Mike Mitchell Goliat (November 5, 1921 – January 13, 2004) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

second baseman, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1949–51) and

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1951–52). He batted and threw right-handed, and was listed at tall and . A native of

Yatesboro, Pennsylvania Yatesboro is an unincorporated community located in Cowanshannock Township, Pennsylvania. The community is located west of Rural Valley. Yatesboro has a post office with ZIP Code 16263. The elevation is 1,132 feet. Yatesboro appears on the Rur ...

, Goliat was the starting second baseman for the Phillies "Whiz Kids" team which won the 1950

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) pennant. In that season, he batted .234, with 13

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 64

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI), 49

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, 113

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, 13 doubles, and six triples, in 145

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

; it was Goliat‘s only season as a regular starting player. In the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

loss to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, he hit .214, with three hits, one run scored, and one RBI, in 14

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

(AB). Goliat finished his four-season big league baseball career with a batting average of .225, 186 hits (in 825 AB), 21 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs, and 99 RBI, with three

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

, in 249 games played.Joyner, Ronnie, Mike Goliat profile, ''sportscollectorsdigest.com'',

Sports Collectors Digest ''Sports Collectors Digest'' (''SCD'') is an American advertising weekly paper published at Iola, Wisconsin. The magazine provides an avenue through which sellers, traders and avid buyers of Sports card A trading card (or collectible card) is a ...

, Krause Publishing, May 6, 2011. Goliat played in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

(1949; 1952–59), and was named the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

(IL)

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP), in 1956. He holds the Maple Leafs’ franchise career records for games played (1,077), home runs (138), doubles (186), and RBI (556).

Post-baseball life

After retiring from the pro baseball following the 1961 season, Goliat ran a small trucking firm for several years before joining the

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

. Goliat died on January 13, 2004, in

Seven Hills, Ohio Seven Hills is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,804 at the 2010 census. Geography Seven Hills is located at (41.387703, -81.675350). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area o ...

, at 82 years of age.

Quotations

*"He 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 The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

ace)

Don Newcombe Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed "Newk", was an American professional baseball pitcher in Negro league and Major League Baseball who played for the Newark Eagles (1944–45), Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949–1 ...

the year we won the pennant." –

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

/ Teammate Robin Roberts. *"He hit the better pitchers in the league. The ones that got him out were the lesser ones." – Phillies manager

Eddie Sawyer Edwin Milby Sawyer (September 10, 1910 – September 22, 1997) was an American manager and scout in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies — the "Whiz Kids", as the youthful club was known — to the second ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goliat, Mike 1921 births 2004 deaths Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Major League Baseball second basemen Montreal Royals players Philadelphia Phillies players St. Louis Browns players Spokane Indians players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Vandergrift Pioneers players Wilmington Blue Rocks (1940–1952) players International League MVP award winners