Dick Groat
Groat was college basketball's national player of the year at Duke before choosing baseball over the NBA — a decision that paid off with an MVP award in 1960 when he hit .325 and led Pittsburgh to its first World Series title in 35 years.
The shortstop's career .286 average and five All-Star selections came through pure contact hitting rather than power, collecting just 39 home runs across 16 seasons. His 1960 MVP campaign stands as one of the last won by a middle infielder who relied almost entirely on hitting for average and playing solid defense.
Groat represented baseball's final generation of singles hitters who could anchor a championship lineup. His ability to put the ball in play consistently — striking out fewer than 30 times in most seasons — made him invaluable in an era when every at-bat mattered differently than today's three-true-outcomes game.
Career · Batting
14 seasons| Year | Team | G | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | PIT | 95 | 384 | 1 | 29 | .284 | — | — |
| 1955 | PIT | 151 | 521 | 4 | 51 | .267 | .669 | — |
| 1956 | PIT | 142 | 520 | 0 | 37 | .273 | .638 | — |
| 1957 | PIT | 125 | 501 | 7 | 54 | .315 | .787 | — |
| 1958 | PIT | 151 | 584 | 3 | 66 | .300 | .735 | — |
| 1959 | PIT | 147 | 593 | 5 | 51 | .275 | .673 | — |
| 1960 | PIT | 138 | 573 | 2 | 50 | .325 | .766 | — |
| 1961 | PIT | 148 | 596 | 6 | 55 | .275 | .687 | — |
| 1962 | PIT | 161 | 678 | 2 | 61 | .294 | .686 | — |
| 1963 | STL | 158 | 631 | 6 | 73 | .319 | .827 | — |
| 1964 | STL | 161 | 636 | 1 | 70 | .292 | .706 | — |
| 1965 | STL | 153 | 587 | 0 | 52 | .254 | .632 | — |
| 1966 | PHI | 155 | 584 | 2 | 53 | .260 | .631 | — |
| 1967 | SF | 44 | 96 | 0 | 5 | .156 | .423 | — |
| Career | 1929 | 7484 | 39 | 707 | .286 | — | — | |
Matchups, projections, comps — grounded in Lahman, Retrosheet, and Statcast.