boys of summer Hank Greenberg

Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg (January 1, 1911, New York, New York – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s.

A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation. He hit 58 home runs in 1938, the most in one season by any player between 1927, when Babe Ruth set a record of 60, and 1961 when Roger Maris surpassed it. He was a five-time All-Star, was twice named the American League's Most Valuable Player, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1956.

Greenberg was also one of the first Jewish superstars in American professional sports.[1] He garnered national attention in 1934 when he refused to play baseball on Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race.

Batting Statistics
Year Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1930 Detroit 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1933 Detroit 117 449 59 135 33 3 12 87 46 78 .301
1934 Detroit 153 593 118 201 63 7 26 139 63 93 .339
1935 Detroit 152 619 121 203 46 16 36 170 87 91 .328
1936 Detroit 12 46 10 16 6 2 1 16 9 6 .348
1937 Detroit 154 594 137 200 49 14 40 183 102 101 .337
1938 Detroit 155 556 144 175 12 4 58 146 119 92 .315
1939 Detroit 138 500 112 156 42 7 33 112 91 95 .312
1940 Detroit 148 573 129 195 50 8 41 150 93 75 .340
1941 Detroit 19 67 12 18 5 1 2 12 16 12 .269
1945 Detroit 78 270 47 84 20 2 13 60 42 40 .311
1946 Detroit 142 523 91 145 29 5 44 127 80 88 .277
1947 Pittsburgh 125 402 71 100 13 2 25 74 104 73 .249

Career statistics
Batting average  .313
Hits  1628
Home Runs  331
Runs batted in  1276

5-Time All-Star Selection

2-Time World Series Champion

2-Time AL MVP