

He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981, and died in 1993. In 1995, Ted Williams ranked him 15th on his list of the Top 20 Hitters of All Time.

So, was this a bad deal for the Giants? Not really: With Whitey Lockman becoming their new 1st baseman, they won the NL Pennant in 1951, and the World Series in 1954. So it was a wash for the Giants, but a great deal for the Yankees.

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August 22, 1949 was a Monday. Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad, who swam from Havana to Key West in 53 hours when she was 64 years old, was born on this day.

Only 1 baseball game was played that day: The Boston Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 7-6 at Braves Field in Boston. This was a wild one. The Dodgers took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 9th. But former Dodger Eddie Stanky led off the bottom of the 9th with a home run off Ralph Branca. Branca then walked Eddie Fletcher, with Sibby Sisti coming in as a pinch-runner. Dodger manager Burt Shotton brought Erv Palica in to pitch, and after getting 2 outs, he allowed a game-winning double by Jeff Heath.

Another former Dodger, Pete Reiser, went 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs for the Braves. For the Dodgers, Jackie Robinson went 0-for-4, but drew a walk and had an RBI on a sacrifice fly. Roy Campanella hit a home run.