When Ashburn joined the NL's Philadelphia Phillies in 1948, Harry "The Hat" Walker, who had won the 1947 batting championship, was the starting center fielder. But Ashburn took over the job and held it for twelve years.
The speedy Ashburn batted .333, led the league in stolen bases with 32, and was named rookie of the year. An outstanding leadoff man, Ashburn lacked power, but he had an extremely good batting eye, enabling him to earn a lot of walks, and he beat out many infield hits, leading one sportswriter to comment, "He's no .300 hitter. He hits .100 and runs .200."
Ashburn hit over .300 in 9 of his 15 major league seasons and led the league with .338 in 1955 and .350 in 1958. He was also the league leader in hits with 221 in 1951, 205 in 1953, and 215 in 1958; in triples with 14 in 1950 and 13 in 1958; and in walks with 125 in 1954, 94 in 1957, 97 in 1958, and 116 in 1960. An outstanding defensive center fielder, Ashburn had more than 500 putouts in four different seasons and he tied Max Carey's record by leading in putouts and total chances nine times.
Ashburn was traded to the Chicago Cubs after the 1959 season and in 1962 he became one of the original members of the New York Mets. He batted .308 and was selected to play in the All-Star Game for the fifth time. He might have had a few years left, but he retired after that season, in part because of frustration at the ineptness of his teammates.
In 1962, Ashburn became a broadcaster for the Phillies and he also wrote a sports column for a Philadelphia newspaper from 1974 to 1991. He died of a heart attack in a New York when the Phillies were playing there.
