Dale Mitchell

Loren “Dale” Mitchell (August 23, 1921 - January 5, 1987) was one of the most difficult batters to strike out in Major League history, but was the unlikely victim of Don Larsen’s final strikeout in the only perfect game pitched in World Series history. The Cleveland Indians signed Dale in 1946 and he spent nearly his entire career with the Indians (1946-1956) save for 19 games he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers to finish his career. After batting .432 in his first eleven games for Cleveland, he hit above the .300-mark in six of the next seven years in the big leagues. Mitchell’s best year came in 1949 when he followed up a .336 season with a .317 season average with a league leading 640 at-bats, 203 hits and an astonishing 23 triples. His 23 triples were nearly half of his career 61 three-baggers. Dale earned his first of two American League All-Star selections that year and was among those considered for the AL MVP award for the third of four times. Mitchell appeared in three World Series winning the 1948 title, despite batting only .174. He was acquired by the Dodgers for the stretch run in 1956 as they won the National League pennant for a rematch of the previous year’s Fall Classic against the New York Yankees. He recorded the final out on a called strike of Don Larsen’s perfect game in Game 5 though he disputed that the pitch was actually a ball. Dale Mitchell finished his career with a .312 batting average, 1,244 hits, 555 runs and 403 RBI in 1,127 games. He was no slouch in the field as he also posted a .986 fielding percentage from his preferred position in left field.