Mule Haas

{{Short description|American baseball player and coach (1903–1974)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Mule Haas

|position=Center fielder

|image=MuleHassGoudeycard.jpg

|bats=Left

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1903|10|15}}

|birth_place=Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1974|6|30|1903|10|15}}

|death_place=New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=August 15

|debutyear=1925

|debutteam= Pittsburgh Pirates

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 1

|finalyear=1938

|finalteam=Philadelphia Athletics

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.292

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=43

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=496

|teams=

Pittsburgh Pirates ({{baseball year|1925}})
Philadelphia Athletics ({{baseball year|1928}}–{{baseball year|1932}})
Chicago White Sox ({{baseball year|1933}}–{{baseball year|1937}})
Philadelphia Athletics ({{baseball year|1938}})

|highlights=

2× World Series champion (1929, 1930)

}}

George William "Mule" Haas (October 15, 1903 – June 30, 1974) was an American professional baseball player.{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/haasmu01.shtml |title=Mule Haas statistics |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |accessdate=October 27, 2019}} He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball from 1925 through 1938, most notably as a member of the Philadelphia Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1929 to 1931 and won the World Series in 1929 and 1930.

Professional baseball career

Haas was born in Montclair, New Jersey and attended Montclair High School.{{cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/3314427d |title=The Baseball Biography Project: Mule Haas |author=Wancho, Joseph |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|accessdate=October 30, 2019}} He left school to play for a local semi-pro team.Schlager, Ken. [https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/the-mule-who-could-run-like-a-deer/ "The Mule Who Could Run Like A Deer 80 years ago, a young outfielder from New Jersey helped Philadelphia win the World Series."], New Jersey Monthly, September 14, 2009. Accessed June 27, 2019. "Mule starred in baseball at Montclair High School and went on to play semi-pro baseball in Montclair for a team called the Clairmonts." Haas was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1923 and, after three seasons spent playing in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut with the Pirates on August 15, 1925 at the age of 21. He appeared in four games for the Pirates but, was not on the team's roster when the Pirates defeated the Washington Senators in the 1925 World Series. His contract was then sold to the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Association and he returned to the minor leagues for two more seasons.

In 1928, Haas joined the Philadelphia Athletics and became a member of one of the most feared batting orders in the history of baseball featuring three future Baseball Hall of Fame members (Al Simmons, Jimmie Foxx, and Mickey Cochrane).{{cite web |last=Mann |first=Jack |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1996/08/19/216207/lost-in-history-from-1929-to-1931-the-philadelphia-as-were-the-best-team-in-baseball-with-four-future-hall-of-famers-and-a-lineup-that-dominated-babe-ruths-legendary-yankees-so-why-hasnt-anyone-heard-of-them |title=Lost In History |work=Sports Illustrated |date=August 19, 1996 |accessdate=January 23, 2016}} He was one of six Athletics players to post batting averages above .310 during the 1929 season when he produced career-highs in batting average (.323), home runs (16) and runs batted in (82). The Athletics won the 1929 American League pennant by 18 games over the vaunted New York Yankees of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.

Haas is notable for his hitting performance during the 1929 World Series against the Chicago Cubs. In Game 4 at Philadelphia, as the Athletics trailed 8–0 in the seventh inning, Haas hit a three-run inside-the-park home run as the Athletics rallied by scoring ten runs in the inning to win, 10–8. This was the ninth inside-the-park home run in World Series history, and the last until Alcides Escobar did so in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series. Two days later, in what was to be the final game of the Series, Haas hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score, 2–2, as the Athletics later won the game on Bing Miller's RBI-double.

With the onset of the Great Depression and declining attendance, Connie Mack sought to reduce expenses by selling or trading his best players. In September 1932, he sold Haas, Simmons and Jimmy Dykes to the Chicago White Sox for $100,000. After five seasons in Chicago, Haas ended his career back in Philadelphia, playing in his final major league game on September 1, 1938 at the age of 34.

Career statistics

In a twelve-year major league career, Haas played in 1,168 games, accumulating 1,257 hits in 4,303 at bats for a .292 career batting average, along with 43 home runs, 496 runs batted in and a career on-base percentage of .359. Haas had a career fielding percentage of .983; he played at all three outfield positions and first base.

Later life

Haas died in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 30, 1974, at the age of 70. He was buried in the Roman Catholic Immaculate Conception Cemetery in his native Montclair, New Jersey.{{cite news |first= Robert|last= Strauss|title= Sometimes the Grave Is a Fine and Public Place |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFD71230F93BA15750C0A9629C8B63|work=New York Times |date=March 28, 2004 |accessdate=2007-08-21 }}{{cite news |title=Mule Haas of Philadelphia |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/deaths/mule_haas_obituary.shtml|work=New York Times |date=July 1, 1974 |accessdate=2008-07-11 }}