Professional Baseball Career
Willard Hershberger signed with the New York Yankees, but did not make his major league debut until the relatively late age of 27, after eight minor league seasons. He was a member of the Yankees' Newark Bears farm team which posted an outstanding 109–43 record in 1937. On December 3, 1937, he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for shortstop Eddie Miller and $40,000.
During his three-year tenure with the Reds, Willard Hershberger was a backup to regular catcher Ernie Lombardi. While Hershberger, who was smaller and more athletic than the lumbering Lombardi, lacked power (he hit no home runs in his major league career), he was a good hitter for average, batting .276 in 49 games in his rookie season, and .345 in 63 games in his second season. He was a part of the Reds' 1939 National League championship team. However, they were swept by Hershberger's former team, the New York Yankees, in the World Series. It was the Reds' first appearance in the "Fall Classic" since the controversial 1919 World Series. Hershberger had one basehit in two at-bats.
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