Phil Cavarretta
Philip Joseph Cavarretta (born July 19, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois) is a former first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs for 19 consecutive seasons (1934–1953) and the Chicago White Sox (1954–1955). He also managed the Cubs (1951–1953). Cavarretta batted and threw left-handed.
He attended Lane Tech High School in Chicago, and signed a professional contract with Peoria before finishing high school. In his first professional game at age 17 in 1934, Cavarretta hit for the cycle as a right fielder. That same year he was brought up to the Cubs and homered in his first big league start.
In 1945 Cavarretta won the National League Most Valuable Player Award. That season he led the league in hitting with a .355 batting average and .449 on base percentage, also leading the Cubs to the National League pennant and the last World Series appearance by the Cubs in the 20th century. Cavarretta was a member of three NL pennant-winning Cubs teams in 1935, 1938 and 1945.
Cavarretta was named to the NL All-Star team 4 times: in 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947.
In a 22-year major league career, Cavarretta compiled a .293 batting average with 95 home runs and 920 RBIs.
Teams
See also
External link
- Baseball-Reference.com – career statistics and analysis