Don Mueller

Who was Don Mueller?

Donald Frederick Mueller was a professional baseball player who played mainly as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for 12 seasons from 1948 until 1959. The first 10 of those years were spent with the New York Giants, for whom he batted over .300 for three consecutive seasons and led the National League in hits in 1954. Mueller, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, never hit more than 16 home runs in a season. He earned the nickname Mandrake the Magician for being adept at consistently putting the ball in play and delivering hits through the infield. His lifetime batting average was .296.

He was born in St. Louis, Missouri on April 14, 1927. His father, Walter Mueller, was also a major leaguer who spent parts of four seasons during the 1920s with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The younger Mueller was signed as an amateur free agent out of Christian Brothers College High School by the Giants in 1944.

Mueller played a central, but painful, role in the famous October 3, 1951, playoff game that won the NL pennant for the Giants. With New York trailing the Brooklyn Dodgers, 4–1, in the ninth inning, Mueller singled Alvin Dark to third base.