Al Dark
Born: 1/7/1922 in Comanche, OK, USA
Died: 11/13/2014 in Easley, SC, USA
MLB Debut: 1946-07-14 | Final Game: 1960-10-02
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 185 lbs
Full name: Alvin Ralph Dark
Biography
Al Dark was a prominent position player in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1946 to 1960. Born in 1922, Dark made an immediate impact upon his debut, eventually earning the title of Rookie of the Year. Over the course of his 1,828 games, he compiled an impressive batting average of .289, amassing 2,089 hits, including 126 home runs and 757 RBIs. Known for his consistent offensive production and ability to get on base, Dark also demonstrated speed on the basepaths with 59 stolen bases throughout his career.
Dark was selected as an All-Star three times, showcasing his talents during a competitive era in baseball that was defined by the transition from the post-war period into a more modern game. His contributions were not only felt on the field, where he exhibited a blend of power and average, but also in the clubhouse, as he was considered a leader among his teammates. Al Dark's legacy remains significant, as he was part of a generation of players who helped shape the game during the late 1940s through the 1950s, a time characterized by the integration of baseball and the emergence of new playing styles.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 18.00 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | NY1 | NL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 18.00 | 0.0 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1828 | 7219 | 1064 | 2089 | 358 | 72 | 126 | 757 | 59 | 430 | 534 | 0.289 | 0.333 | 0.411 | 0.744 | 2968.3 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | BSN | NL | 15 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.231 | 0.0 |
| 1948 | BSN | NL | 137 | 543 | 85 | 175 | 39 | 6 | 3 | 48 | 4 | 24 | 36 | 0.322 | 732.8 |
| 1949 | BSN | NL | 130 | 529 | 74 | 146 | 23 | 5 | 3 | 53 | 5 | 31 | 43 | 0.276 | -938.9 |
| 1950 | NY1 | NL | 154 | 587 | 79 | 164 | 36 | 5 | 16 | 67 | 9 | 39 | 60 | 0.279 | 175.2 |
| 1951 | NY1 | NL | 156 | 646 | 114 | 196 | 41 | 7 | 14 | 69 | 12 | 42 | 39 | 0.303 | 1339.8 |
| 1952 | NY1 | NL | 151 | 589 | 92 | 177 | 29 | 3 | 14 | 73 | 6 | 47 | 39 | 0.301 | 1503.2 |
| 1953 | NY1 | NL | 155 | 647 | 126 | 194 | 41 | 6 | 23 | 88 | 7 | 28 | 34 | 0.300 | 1363.4 |
| 1954 | NY1 | NL | 154 | 644 | 98 | 189 | 26 | 6 | 20 | 70 | 5 | 27 | 40 | 0.293 | 624.1 |
| 1955 | NY1 | NL | 115 | 475 | 77 | 134 | 20 | 3 | 9 | 45 | 2 | 22 | 32 | 0.282 | -247.8 |
| 1956 | NY1 | NL | 48 | 206 | 19 | 52 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 8 | 13 | 0.252 | -619.0 |
| 1956 | STL | NL | 100 | 413 | 54 | 118 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 37 | 3 | 21 | 33 | 0.286 | -619.0 |
| 1957 | STL | NL | 140 | 583 | 80 | 169 | 25 | 8 | 4 | 64 | 3 | 29 | 56 | 0.290 | -229.2 |
| 1958 | CHC | NL | 114 | 464 | 54 | 137 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 43 | 1 | 29 | 23 | 0.295 | -160.8 |
| 1958 | STL | NL | 18 | 64 | 7 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0.297 | -160.8 |
| 1959 | CHC | NL | 136 | 477 | 60 | 126 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 45 | 1 | 55 | 50 | 0.264 | 204.8 |
| 1960 | ATL | NL | 50 | 141 | 16 | 42 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 0.298 | -14.4 |
| 1960 | PHI | NL | 55 | 198 | 29 | 48 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 1 | 19 | 14 | 0.242 | -14.4 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 65 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 0.323 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | WS | NY1 | 4 | 17 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.412 |
| 1951 | WS | NY1 | 6 | 24 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0.417 |
| 1948 | WS | BSN | 6 | 24 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.167 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 15 | 8 | 67 | 6 | 2 | 5 |
| 2B | 29 | 0 | 68 | 72 | 2 | 17 |
| 3B | 320 | 287 | 294 | 605 | 50 | 56 |
| OF | 43 | 25 | 73 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 1404 | 557 | 2672 | 4168 | 286 | 933 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 | BSN | SS | 12 | 0 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 2 |
| 1946 | BSN | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | BSN | SS | 133 | 0 | 253 | 393 | 25 | 66 |
| 1949 | BSN | 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 1949 | BSN | SS | 125 | 0 | 232 | 387 | 25 | 76 |
| 1950 | NY1 | SS | 154 | 0 | 288 | 465 | 30 | 101 |
| 1951 | NY1 | SS | 156 | 0 | 295 | 465 | 45 | 114 |
| 1952 | NY1 | SS | 150 | 0 | 324 | 423 | 27 | 116 |
| 1953 | NY1 | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1953 | NY1 | 2B | 26 | 0 | 68 | 72 | 2 | 17 |
| 1953 | NY1 | 3B | 8 | 0 | 12 | 17 | 3 | 5 |
| 1953 | NY1 | SS | 110 | 0 | 219 | 343 | 19 | 79 |
| 1953 | NY1 | OF | 17 | 0 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1954 | NY1 | SS | 154 | 154 | 289 | 487 | 36 | 105 |
| 1955 | NY1 | SS | 115 | 114 | 213 | 324 | 21 | 70 |
| 1956 | NY1 | SS | 48 | 48 | 89 | 132 | 9 | 27 |
| 1956 | SLN | SS | 99 | 99 | 178 | 292 | 20 | 66 |
| 1957 | SLN | 3B | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1957 | SLN | SS | 139 | 134 | 276 | 419 | 25 | 105 |
| 1958 | CHN | 3B | 111 | 111 | 107 | 225 | 18 | 24 |
| 1958 | SLN | 3B | 8 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| 1958 | SLN | SS | 8 | 8 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 6 |
| 1959 | CHN | 1B | 4 | 4 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1959 | CHN | 3B | 131 | 121 | 111 | 255 | 20 | 20 |
| 1959 | CHN | SS | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960 | ML1 | 1B | 10 | 4 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 1960 | ML1 | 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960 | ML1 | 3B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960 | ML1 | OF | 25 | 25 | 46 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1960 | PHI | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1960 | PHI | 3B | 53 | 48 | 57 | 84 | 7 | 7 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| First Base | 15 |
| Second Base | 29 |
| Third Base | 320 |
| Shortstop | 1402 |
| Left Field | 39 |
| Right Field | 4 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Lou Gehrig Memorial Award | |
| 1954 | TSN All-Star | SS |
| 1948 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | SS |
| 1948 | Rookie of the Year |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge | LA | 1943 |
| University of Louisiana at Lafayette | Lafayette | LA | 1944 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 17th | 12.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1954 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 5th | 110.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1952 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 24.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1951 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 12th | 30.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1949 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 25th | 3.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1948 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 3rd | 174.0 | 336 | 1 |
| 1948 | Rookie of the Year | ML | 1st | 27.0 | 48 | 27 |