Edward Joseph Mayo (born Edward Joseph Mayoski; April 15, 1910 – November 27, 2006), nicknamed "Hotshot" and "Steady Eddie", was an American professional baseball player. He played as an infielder in the Major League Baseball from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finished either in first or second place in the American League pennant races between 1944 and 1947 and won the 1945 World Series. Mayo was selected to his only All-Star team in 1945 and, was the runner-up in voting for the 1945 American League Most Valuable Player Award. He also played for the New York Giants, Boston Braves and the Philadelphia Athletics.
Career overview
Mayo played in 834 games in the major leagues, initially as a third baseman (229 games) and for most of his career as a second baseman (544 games). In a nine-season career, the left-handed hitting Mayo posted a .252 batting average and .313 on-base percentage with 287 RBIs, 759 hits, 350 runs scored, 257 walks, 161 extra base hits, and 109 sacrifice hits. He was among the league leaders in sacrifice hits six times, including a major league leading 28 sacrifice hits in 1944.
Mayo was also a solid defensive infielder. In 1943, he led all American League third basemen in fielding percentage at .976. Two years later, after switching positions, he led all American league second basemen with a .980 fielding percentage at his new position. He also led the league's second basemen in 1944 with 125 double plays.
His best season was 1945 when he helped lead the Detroit Tigers to a World Series championship and was selected as the American League's Most Valuable Player by The Sporting News.
Early years (1932–38) May was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, but grew up in Clifton, New Jersey. Born Edward Joseph Mayoski, Mayo was the son of Polish immigrants who changed their name to Mayo.
Mayo first signed with the Detroit Tigers at age 22 in 1932. He played in the minor leagues with Johnstown, Knoxville, and Baltimore. In May 1936, he was traded by Baltimore (International League) to the New York Giants. Mayo hit .199 in 46 games as a backup third baseman for the 1936 Giants. He also appeared in one game of the 1936 World Series against the Yankees.
In December 1936, Mayo was traded by the Giants to the Boston Bees. He played in 65 games for Boston in the 1937 season, principally as a backup third baseman, batting above .227.
In May 1938, the Chicago Cubs bought Mayo from Boston, but he never appeared in a game for the Cubs.
The Pacific Coast League (1938–42) Mayo spent the next five years with the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League. In 1938, Los Angeles sportswriters chose him as the Angels' Most Valuable Player after he batted .332 and set a PCL record for playing 34 consecutive error-free games.
On July 13, 1941, Mayo (still playing for the Los Angeles Angels) was accused of spitting in the face of umpire Ray Snyder during an argument. League President W. C. Tuttle suspended Mayo for one year. Mayo protested that he never spat and‚ after a series of hearings with minor-league czar Judge Brabham‚ Mayo was reinstated on September 5, 1941, and finished the season with the Angels.
Return to MLB (1943–44) After leaving Boston in May 1938, Mayo did not play in another major league game for five years. In November 1942, with the major league player pool depleted by World War II military service, Mayo was drafted by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Cubs in the Rule 5 draft.
During spring training prior to the 1943 season, Mayo suffered an eye injury when he was hit by a thrown ball. Mayo and catcher Bob Swift had a man in a rundown between third base and home. Swift's throw caromed off the runner and hit Mayo directly in the left eye, causing a retinal hemorrhage. Mayo later said that the injury affected his sight, and he even had a blind spot, throughout the 1943 season.
Despite the injury, Mayo was the Athletics' starting third baseman in 1943, playing 123 games at the position. He led the league in fielding percentage, was awarded his first Gold Glove award, and led the league with 29 fielding runs. However, Mayo felt that the eye injury affected his hitting more than his fielding, and his .219 batting average and 28 RBIs were unimpressive. The A's lost 20 games in a row that year and finished in last place. The A's dropped him at the end of the season because of "poor eyesight."
After the 1943 season, Mayo was purchased by the Boston Red Sox, but he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers one month later in the rule 5 draft.
Perhaps because of the 1943 injury to his eye, Mayo developed a peculiar habit of ducking after every pitch.