Mo Vaughn 1967–

Professional baseball player

At a Glance…

The Rookie

Hit Man—Hit Dog

Most Valuable Player

Serving Others

Today’s Vaughn

Sources

Maurice (Mo) Vaughn, the 6’1” 240 lb. first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, was named the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 1995. Born on December 15, 1967 in Norwalk, Connecticut, Vaughn’s hometown is East on, Massachusetts. He has two older sisters, Catherine and Donna. He is the son of Leroy Vaughn, a former high school principal and football coach, and Shirley Vaughn, an elementary school teacher. Vaughn’s mother taught him to play baseball when he was only three-years-old. As his mother did, Vaughn hits left, while throwing right. His dad taught him to always improve upon his skills, while his mom urged him to be his very best. Vaughn attributes his competitive nature to his mother, though both of his parents encouraged acceptable schoolwork in exchange for his playing sports. He learned charitable ways as a child and his entire family gave gifts to the homeless at Christmas time. This may account in part for Vaughn’s highly charitable nature today. For, in addition to newspaper and magazine clippings detailing his on-field victories, his press file is filled with an equal number of stories detailing his charitable off-field accomplishments.

Vaughn received the nickname “Mo” from a high school athletic director when he was in the ninth grade. The director couldn’t say Maurice fast enough, so he shortened it to Mo. Vaughn’s very first baseball game was played when he was nine-years-old in Norwalk, Connecticut and he played third base. By age 12, he had accumulated around 30 homeruns in a 13-game season and by age 16 he was hitting balls out of the park in his first Senior Babe Ruth League game. Vaughn attributed his current success to the fact that he always played baseball with older kids and practiced daily. As a child, however, football was his favorite sport and the Dallas Cowboys were his favorite team. Young Vaughn’s favorite athlete was Reggie Jackson and remains so today. He attended the rural New York preparatory school Trinity-Pawling during high school and spent another three years at Seton Hall College where he broke the career record of home runs by a Seton Hall player when he was a freshman, with 28 longballs. During his three-year career with Seton Hall’s Pirates, Vaughn held a .417 batting average, hit 57 home runs, drove in 218 RBIs and was named to the All-America team each season. Additionally, the Big East Conference named him Player of the Decade, though his fraternity brothers in Omega Psi Phi called him “Hit

At a Glance…

Born December 15, 1967 in Norwalk, Connecticut to Leroy and Shirley Vaughn; Hometown is Easton, Massachusetts. Education: Attended Seton Hall College.

Career: First baseman for Boston Red Sox since 1991; hardest hitting batter of team; three year batting average 1994-96, .301, averaging 31 HRs (Homeruns) and 103 RBIs (Runs Batted In); co-founder of Mo Vaughn Youth Development Program; author of Follow Your Dreams

Selected honors and awards: Baseball All-America 1987, 1988, 1989; Thomas A. Yawkey Award for MVP from 1993-96; 1995 Bart Giamattia Award for community service; and 1995 Most Valuable Player award for American League.

Addresses: Office —Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, 24 Yawkey Way, Boston, MA 02215.

Dog” for his exemplary hitting abilities. Vaughn even tattooed the Greek letters representing his college fraternity on his right bicep. He continues to abide by his fraternity beliefs of manhood, scholarship, perseverance and uplift, sharing these values with today’s youth. Vaughn, portraying a tough exterior, is actually a kind, fun-loving guy, who himself tells Sox Appeal, “... off the field I’m probably one of the most fun guys on this team. When I came here, I wanted to win, but I also wanted to have fun. I wanted to prove that it could be fun to play baseball....”

Author of Follow Your Dreams, Vaughn is the heaviest player on his team who hits the ball the farthest and walks with a purpose, while remaining quite humble. He has kept himself in shape by lifting weights, doing cardiovascular workouts and endurance training with a personal trainer.

The Rookie

Acquired by the Boston Red Sox during the first draft round in 1989, Vaughn spent 1990 in Pawtucket, Boston’s top farm club, where he hit .295, 22 home runs and 78 RBIs in only 108 games. In 1991, after 14 home runs and 50 RBIs at Pawtucket, He made his major league debut on June 27, 1991 in the majors, where he batted .260 with four homers and 32 RBIS. The 23-year-old Vaughn, having never played a day of major league baseball before 1991, had fans eager for him to perform. However, unaffected by the crowd’s praise, he told a Sports Illustrated reporter that “... the Boston Red Sox will be good whether I make the team or not. The attention doesn’t bother me. You only play this game for ten years. To be a good man, a good person, that’s what people remember.” When Vaughn began as a rookie he was warned by other players that it was tough for young black players. However, he stuck it out and now feels that Boston is the best place in the world to play.

Hit Man—Hit Dog

Vaughn’s sophomore season with the Red Sox in 1992, however, proved to be a difficult beginning, with his averaging .185 for the first 23 games and dropping to two homeruns. During the season at Fenway Park, he struggled between Boston and minor league affiliation with Pawtucket, ending the season with a dismal .234 batting average and only 13 homers. During this time, Vaughn did a short stint at Pawtucket, returning to the lineup in June. He felt extremely bad about this and said to a Sports Illustrated reporter, “It was like I was a bad person or something. I had to make sure that wasn’t the case. See, in Boston they want success right away. You can’t afford to have any problems.” Hence, Vaughn did something about it. Angry and confused, he was saved by the gifted hitting coach Mike Easier, who knew how to handle Vaughn. Easier helped Vaughn work on his stance, swing, preparation, and confidence. Under the tutelage of Easier, known in his playing days as the “Hit Man,” Vaughn made a formidable comeback.

Vaughn states that Easier saved his career. Upon his return to Boston after his six weeks at Pawtucket, he came back hitting the ball harder than anyone in baseball. Vaughn (who wears number 42 in honor of Jackie Robinson) was a terrific success from 1993’s Opening Day onward, thanks in no small part to Easier. He views that difficult time as beneficial and he still reflects on it when he is feeling low.

There is a blue warm-up jacket owned and inspired by batting coach Mike Easier with the words “Hit Man,” reminiscent of his own playing days. The Red Sox player who deserves it most during a game wears it and Vaughn was one of the two players to wear the jacket most during the 1993 season. He was hitting .331, the fifth best in the American League, and leading Boston with seven homers and 31 RBIs. On May 23, 1993 the 25-year-old Vaughn hit two homers against the Yankees from veteran pitcher Jimmy Key, known to have given only five homers to left-handed batters during the decade. He reported to Sports Illustrated during that time, “This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing baseball.” The Boston Red Sox, in fifth place by June 21, 1993, made an impossible comeback, similar to the 1967 season which began slowly and ended with the American League pennant. By August, they were in a three-way tie for first place with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays, having won their tenth straight game in a row, winning 25 out of the last 30 games. The 10th straight Red Sox victory was 8-1 against the Oakland A’s, a team that once regularly beat them, featured a grand slam by “Hit Dog” Vaughn. By this time, he had chalked up 14 homeruns, with an average of .324 and nearly double his RBIs from the start of the season at 64, wielding his 36-inch, 36-oz. black bat. While the Boston Red Sox had not won a world championship since Babe Ruth was traded away, everyone in Boston was excited about the team. Vaughn enthusiastically reported, “Like I’ve been trying to tell you, we’re going to the World Series.” The Red Sox, who had not won a World Series since Babe Ruth was traded to the Yankees in 1918, had a chance now that Vaughn was on board. That same season he and John Valentin, former roommates while at Seton Hall, reunited as Valentin joined the Red Sox.

In spite of a baseball strike in 1994 it was Vaughn’s best season yet. He batted a .297 average, with 29 homers and 101 RBIs, being named the Most Valuable Player by the Boston Writers Association. Vaughn led the Sox in nearly every batting category.

The then 26-year-old slugger was the brightest star for the Red Sox, helping them to become contenders in the American League. Vaughn exhibited poise, dedication, hard work and devotion to his community. In March of 1994 he hit a home run in Anaheim, California for 11-year-old Jason Leader, a Boston cancer patient. At that time Vaughn told Forbes reporter, “... all I was doing was a little bit for a young man. I hope it gave him just a little more strength to push on, to keep going.” He speaks constantly to groups of inner-city schoolchildren, urging them to stay in school. Vaughn also signs and sends get-well cards and uses the proceeds from formal autograph signings to fund cultural outings for poor children. He feels that this is where the real heroism lies, not in a breathtaking homerun.

In 1995 Vaughn played a large part in the Sox’s winning the Eastern Division Championship, as did the newly acquired Jose Canseco even though it was reported in October of 1995 that he and Canseco had let their teammates down in the first two games of the playoffs against the Cleveland Indians. The Red Sox lost both times, including a 4-0 loss, leaving them one game from elimination in the best-of-five series. Both Vaughn and Canseco went hitless in 10 at-bats. Vaughn, a major playing force during the 1995 season, did not meet with success early in the play-offs. However, regarding the down streak, Boston manager Kevin Kennedy said, “I know this, Mo Vaughn wants to do well for his team, Boston, the fans, his family and himself, so nobody feels any worse than he does. He wants to look good. This isn’t the last series he is going to play in, and this series isn’t over yet.”

Most Valuable Player

As it turned out, Vaughn won the American League’s Most Valuable Player award in the winter of 1995 as a result of his .300 batting average, 39 home runs, 126 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, team leadership, and community service. He won the award in one of the closest, most controversial votes in history, edging out Cleveland Indians left fielder Albert Belle. Although Belle was known to be uncooperative and surly with the fans and media, Vaughn certainly had the numbers to support his win, including the numerous home runs hit in Fenway Park, especially unfavorable to left-handed hitters like Vaughn. He continued to play the game with the enthusiasm of a Little Leaguer.

During the 1995 season the Red Sox soared because of Vaughn. Coming off of three straight losing seasons, the team was expected to finish fourth in their division, particularly since pitcher Roger Clemens (an MVP winner) was out for 31 games at the start of the season with tendinitis and Jose Canseco (another MVP winner) was out for 32 games in the early season with groin strain. Third baseman Tim Naehring felt that Vaughn possessed more than great athletic skills and attributed the MVP award to his presence, confidence and positive attitude. Canseco felt that Vaughn carried the team during the 1995 season and shortstop teammate John Valentin felt that he meant everything to the team who had won the American League Championship. Not only was Vaughn a powerful hitter, but a big moneymaker as well, earning $2.7 million in 1995.

During this time Vaughn also actively supported the Food Bank, the Jimmy Fund, and the Boys and Girls Club in addition to his Mo Vaughn Youth Development Program. At a news conference held at Vaughn’s community center for youth in Boston after he received the award, he credited the kids with helping him to win the award as much as anything. Vaughn was further honored that year by being selected to play in his first All-Star Game and he was named the American League’s Player of the Week. Vaughn also received the 1995 Bart Giamatti Award by B.A.T. (Baseball Assistance Team) for his community service.

Serving Others

Vaughn, considered one of the nicest players in baseball, is actively involved in the Boston community. The project closest to his heart is the Mo Vaughn Youth Development Program in Dorchester, which he co-founded in 1994 with two of his childhood friends, Bryan Wilson and Roosevelt Smith. The program includes an after school center where 27 kids ages 13-16 can get help with school work, have a safe place to play, and develop self-esteem and motivation to excel in life. The highly successful program has a waiting list with plans to open centers in other Boston areas. Through this program, a health fair was arranged at which 7,000 community members were able to receive check-ups. Additionally, 2,000 children attended the circus free of charge through the program, which also arranges for underprivileged children to attend the ballet, opera, science fairs and other cultural activities. Vaughn told Major League Baseball For Kids in July of 1996, “Most people pay a lot of attention to the A or B student, but I want to take that kid who’s at risk and give him or her an opportunity. Most of the time, inner city kids have been put in bad situations they have no control over, and people develop negative attitudes about them. I just want these kids to have a chance at success.” He has regularly spent time in Boston schools and made many visits to the Charles Taylor Elementary School in Mattapan, Massachusetts as part of the Red Sox’s “Adopt-A-School” program. In November of 1995 Vaughn’s appearance at a Cape Cod auction helped to generate $15,000 for “Dream Day” which sponsors outings for children with cancer and other life threatening diseases. While speaking with young students, he steers them into action and away from blaming their lack of achievement on circumstances. The success of Vaughn’s program is spoken through the attending students, who credit him for helping them to stay in school, get better grades and think more positively. Vaughn has said that he feels successful if he can impact four or five kids out of 300, with more than that being a bonus.

Vaughn immediately establishes rapport with students, wearing baggy sweats and sporting earrings, a tatoo, and a backwards hat. His message to youth centers on staying away from drugs, believing in oneself and staying in school. Vaughn has been on a mission to use his love of baseball to reach kids and it works. He was Grand Marshal of Boston’s Christmas parade in 1994 and he arranged for 250 Boys and Girls Club children to a attend a performance of the “Nutcracker Suite.” As quoted in Forbes, Vaughn “... want[s] to be remembered as a person who played hard every day, and cared about winning, and helped the kids and people who are not as fortunate....” While having been described as the Red Sox’s most lovable player, loved by fans, both young and old, he is far from self-righteous, tending to be rowdy on road trips and in the locker room, where he dances to rap music.

Today’s Vaughn

One of the best hitters in the major leagues, Vaughn averaged .301 at plate, 31 homers, and 103 RBIs for the 1994-96 seasons. He has been compared to Barry Larkin, shortstop for Cincinnati Reds, both of whom showed potential at an early age, came from big households with strong parents, and grew up learning right from wrong. Vaughn, who walked the straight and narrow while growing up, learned in college the combination of hard work, sacrifice and discipline which paid off. While he was easily the most popular Red Sox player of his time in 1995, he became an even better hitter after 1995, tightening up his swing, moving closer to the plate, and able to hit any pitched ball.

The All-Star Vaughn was referred to as the heart and soul of the team by manager Kevin Kennedy. In the early season of 1996 he injured his finger, but continued to play, being named the American League’s Player of the month in May of 1996 and player of the week for the week of September 8-14, again becoming a top contender for the MVP award. In March of 1996, Vaughn agreed to a three-year $18.6 million contract with the Red Sox, making him the highest paid player in the team’s history, with an average annual salary of $6.2 million. He said that signing the deal was perhaps the highlight of his life. Although, regarding his enormous salary, Vaughn says, “I always laugh when I think about getting paid to play this game.” He just loves the game and loves having a positive impact on America’s youth.

However, things took a dip for the Red Sox in early 1997 with the loss of veteran players Jose Canseco, Roger Clemens and Mike Greenwell. Vaughn decided not to worry about where the team was going though, focusing on his job as a ballplayer. He hoped to grow professionally by becoming more patient, increasing his walk total and decreasing his strikeouts. Vaughn remains committed to going out there and giving it his best, regardless of uneasiness concerning the team’s performance.

During the early 1997 season Vaughn was on the disabled list because of arthroscopic surgery on his left knee to replace torn cartilage, but after the All-Star Break, he returned to play, hitting a home run his first game back. A great baseball star and conscientious champion for America’s youth, Mo Vaughn continues to prove that he is still the “Hit Dog” both on and off the field.

Sources

Periodicals

Boston Sports WebRing, Rayburn, Justin (owner), Internet:

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Track/4242. Mo Vaughn Website.

The Detroit News, Oct 5, 1995, p. C1.

Ebony, July, 1996, p. 100.

Forbes, Mar 14, 1994, p. S58.

Jet, Dec 1995, p. 52; Mar 11, 1996, p. 46.

Major League Baseball for Kids, Major League Baseball Properties,

Inc., Internet: http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com/special/mo.sml.

The New York Times, Aug 12, 1993, p. B13; Mar 23, 1997, sec 8, p. 2.

Sports Illustrated, Apr 1, 1991, p. 51; June 7, 1993, p. 62;

Aug 2, 1993, p. 14; Oct 2, 1995, p. 42.

Sports Illustrated for Kids, Sep 1996, p. 24.

—Marilyn Williams