Mike Goliat
Mike Mitchell Goliat (November 5, 1925 - January 14, 2004) was a second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1949-51) and St. Louis Browns (1951-52). He batted and threw right handed.
A native of Yatesboro, Pennsylvania, Goliat was a member of the famous Phillies Whiz Kids team which won the 1950 National League pennant. In that season, Goliat batted .234, with 13 home runs, 64 runs batted in, 49 runs scored, 113 hits, 13 doubles and 6 triples in 145 games played; it was his only season as a regular starting player. In the World Series loss to the New York Yankees, he hit .214 with one RBI in 14 at-bats.
Goliat finished his major league career with a batting average of .225, 20 HRs and 99 RBI. Later, he played in the minor leagues for Toronto, and was the International League MVP in 1956. Goliat was also a player-coach for four seasons in which his team won the league pennant.
Mike Goliat died in Seven Hills, Ohio at 78 years of age.
Quotation
"He (Mike Goliat) was really a third baseman, but he played second for us to fill a need. He really had a strong arm. He was a battler who gave everything he had and he had a lot of big hits off (Brooklyn Dodgers ace) Don Newcombe the year we won the pennant." - Hall of Famer / Teammate Robin Roberts.
Whiz Kids team
- Richie Ashburn (CF)
- Bubba Church (SP)
- Del Ennis (LF)
- Mike Goliat (2B)
- Granny Hamner (SS)
- Willie Jones (3B)
- Jim Konstanty (RP)
- Russ Meyer (SP)
- Bob Miller (SP)
- Robin Roberts (SP)
- Andy Seminick (C)
- Curt Simmons (SP)
- Dick Sisler (RF)
- Eddie Waitkus (1B)
External links
- Baseball Digest - 1950: when Philadelphia's Whiz Kids won the NL pennant
- Baseball Reference - career statisitics and analysis
