Stanley Edward Jok (May 3, 1926 – March 6, 1972) 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 ...

player. A

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, Jok played all or parts of 14 seasons in minor league baseball, where he hit 192

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 ...

,Minor league statistics
from

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

but his Major League opportunity was limited to 12 total

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 ...

with 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 ...

and the –

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Jok had spent seven full seasons in the minors for three organizations before the Phillies gave him a chance at the outset of the 1954 season. He was used as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

in three games, and went hitless. Placed on waivers, he was claimed by the White Sox, who assigned him to their Double-A affiliate, the

Memphis Chickasaws Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memphis ...

, where Jok batted over .300. Recalled in September 1954, he started at three games for the ChiSox. In the first of those games, he registered his first MLB hit, an RBI

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off Art Houtteman, and later drew a

bases-loaded This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. ...

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

for another RBI. But he collected only one more hit in eight at bats in his next two starts. Jok made the 1955 White Sox roster coming out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

and appeared in six more games, largely as a pinch hitter and

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

. But in his only start at third base, on May 1 at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, Jok connected for his only Major League home run, a solo shot off Jim McDonald.1955-5-1 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> He returned to minor league baseball for good at the mid-May cutdown. As a Major Leaguer, Jok had 22

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s and 19 at-bats; of his three hits, only his homer went for extra bases. Jok was a fixture in the Triple-A

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 ...

, where he appeared in 1,149 games for seven teams representing five different cities between 1950 and 1961, Jok's final pro season.

References

External links

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jok, Stan 1926 births 1972 deaths Baltimore Orioles (International League) players Baseball players from Buffalo, New York Chicago White Sox players Jersey City Giants players Jersey City Jerseys players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball third basemen Memphis Chickasaws players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Mobile Bears players Omaha Cardinals players Oshkosh Giants players Ottawa A's players Ottawa Giants players Philadelphia Phillies players Rochester Red Wings players Sioux City Soos players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Trenton Giants players Burials in Buffalo, New York