PSA BatFacts™

When it comes to bats used by The Big Cat—Johnny Mize—there is one key characteristic to look for: Mize would often apply a spiral taping pattern along the lower part of the handle to enhance his grip. The tape application does not extend beyond the portion of the handle where someone would place their hands. Mize changed teams three times and his uniform number on four separate occasions. He wore "10", "15", "3" and "36" during his career. Most of his bats do not feature his uniform numbers on the knob, which is primarily due to the fact that he played during a period when that practice was not common. Bats used during his brief run with the New York Yankees (1949-1953) tend to sell for a premium, even though his prime years were split between the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Giants.

John Robert “Johnny” Mize (1913-1993) homered in all fifteen ballparks in use during his career and crushed three homers in a game six times in his career. Big Cat played for the St. Louis Cardinals (1936-1941), the New York Giants (1942, 1946-1949) and the New York Yankees (1949-1953). The ten-time All-Star selection often paced the National League for home runs, winning the HR crown four times from 1939-1948, twice each with the Cardinals and Giants. In 1939, Mize won both the home run and batting titles, missing out on the Triple Crown by 20 RBI. As a member of the New York Yankees, Mize helped the Bronx team win five-straight World Series championships from 1949-1953. In 1952, the big, burly first baseman won the World Series MVP award as he batted .400 while clouting six home runs. He is the only player in the history of baseball to hit 50 or more home runs in a season while striking out less than 50 times. Johnny Mize retired with 2,011 hits, 1,337 RBI and a .312 career batting average. The Veterans Committee elected John Robert Mize to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.