Handy Andy Pafko: A Wisconsin-Born Player Succeeds In Chicago And Milwaukee

Andy “Pruschka” Pafko was born to Czech parents in Boyceville, Wisconsin, in 1921. The Wisconsin native enjoyed a quick rise to major league success. By 1943, at the tender age of 22, he won the Pacific Coast League MVP Award, playing with the Los Angeles Angels. He then appeared in 13 games for the 1943 Chicago Cubs, batting .379 in only 61 plate appearances. He became established as a regular in 1944, playing center field and batting .269 with occasional power. His rookie performance earned him the approval of Billy Southworth, manager of the rival Cardinals.

Pruschka became a star in 1945. He posted 4.4 WAR and slashed .298/.361/.455, with 12 home runs and 110 RBIs. This breakout performance earned him his first All-Star berth. He finished a good fourth in the National League MVP voting, behind Phil Cavarretta, Tommy Holmes, and Red Barrett. He also enjoyed the first of four World Series appearances, though the Cubs couldn’t match the heroics of Hank Greenberg, falling to the Tigers in seven games. Although he struggled in the Series, Pafko managed two doubles and a triple.

1946 marked a season of substantial injuries. Pafko batted .282 in only 65 games, recovering from a June ankle injury only to lose the remainder of the season to a fractured arm in August. Despite missing three weeks due to a kidney infection, he bounced back in 1947, batting .302 and launching 13 home runs in 129 games. He also returned to the All-Star Game, marking the first of four consecutive appearances.

Pafko moved to third base in 1948, but the change didn’t stop him from excelling at the plate. He posted 6.1 WAR, batting .312 with 26 homers, 101 RBIs, and an OPS of .891. He received MVP votes for the third time in four years. Pafko returned to the outfield for most of 1949, also logging 49 games at third. He batted .281, and although his power was down, he posted his third straight three-win season. Unfortunately for the Wrigley faithful, the Cubs were sliding down in the standings, posting the third of five consecutive losing seasons.

1950 might have been the Wisconsin-born Pafko’s best season. He made his fourth consecutive All-Star team and received MVP votes for the fourth time. He drilled 36 homers, with 92 RBIs. He slashed .304/.397/.591, leading the Cubs and finishing in the top 10 in the National League in all three categories. The 6.4 WAR stood out as the high point of Pafko’s career.

Long-simmering trade rumors about Pruschka were finally substantiated in June 1951, when the Cubs sent him to the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Chicago fans were rather upset about losing one of their favorites, especially a native Midwesterner. Pafko hit 30 home runs and knocked in 93 RBIs for the Cubs and Dodgers. He watched from left field when Bobby Thomson belted the famous “Shot Heard ’Round the World” to end the three-game playoff series and Brooklyn’s season on October 3.

Pafko had a solid 1952 with “Dem Bums.” He drilled 19 homers and drove in 85 while batting .287 with a .805 OPS. He also played in a career-high 150 games. The Dodgers faced the Yankees in the World Series, but for the second time in Pafko’s career, his team would lose in seven games.

In 1953, the Dodgers traded Pafko to the Milwaukee Braves, in their first season after moving from Boston. The hometown favorite was still a regular player with solid power numbers in 1953 and ’54. When Henry Aaron moved to right field in 1955, Pafko lost most of his playing time. The late-’50s Braves were a powerhouse, featuring stars like Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Joe Adcock, Warren Spahn, and Lew Burdette. Pafko played in both the 1957 and ’58 World Series, as his career wound down. 1959 was his last season as a player, and he subsequently went on to manage in the minors and scout.

Pafko’s outstanding career featured some truly memorable games:

• On July 3, 1945, the Cubs demolished the Braves, 24-2. Andy went 4-for-6 a walk, a double, and 5 RBIs.
• On May 16, 1948, Pafko went 5-for-5 with a double and two home runs. He both scored and knocked in four runs in a losing effort against the Reds.
• Just over a month later, on June 19, Pafko lit up Ebbets Field with yet another 5-for-5 performance. All five hits were singles, and Pafko’s three RBIs made the difference in the 5-2 win over the Dodgers.
• On August 2, 1950, at the Polo Grounds, Andy went 3-for-3 in a losing cause against the Giants. Pafko drilled three homers in the game, all off Sal Maglie.

Even without the single-game heroics, Andy “Pruschka” Pafko had a very solid career. He received MVP votes in four seasons, finishing fourth in 1945. He made five All-Star teams, including four in a row from 1947 through 1950. He posted an OPS of at least .800 in 11 different seasons, including a stretch of seven in a row. Although he was a career outfielder, he didn’t just transition smoothly when the club needed him to move to the infield, he put up one of the best seasons of his career. He was a solid performer on four pennant-winners and one World Series champion, and his great play along with his Wisconsin background made him a fan favorite in both Chicago and Milwaukee. 

STEVE KREVISKY has been a professor of mathematics at Middlesex Community College in Connecticut for many years. His students get used to him bringing baseball into classes, to make it more interesting for them! He is also President of the Smoky Joe Wood SABR chapter, which has periodic meetings, chapter breakfasts, and trips to local minor league games. He been attending the national SABR conventions for many years, going back to his first convention in Chicago in 1986. He has been a frequent presenter, and will also be presenting this year. He has published articles in the journals and has also been on seven teams that won the trivia championships over the years! He looks forward to returning to Chicago for this year’s convention. He is in two simulation/fantasy leagues, and looks forward to that committee meeting as well as seeing old friends there!

 

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com, “Andy Pafko Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More,” https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/p/pafkoan01.shtml.

Retrosheet.org.

Voiss, Dale. “Andy Pafko,” SABR BioProject.