Elite power hitter below 6 feet height

[dominik]

Most great sluggers are tall guys about 6"2-6"4. who are the best sluggers below 6 feet height? to be considered the mentioned guys should have been a very good slugger at least for a couple of years.

my first pick would probably be mel ott. he was of course helped by his ballpark (power numbers not hitting in general!) but still he was a very good power hitter for his height of 5"9.

[KCGHOST]

Mickey Mantle at 5'11" wasn't a slouch.

[Bigfoot 88]

Gary Sheffield

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Willie Mays and Gary Sheffield are both listed under 6 feet. Eddie Matthews is listed at 6'1". I met Matthews at a baseball card show in the early 1990's. There is no way he was 6'1".

[BigRon]

first, of course, people- and players- have been getting bigger (taller and heavier) over time. In 1920 a player 6' tall and 190 pounds was considered a big guy. Now, that's average- or less.

In any case, some obvious ones;
Willie Mays was 5'10" or 5'11', depending on source.
Mickey Mantle was 5'11" or 6'0", depending on source.
Harmon Killebrew
Al Rosen
Roy Campanella
Yogi Berra
Hack Wilson
Richie "Dick" Allen
Jimmy Wynn

[GiambiJuice]

The first guys who came to mind were Hack Wilson (5'6) and Matt Stairs (5'9). Stairs had tremendous power, but I doubt anyone would consider him an "elite power hitter".

[Dude Paskert]

Prince Fielder is shown at 5'11", as is Rogers Hornsby.

Hack Wilson had an extremely unusual build...thick bull neck, big upper body, very tiny feet (think size 5-6). The feet are pretty freaky if you look closely.
Charlie Keller was 5'10", but was probably on the edge of being considered an elite power hitter.
I thought Jimmie Foxx was 5'10-11", but Baseball-Reference has him at 6'.

[BigRon]

Willie Mays and Gary Sheffield are both listed under 6 feet. Eddie Matthews is listed at 6'1". I met Matthews at a baseball card show in the early 1990's. There is no way he was 6'1".

I saw Mathews through much of his career, including several times live at the ballpark. He definitely looked like a guy who was about 6' or 6'1". Of course this was in the late 50s- early 60s. You saw him 35 years later when he was in his 60s. It's amazing how much some people shrink as they age. Not everyone, of course, but lots of people. True story- I worked for years with a guy- he was 6'4" in his early 20s- he's now in his late 50s and is 6'1" max. So, it happens.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I saw Mathews through much of his career, including several times live at the ballpark. He definitely looked like a guy who was about 6' or 6'1". Of course this was in the late 50s- early 60s. You saw him 35 years later when he was in his 60s. It's amazing how much some people shrink as they age. Not everyone, of course, but lots of people. True story- I worked for years with a guy- he was 6'4" in his early 20s- he's now in his late 50s and is 6'1" max. So, it happens.

Perhaps my memory is fuzzy. Matthews looks about the same height as Aaron in these photos.

Sluggers-066-Hank-Aaron-Eddie-Mathews.jpg

Aaron-Matthews.jpg

[Dude Paskert]

Perhaps my memory is fuzzy. Matthews looks about the same height as Aaron in these photos.

Boy, Eddie is really having a great time in that bottom photo...at least Hank is making some effort to smile. Mathews looks like he's about to puke.
My father told me that Eddie Mathews ran some batting cages between Milwaukee and Chicago after his playing days, anybody else heard about that? I used to frequent Gabby Hartnett's bowling alley when I was a kid, although I don't think his family was involved in it anymore.

[BigRon]

Perhaps my memory is fuzzy. Matthews looks about the same height as Aaron in these photos.

Sluggers-066-Hank-Aaron-Eddie-Mathews.jpg

Aaron-Matthews.jpg

Well, Aaron was 6', so that's about right.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

Prince Fielder is shown at 5'11", as is Rogers Hornsby.

Hack Wilson had an extremely unusual build...thick bull neck, big upper body, very tiny feet (think size 5-6). The feet are pretty freaky if you look closely.
Charlie Keller was 5'10", but was probably on the edge of being considered an elite power hitter.
I thought Jimmie Foxx was 5'10-11", but Baseball-Reference has him at 6'.

This picture just kills me! Check out those feet!

Image17-4.jpg

[Jackaroo Dave]

I think by making the requirement "below" 6 feet, you may miss some people, whereas if you made it "less than or equal to six feet," you'd be more likely to get who you asked for:

According to Baseball-Reference, there are 2160 players at 71", 2717 at 72", and 2260 at 73", about 500 more at 6' than you'd expect with a smooth curve. It seems much more likely to me that players, press agents, and reporters would round up rather than down. (I have never heard of anyone rounding his height down. I'm 5'9" myself, well, I used to be; now I'm 5'8.5".)

I understand the point of making it "below" but I think your data will be distorted.

[Dude Paskert]

Ruth and Gehrig look about as happy in that photo with Hack as Eddie Mathews does with Aaron above.

Don't Hack's calves look about at deep as his shoes are long? His legs actually look thicker than Ruth's, but then a lot of people commented on Ruth's thin calves.

[Joltin' Joe]

Reggie Jackson is listed at 6ft but supposedly he is much shorter than that. Can anyone confirm?

[dgarza]

Gavvy Cravath
Kevin Mitchell
for pitchers, I'm going throw out there Mike Hampton

[Ubiquitous]

Willie Mays and Gary Sheffield are both listed under 6 feet. Eddie Matthews is listed at 6'1". I met Matthews at a baseball card show in the early 1990's. There is no way he was 6'1".

Eddie Mathews was also an old man in the early 1990's.

Here is a photo of Jack Dittmer, Johnny Logan, Eddie Mathews, Jim Pendleton, and Del Crandall in 1953. Dittmer is listed as 6'1", Pendleton as 6', and Del as 6'1".
crandal_4main.jpg

[Ubiquitous]

Reggie Jackson is listed at 6ft but supposedly he is much shorter than that. Can anyone confirm?

Reggie with Fred Lynn (6'1"), Don Baylor (6'1") and Rod Carew (6')

FredLynnDonBaylorReggieJacksonRodCarew_display_image.jpg

Or next to 6' Graig Nettles and 6'1" Sparky Lyle.

yankees1977.jpg

[Joltin' Joe]

Reggie with Fred Lynn (6'1"), Don Baylor (6'1") and Rod Carew (6')

FredLynnDonBaylorReggieJacksonRodCarew_display_image.jpg

Who is to say that these claimed heights are correct? That being said, if Don Baylor is really 6'1", then Lynn is more like 5'11" and Reggie and Carew at 5'9.5" ish......maybe 5'10" if you are generous. I know a guy who is 5'11". He met Reggie face to face and he swears he was about 5'9" and maybe 5'10" tops...

You really need to take the listed height of baseball players with a grain of salt.
I recall seeing a photo of Mike Cameron and Ichiro standing side by side, the supposedly 6'2" Cameron was head to head with the 5'11" Ichiro. My gut tells me that Japanese players' listed height are more accurate than the MLB players. I can't find that pic but here is one that has the 6' Edgar, 6'2" Cameron, 5'11" Ichiro, and the 5'10" Boone. Assuming Ichiro is accurate, I don't see how Cameron can be 6'2", especially since Ichiro is kind of slouching with bent legs. Which makes Edgar not really 6' either....

[Ubiquitous]

Who is to say that these claimed heights are correct? That being said, if Don Baylor is really 6'1", the Lynn is more like 5'11" and Reggie and Carew at 5'9.5" ish......

So everybody is lying? As to their heights in that photo it is going to be off due to the angle of the shoot. The perspective is a bit off. Which is why I added the team photo.

[Joltin' Joe]

So everybody is lying?

Not everyone but I believe most players stretch the truth; especially if someone is 5'11" and a pitcher...
Certainly guys that are 6'4" are probably not going to lie...unless they are guards trying to make it in the NBA...

[Joltin' Joe]

Here is a pic of Reggie with Jeter and CC. I'm going to assume that a guy that is 6'7" is not going to pad his listed height...

[Steven Gallanter]

The first guys who came to mind were Hack Wilson (5'6) and Matt Stairs (5'9). Stairs had tremendous power, but I doubt anyone would consider him an "elite power hitter".

Jimmie "the Toy Cannon" Wynn topped 37 HRs playing 1/2 of his games in the Astrodome during the 67 season of the 63-68 ERA era. Wynn was listed was listed generously at 5'10". I saw the 74 World Series on MLB not too long ago and Wynn looked like a midget; albeit a very muscular midget, as methinks he weighed in at more than 160 lbs.

stevegallanter.wordpress.com

[Jackaroo Dave]

So everybody is lying? As to their heights in that photo it is going to be off due to the angle of the shoot. The perspective is a bit off. Which is why I added the team photo.

No dispute about the photo, but we do have evidence that, yes, the player height of 6' is over-represented in the listings.

[ol' aches and pains]

Ruth and Gehrig look about as happy in that photo with Hack as Eddie Mathews does with Aaron above.

Don't Hack's calves look about at deep as his shoes are long? His legs actually look thicker than Ruth's, but then a lot of people commented on Ruth's thin calves.

Speaking of Hack's shoes, look at the size of his feet compared to Ruth's. Wislon must have worn about a size 5 or 6 shoe.