Cohen, Andy

Andrew Howard Cohen

The New York Giant second baseman who, in 1928, inspired the poem "Cohen At the Bat." He is best known as one of several Jewish ballplayers the New York Giants tried to make into star attractions, in an effort to tap into the New York Jewish community. Since Rogers Hornsby, the best hitting second baseman in history, was traded to make room for Cohen, Andy suffered by unfair comparison. His brother Syd Cohen pitched briefly in the major leagues, and memorably in the Mexican League.

Birth and Death Dates:
b. October 25, 1904 - d. October 28, 1988

Career Highlights:
A great all-around athlete who played football at Alabama, Andy broke into the majors in 1926 with the New York Giants and played in 32 games that season. A career .281 hitter, he appeared in 240 games during 1928-29 for the Giants. Andy hit .294 in 1929, and his 24 doubles in 1928 helped raise his slugging average to .403. Unfortunately, his lack of speed caused manager John McGraw to send Andy to the minors after the 1929 season. McGraw considered bringing him back to the Giants in 1930, but Andy had torn a muscle in his leg and never returned to the majors. Despite this, Andy remained in the game (playing and managing in the minors) and even managed the Philadelphia Phillies for one game (a win) in 1960. Cohen also helped implement a baseball program at the University of Texas-El Paso and was the unpaid coach for the first 12 years (he coached for 16 years). Known as El Paso's "Mr. Baseball," Andy is a member of the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame and the El Paso Baseball Hall of Fame.

Career Dates:
Cohen played for the New York Giants, 1926, and 1927-29.

Position:
Second base; played 14 games at shortstop and 4 at third base, as well.

Physical description:
5'8", 155 pounds
Right-handed

Career Statistics:
Games: 262
Batting Avg.: .281
Slugging Avg.: .392

At-bats: 886
Hits: 249
Doubles: 36
Triples: 10

Home Runs: 14
Home Run %: 1.6
Runs: 108
RBI: 114

BB: 43
Strike Outs: 34
Stolen Bases: 6

Pinch Hitting
At-bats: 12
Hits: 1

Fielding Statistics
Put-outs: 548
Assists: 793
Errors: 50
Double-plays: 144

Total Chances per Game: 5.6
Fielding Avg: .964

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