Michael Krsnich (''
né
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth reg ...
'' Krznić; September 24, 1931 – April 30, 2011) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
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), ...
who played for the
Milwaukee Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...
during the 1960 and 1962 seasons. Listed at , 190 lb., he batted and threw right-handed. His older brother,
Rocky Krsnich
Rocky Krsnich (born Rocco Peter Krznić; August 5, 1927 – February 14, 2019) was a Major League Baseball third baseman.
Biography
He was born in West Allis, Wisconsin. Krsnich originally signed as a free agent in 1945 with the Philadelphia ...
, also played in the majors from 1949 to 1953.
Born in
West Allis, Wisconsin
West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census.
Histo ...
, to a Montenegrin Serb father, Mike Krsnich was one of many baseball players whose career was interrupted during
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
conflict. He was the brother of Rocky Krsnich (1927–2019) and Nick Krsnich (b. 1928).
Krsnich played briefly for the Braves in part of two seasons. He had previously signed by 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 ...
before landing in Milwaukee, playing mostly at outfield and as
pinch-hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...
in just 21 games.
[
Following his major league stint, Krsnich joined the ]Taiyo Whales
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...
of the Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese Central League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consist ...
from 1963 to 1965. He slugged a .500 average in his first two years in Japan, belting 36 home run
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 ...
s in 1964 to finish second to the legendary Sadaharu Oh
Sadaharu Oh (Japanese: , ''Ō Sadaharu''; born May 20, 1940), also known as Wang Chen-chih (), is a Japanese-born former baseball player and manager Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"Ō Sadaharu"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 758. who ...
, who hit 55 homers.
Krsnich opened 1966 with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes
The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...
and joined the Hanshin Tigers
The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...
for the last half of the 1967 season. In his five years in Japan, he hit a .265 average with a .326 on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
and a slugging of .475. He also played 13 Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...
seasons between 1950 and 1969, batting .288 with 127 home runs in 1237 games.[
Krsnich died in ]Mesquite, Nevada
Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 20,471. The city is located in the Virgin River valle ...
, at the age of 79.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – Obituary
/ref>
Sources
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krsnich, Mike
1931 births
2011 deaths
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
American expatriate baseball players in Mexico
American military personnel of the Korean War
American people of Serbian descent
Atlanta Crackers players
Baseball players from Wisconsin
Bradford Phillies players
Evansville Braves players
Hagerstown Braves players
Hanshin Tigers players
Jacksonville Braves players
Kintetsu Buffaloes players
Louisville Colonels (minor league) players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball third basemen
Milwaukee Braves players
Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen
Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops
Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen
Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders
Paris Lakers players
People from West Allis, Wisconsin
Sportspeople from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Petroleros de Poza Rica players
Sacramento Solons players
Taiyō Whales players
Topeka Hawks players
Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players
Wichita Braves players