Johnny Wyrostek

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Johnny Wyrostek bigraphy, stories - American baseball player

Johnny Wyrostek : biography

July 12, 1919 – December 12, 1986

John Barney Wyrostek (July 12, 1919 in Fairmont City, Illinois – December 12, 1986) was a professional baseball player. He played all or part of eleven seasons in the Major League Baseball between 1942 and 1954 primarily as an outfielder, most often in right or center field. He batted left-handed, and threw right-handed.

He was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals out of high school. His contract was purchased by the Pittsburgh Pirates late in the 1941 season, and he played parts of the next two seasons with the Pirates as a reserve outfielder. On September 30, 1943, he was traded back to the Cardinals. After a stint in the Army, his contract was sold to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1946, at which point he became an everyday player.

Wyrostek averaged 8 homers a year in his career, and had only one season in which he hit over 10. In 1948, he had a total of 17 home runs with another career-high, 76 RBIs, which he would tie later. His 7 stolen bases on the year also tied a career-high.

In 1950, he had a very solid season, hitting .285 with 8 homers and 76 RBIs with the Reds. On September 4 of the year, Wyrostek drove in 8 of the Reds’ 13 runs in a doubleheader sweep of the visiting Cardinals. The Reds won 5-4, and then 8-4.

By 1951, Johnny was an accomplished good-hitting outfielder who averaged about a .266 batting average. But that year, his batting average syrocketed to .311. While his power numbers went down (2 HR, 61 RBIs), his batting average was good for 6th in the league and his 167 hits was 10th. He made his second and final All-Star team.

In an 11-season career played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, and Cincinnati Reds, Wyrostek batted .271 with 58 home runs and 481 RBIs in 1221 games. He had 525 runs scored with 33 stolen bases and a solid .349 on-base percentage. He had 1149 hits with 209 doubles and 45 triples in his 4240 at bats.