Mo Vaughn

1967-

American baseball player

Known as much for his athletic prowess as for his good-guy persona, baseball player Mo Vaughn is one of the most popular sports figures of the 1990s and early 2000s. During his heyday with the Boston Red Sox in the mid-90s, the hefty slugger built a reputation as one of the most powerful hitters in the game. Vaughn was also widely regarded as the clubhouse leader who roused the Sox to a 1995 playoff. That year, the two-time All-Star was voted American League Most Valuable Player. In one of the most lucrative deals in baseball, $80 million for six years, Vaughn signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels in 1998; however, a series of injuries hampered his playing time and performance. Vaughn's talents seemed on the decline when he played with the New York Mets in 2002, but the charismatic player showed no signs of retiring.

Born on December 15, 1967, in Norwalk, Connecticut, Maurice Samuel Vaughn is the son of Leroy, a former high school principal, and Shirley, a former elementary school teacher. He grew up in Norwalk with his two older sisters, Catherine and Donna. When young Vaughn was two years old, his mother taught him how to hit a baseball in the family's yard. Although her son was right-handed, she taught him her left-handed stance, which he never altered.

As a ten-year-old in Little League, Vaughn had become such a powerful slugger that opposing teams' pitchers were often told to walk him intentionally. A roly-poly child, he shed his baby fat playing baseball and football, and honed his skills by playing with older athletes. As a hefty, muscular prep school student at

Trinity-Pawling in Pawling, New York, Vaughn practiced baseball devotedly with his father. Upon graduation he was offered a football scholarship from Miami State University, but he turned it down on his father's insistence. Instead, Vaughn played baseball for Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

Known as Maurice throughout his childhood, Vaughn was dubbed "Mo" by a Seton Hall athletic director. When he was only a freshman, he broke the university's career home run record, slugging twenty-eight home runs. During the three years that he attended Seton Hall, he held a .417 batting average and was named to the All-America team every year. Known as Hit Dog among his friends, the college star was named Big East Conference Player of the Decade. During summers he played baseball in the Cape Cod League.

Honed Batting Skills

In the 1989 major-league baseball draft, Vaughn was selected 23rd overall by the Boston Red Sox. His three years in the Sox's minor-league farm system was perhaps the most trying period in the young athlete's career. Not an overnight success in pro baseball, Vaughn suffered through batting slumps that damaged his confidence. After starting off the Red Sox's 1992 season with a poor .189 average, he was shuttled back temporarily to the minor leagues—a move that hurt the rookie player, but that ultimately made him more determined.

Fortunately, the Red Sox employed a gifted batting coach, Mike Easler, known as the Hit Man. Easler worked with Vaughn on his batting stance, preparation, and swing, giving the young player the skills he needed to succeed. "The Hit Man taught me to take all my anger—and after I was sent back to the minors there was a lot of anger—and channel it into the barrel of the bat," Vaughn told Gerry Callahan of Sports Illustrated. Under Easler's tutelage Vaughn developed into a powerhouse hitter the likes of which pro baseball had rarely seen before. Throughout his career Vaughn would express gratitude toward Easler, whom he credited with saving his career.

During his first two full seasons with the Red Sox, 1993-94, Vaughn established himself as a force to be reckoned with. The heaviest player on his team, he used his 6-foot-1, 140-pound frame to his advantage when he stepped up to the plate, socking twenty-nine home runs his first year, and ending the 1994 season with a .310 batting average. But it was during his third year on the team that the 27-year-old first-baseman really shined. After leading the Sox to a division title in September 1995, he emerged onto the field amid chants of "Mo, Mo, Mo" from an adoring crowd at Boston's Fenway Park.

Recognized as the heart and soul of his team, Vaughn was voted the league's Most Valuable Player in 1995. Two other players, Albert Belle and Edgar Martinez, had outdone Vaughn with higher numbers; Belle had fifty home runs, while Vaughn had thirty-nine. But it was not only statistics that determined this award. Players recognized that Vaughn was a leader who infused the Sox with a determination and a belief in themselves to win. "Mo has been carrying this team consistently, day in and day out, and that to me is what makes an MVP," Boston player, Jose Canseco told Callahan of Sports Illustrated. "It's his presence," said third-baseman Tim Naehring. "He brings a confidence and an attitude to this team that is hard to explain."

Vaughn's contributions extended beyond the baseball diamond and into the greater Boston community. In 1994 he established the Mo Vaughn Youth Development Program, a counseling facility for inner-city kids in Dorcester. The Red Sox star also participated in an adopt-a-school program that involved his regular visits to an elementary school in urban Mattapan. Eager to help children, especially those in need, Vaughn had an unusual ability to connect with kids and to influence them as a role model and idol. The slugger captured media attention in 1993 when, before a game, he told an eleven-year-old cancer patient that he would try to hit a home run for him. The home run came in his third at-bat.

Vaughn's performance was stronger than ever in his remaining three years with the Red Sox. In 1996 he knocked forty-four home runs and batted .326; two years later he hit for a career high .337 average. But an ongoing feud between Vaughn and the Sox's general manager, Dan Duquette, prompted the All-Star player to test the free-agent market after the 1998 season. Duquette had told the media that he was concerned about the player's alcohol use after Vaughn flipped his truck while driving home from a strip club the previous winter. Vaughn, acquitted of drunken-driving charges in the incident, complained that Duquette was trying to wage a smear campaign against him. In August 1998, Boston's powerhouse hitter announced that he was leaving. He had been courted by the Anaheim Angels with one of the most lucrative deals in baseball: a six-year, $80 million contract.

Plagued by Injuries

After he left the Sox, Vaughn's luck took a turn for the worse. On opening day with the Angels, he fell down the stairs of the visitor's dugout while chasing a foul pop-up. (The incident prompted many major-league clubs to put fences in front of dugouts to prevent future accidents.) Injuries kept Vaughn on the sidelines briefly and affected his swing for the remainder of the season. His batting average dropped below .300 for the first time in six years, but he hit a respectable thirty-three home runs and 108 RBIs. Injuries again sidelined Vaughn in 2001, when he discovered that he had been playing with a ruptured tendon in his left arm. Surgery kept him out of the game for the entire 2001 season.

Chronology

1967	Born on December 15 in Norwalk, CT
1989	Graduates from Seton Hall University
1989	Drafted by Boston Red Sox
1993	Plays first full major-league season
1995	Voted league's Most Valuable Player
1998	Signs free-agent contract with Anaheim Angels
2001	Signs with New York Mets

Related Biography: Hitting Coach Mike Easler

Born on November 29, 1950, in Cleveland, Ohio, Michael Anthony Easler was drafted by the Houston Astros in the early 1970s. A skillful and powerful hitter, Easler was less adept in the outfield. For nearly a decade he languished in the minor leagues before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1980 and batting a strong .338 in his first full season. Traded to the Boston Red Sox in 1984, Easler briefly played first base, but was ultimately moved to designated hitter. In 1986 he joined the New York Yankees, but despite batting an impressive average he was released within a year. Easler then took up work as a hitting coach for various teams, including the Boston Red Sox (1993-96). The "Hit Man" is perhaps best known for working his magic on Boston's Mo Vaughn, transforming the slugger into one of the game's most formidable hitters. In 1996 Vaughn hired Easler as his personal hitting coach. The two remain close friends and collaborators.

Returning to baseball, Vaughn signed with the New York Mets in December 2001. But the player's comeback was marred by yet another injury—a fractured right hand, sustained in April 2002. When he returned to the game, Vaughn seemed to struggle with his confidence. Time away from baseball had resulted in significant weight gain, and the once powerful hitter's bat speed had slowed. Vaughn scoffed at any suggestions that he would retire at age thirty-four. Meanwhile, the Mets threatened to terminate his contract if the slugger did not lose weight and get into shape before the start of the 2003 season. "I'm not going out like this," a determined Vaughn told Pete Caldera of the Record (Bergen County, New Jersey). "I want to be the dude that I was. I think I can play this game five more years."

Career Statistics

Yr	Team	Avg	GP	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB
ANA: Anaheim Angels; BOS: Boston Red Sox; NYM: New York Mets.
1991	BOS	.260	74	219	21	57	4	32	26	43	2
1992	BOS	.234	113	355	42	83	13	57	42	67	3
1993	BOS	.297	152	539	86	160	29	101	79	130	4
1994	BOS	.310	111	394	65	122	26	82	57	112	4
1995	BOS	.300	140	550	98	165	39	126	68	150	11
1996	BOS	.326	161	635	118	207	44	143	95	154	2
1997	BOS	.315	141	527	91	166	35	96	86	154	2
1998	BOS	.337	154	609	107	205	40	115	61	144	0
1999	ANA	.281	139	524	63	147	33	108	54	127	0
2000	ANA	.272	161	614	93	167	36	117	79	181	2
2002	NYM	.259	139	487	67	126	26	72	59	145	0
TOTAL		.294	1485	5453	851	1605	325	1049	711	1407	30

Awards and Accomplishments

1987–89	All-America Team
1989	Big East Conference Player of the Decade
1995	American League Most Valuable Player
1995	All-Star
1998	All-Star

Whether or not Vaughn will make his promised comeback remains to be seen. When he does retire, Vaughn will be remembered for his batting prowess, charisma, large-heartedness, and leadership abilities. It is with this combination of talents and qualities that Vaughn has made his own personal, and very significant, contribution to modern baseball.