Former Boston Red Sox player Mo Vaughn was one of the league’s most devastating power hitters during his short time in the MLB.
He is remembered as a burly left-handed presence in the batter’s box.
5️⃣0️⃣5️⃣ feet. 😳
This @MoVaughn_42 homer was an absolute NUKE. 💪 pic.twitter.com/Ccch6kDczK
— MLB Vault (@MLBVault) December 15, 2020
In an era when power numbers began to get inflated, Vaughn held his own.
At his peak, he was arguably the league’s premier hitting threat.
However, it was not a long-lived career as Vaughn retired from the league relatively early on.
This was due to an injury bug that plagued him as he aged and ultimately cut down a career that was on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
Here is a look at Vaughn’s career and what derailed it, along with what he has been up to after his playing career.
Becoming a Red Sox MVP
Vaughn was drafted in the first round by the Red Sox in the 1989 draft.
He spent little time in the minors, getting the call up to the big leagues during the 1991 season.
However, he struggled to gain a solid footing during the first two years of his career.
In 1993, he established himself within the Red Sox lineup.
Over 152 games, Vaughn hit 29 home runs with 101 RBI, posting a .297 batting average.
This was just the beginning for Vaughn, though, as he began building off this performance in the following year.
HBD to the Hit Dog @MoVaughn_42 pic.twitter.com/oOlSzFSeN9
— Section 10 Podcast (@Section10Pod) December 15, 2020
After he stood out in the strike-shortened 1994 season, he broke out in 1995.
The left-hander hit 39 home runs with a league leading 126 RBI and a .300 average, earning his first All-Star appearance and an MVP award.
He followed this up in 1996 with yet another All-Star appearance and even more staggering power numbers.
In a league leading 752 plate appearances, Vaughn slugged 44 home runs with 143 RBI and a .326 average.
This was at the core of a four year stretch where Vaughn was utterly dominant.
From 1994-1998, Vaughn hit at least .300 each season.
#OTD in 1998, Mo Vaughn hit a walk-off grand slam to beat the Mariners, and "Dirty Water" blasted through the Fenway speakers in glorious victory formation for the very first time. pic.twitter.com/wtUGBkXrkz
— Gabrielle (@gfstarr1) April 10, 2020
On top of this, he hit 30-plus home runs in each year but the shortened 1994 season where he was well on pace for it.
Vaughn Signs With Angels
Following the 1998 season, Vaughn signed a six-year, $80 million contract with the Los Angeles Angels.
While he hit well in his first two seasons, there were glimpses at what would eventually derail his career.
In 1999, he was hampered by petty injuries that limited him to 131 games.
However, the truly devastating injuries would come prior to the 2001 season as Vaughn suffered a ruptured tendon in his left arm.
This injury caused him to miss the entirety of the 2001 season.
Vaughn never seemed to recover from this as his numbers never rebounded.
Before the 2002 season, Vaughn was traded to the New York Mets.
He returned in the 2002 season but was quickly sidelined by yet another injury, this time a fractured right hand.
The continued time away from the sport slowed down Vaughn’s bat speed, reducing his power at the plate.
In 2002, he hit 26 home runs and hit .259.
He would retire the next year after a 2003 season that saw him hit just three home runs with a .190 average.
It was also revealed that he had purchased performance enhancing drugs in the 2007 Mitchell Report.
When he retired, Vaughn had totaled 1,620 hits and 328 home runs in just a 12-year career.
Prior to his injuries, he was a player that was well on pace for a Hall of Fame selection.
Vaughn Post-Retirement
After retiring from baseball, Vaughn has remained away from the sport.
He has instead taken ventures in various business avenues, many of which have contributed greatly towards renovating metropolitan areas.
One such was a real estate company called OMNI New York LLC.
Vaughn and his company started in New York and has rehabbed nearly 8,000 affordable housing units.
“I started that — my first 289 units in the Bronx, N.Y., and from that, it snowballed to where we own and operate over 14,000,” Vaughn said in the Providence Journal. “Anytime you can turn somebody’s living conditions around, it’s a great thing. It’s very rewarding.”
Today, Vaughn owns a trucking company whose advertisements can be seen in the Cleveland Indians stadium.
Mo Vaughn, who has a home and business ventures in the area, advertises at Progressive Field. pic.twitter.com/QrNSTRGWJy
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) August 21, 2017
While Vaughn’s career was sidetracked due to injuries he suffered as his career progressed, he hasn’t let it slow him down.
He is a great story of a player expanding his talents off the field and helping build communities with their capital.
While he will likely never make it into the Hall of Fame, he was clearly a dominant slugger in the league throughout the 1990s.
NEXT: What Happened To Tim Wakefield? (Complete Story)
Phil LaChance says
Informative piece on Mo Vaughn, Thanks for that
I saw Mo doing post game analysis after a sox game and wondered if he was going to be a main stay.
Glad to see he is viable and successful, too.
Phil in Beverly MA
Tim says
He was awesome.