All-Time Indians: Ray Mack

A kid from Cleveland who wanted nothing but to play professional baseball, Ray Mlckovsky ultimately made his dreams come true with his home town team. After High School at John Adams in Cleveland, where he was a stand out baseball player, Ray moved on to Case Institute of Applied Sciences, where he joined the football team. Since Case didn’t field a baseball team, Mlckovsky was unable to prove himself at the collegiate level and while he was drafted by the Chicago Bears, he was overlooked by baseball scouts and went on to play independent baseball in Cleveland. It was here that the Indians took notice and signed him as an amateur free agent in 1937.

During his time in the minors, Mlckovsky changed his name to Mack, making many baseball journalists incredibly happy. He made his debut just one year later, in 1938 and replaced Odell Hale as the starting second baseman in 1940. He quickly made a name for himself in Cleveland, batting .283 and making it to the All-Star game as the back up to future Indian Joe Gordon. Mack was joined there by his fellow Indians middle infielder, Lou Boudreau (also in his first year as a starter), Bob Feller, Rollie Hemsley, Al Milnar and Ken Keltner, the second most All-Stars from Cleveland in a single season (one less than in 1952). While Mack wasn’t the best hitter on the 1940 team (that was Boudreau, who knocked in 101, scored 97 and batted .295), he was a huge part of the offense, especially as a rookie. The combination of that strong offense and great pitching from Feller, Milnar and Al Smith lead to 89 wins and a second place finish in the American League, just one game behind the Detroit Tigers.

The Indians would not reach this level again during Mack’s career and either would Mack, as he never was unable to surpass his rookie numbers. In 1941, Mack did knock in another 44 runs and scored 54, but he batted just .228. He played 145 games that season, his second of four straight seasons with at least 140 games played. He put up similar numbers in the following season as well, batting .225 with 45 RBI. While this was a time where little offense was expected from middle infielders, that prejudice was disappearing as Boudreau, Gordon and others were changing the game.

Mack put up two more similar seasons in 1943 and 44, batting .220 and .232 respectively in his final two seasons as a starter for the Tribe. In the off-season between those two years, Mack was drafted and although he was able to stay home in Ohio, he was unable to play road, week day games, leading to just 83 total games played in the season. In 1945, he moved into a more series role with the Army and missed the entire baseball season, returning to the Indians in 1946. By then, he was just a reserve at the age of 29 and played only 61 games, batting .205. That off-season, the future Hall of Famer, Joe Gordon was brought in from the Yankees to be the starting baseman and there was no room for Mack in Cleveland. He was traded to New York in a separate deal that same year in a genius move that brought in Gene Bearden, Al Gettel and Hal Peck. While Bearden and Gordon would help lead the Indians to a World Series championship in 1948, Mack would play just a single game with the Yankees. After spending most of the season in the minors, he was purchased by the Cubs, where he played his final 21 games.

In the end, both the second baseman who came before Mack, Odell Hale, and the one who came after, Joe Gordon, would have better career numbers than Mack himself, but that should do nothing to dismiss the short career of one the Indians greatest second basemen. Among Tribe second sackers, Mack remains seventh in games played and among the leaders in triples (7th), doubles (8th), RBI (9th) and home runs (10th). Making these numbers even more impressive is the fact that three of the Indians second basemen ahead of him in many of these numbers are Hall of Famers including Gordon, Roberto Alomar and possibly the greatest second baseman in baseball history, Napoleon Lajoie.

He retired after his 1947 season with the Cubs and Mack, who was born, raised and lived in Ohio, died there as well, just 22 years later from cancer. Continuing on in his father’s legacy, Ray’s son Tom Mack played in the NFL for 14 seasons and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.