Michael Krsnich was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 left fielder

Left fielder

In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played for the Milwaukee Braves during the 1960 and 1962 seasons. Listed at 6' 1", 190 lb., he batted and threw right handed. His older brother, Rocky Krsnich

Rocky Krsnich

Rocky Krsnich is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. Krsnich originally signed as a free agent in 1945 with the Philadelphia Phillies. The following year, he joined the New York Yankees organization. In 1948, Krsnich was selected in the Minor League Draft by the Chicago White Sox...

, also played in the majors from 1949 to 1953.

Born in West Allis, Wisconsin

West Allis, Wisconsin

West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 61,254 at the 2000 census. Its name derives from Edward P. Allis, who started the Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company in the 19th century. The site of the town was...

, Mike Krsnich was one of many baseball players whose career was interrupted during Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

 conflict.

Krsnich played briefly for the Braves in part of two seasons. He had previously signed by the Philadelphia Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 before landing in Milwaukee, playing mostly at outfield and as pinch-hitter in just 21 games.

Following his major league stint, Krsnich joined the Taiyo Whales

Yokohama BayStars

The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....

 of the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese Central League

Central League

The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...

 from 1963 to 1965. He slugged a .500 average in his first two years in Japan, belting 36 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s in 1964 to finish second to the legendary Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh

Sadaharu Oh, or Wang Chenchih , is a retired Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager. He batted and threw left-handed and primarily played first base. Oh, who was born in Sumida, Tokyo the son of a Taiwanese father and a Japanese mother, had originally signed with the powerhouse Yomiuri...

, who hit 55 homers.

Krsnich opened 1966 with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes

Kintetsu Buffaloes

The was a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka, Japan, which were in the Pacific League. The team was owned by Kinki Nippon Railway Co. and later sold to the Orix Group, the owner of the Orix BlueWave baseball team, in 2004...

 and joined the Hanshin Tigers

Hanshin Tigers

The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Koshien, Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and are in the Central League. Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd., the subsidiary of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc., owns the Hanshin Tigers directly...

 for the last half of the 1967 season. In his five years in Japan, he hit a .265 average with a .326 on-base percentage and a slugging of .475. He also played 13 Minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 seasons between 1950 and 1969, batting .288 with 127 home runs in 1237 games.

Krsnich died in Mesquite, Nevada

Mesquite, Nevada

Mesquite is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 15,277. The city is located in the Virgin River Valley...

, at the age of 79.

Sources