Franklin, Moe

Murray Asher Franklin

The Tiger infielder is best known for leading organized baseball in hitting in 1938, when he pulverized the Mountain States League with a .439 batting average. He received the Sporting News award for the highest average in the minors; but Detroit didn't call him up to the big leagues until the 1941 season.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. April 1, 1914 - d. March 16, 1978

Career Highlights:
A three-sport star (football, basketball, and football) at Chicago's Carl Schurz High School, Franklin was offered an athletic scholarship to Northwestern University, but turned it down to attend the University of Illinois. A second baseman on Illinois' baseball team, he was scouted by the Detroit Tigers and agreed to sign with the club after graduating (with a degree in physical education). At the end of the 1937 Big Ten season, however, Franklin pulled a muscle in his throwing arm (right), and he did not report to the Tigers until the middle of the season.

Over the next few years, Franklin played in the minors and was quite successful. In 1937, he batted .437 while with Beckley in the Mountain States League and received the Louisville Slugger Award as Batter of the Year because he had the highest average of any player, in any league, in the country. He was finally called up to the Tigers in 1941, and that year, he hit .300 (with a .400 slugging average) in 13 games. One of his teammates that season was fellow Jewish slugger Hank Greenberg. Moe played 48 more games in his second, and final, season (1942), finishing his major league stint with a career batting average of .262.

During World War II, Franklin served in the U.S. Navy. Upon his return to civilian life in 1945, he found himself cut by the Tigers. Moe then decided to join the Mexican League, an outlaw league that raided the majors following the war. He played in Mexico in 1947 and 1948 and then returned to the U.S. in 1949 following baseball's amnesty for all Mexican League players. Franklin played professional baseball in the minors until the early 1950s.

Career Dates:
Franklin played for the Detroit Tigers, 1941-1942.

Position:
Shortstop, although he also played 7 games at second base and one game at third base.

Physical description:
6'0", 175 pounds
Right-handed

Career Statistics:
Games: 61
Batting Avg.: .262
Slugging Avg.: .348

At-bats: 164
Hits: 43
Doubles: 8
Triples: 0

Home Runs: 2
Home Run %: 1.2
Runs: 25
RBI: 16

BB: 9
Strike Outs: 7
Stolen Bases: 0

Pinch Hitting
At-bats: 12
Hits: 2

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 83
Assists: 94
Errors: 7
Double-plays: 18

Total Chances per Game: 4.2
Fielding Avg: .962

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