Hughie Critz

Hugh Melville Critz (September 17, 1900 - January 10, 1980) was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1920s and the New York Giants in the 1930s.

Career overview

Critz was born in Starkville, Mississippi and attended school in his home state, at Mississippi State University. His father, Professor Colonel Critz, was a respected instructor at the school.

In his first game, Critz had two hits off Grover Alexander and hit .322 in 102 games on the rookie season, with 19 stolen bases.

Through the 1920s, Critz was an extremely solid, speedy, good-hitting second basemen for many decent Reds teams, although the team began to decline in the late 1920s, finishing 7th in the 8-team National League in 1929 and 1930. In the year in which the Reds did the best with Critz on the team, 1926, they finished 2nd in the league, two games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Besides the Reds' success, Critz also had, what can easily be considered, his best season. On the year, he batted .270 with 3 homers and 79 RBIs. He tied a career-high with 14 triples and shattered his next-best career-high with his 79 RBIs. That year, he finished 2nd in MVP voting, behind only Bob O'Farrell.

Although his speed numbers only decreased from his rookie season, when he stole 19 bases, he still averaged 11 SB's per season, in his career.

In 1930, his career took a sudden turn when he was traded to the Giants for pitcher Larry Benton. With them, he won a World Series in 1933, had more quality years and retired on September 27, 1935.

In a 12-season career, he batted .268 with 38 home runs and 531 RBIs in 1478 games. He had 97 career stolen bases, 832 runs scored, 195 doubles, and 95 triples. Critz accumulated 1591 hits in 5930 at bats.

Critz made the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 1962. He died in Greenwood, Mississippi at age 79.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference