Introduction
James Percy Mason (born August 14, 1950), is an American Major League Baseball shortstop, who played nine seasons in the major leagues, from 1971 to 1979, for the Washington Senators, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays, and Montreal Expos.
Career
Born in the Alabama port city of Mobile, Mason was a member of the Yankees during the 1976 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds. Although he did not play in the 1976 American League Championship Series, he played three games in the World Series. In his only plate appearance of the series, Mason hit a home run off Pat Zachry. This turned out to be Mason's only postseason appearance, and the Yankees' only home run of their four-game series loss.
Because of Mason's low batting average, which hovered just over .200, his name, along with that of catcher Leo Dixon, was proposed for inclusion in a new term for poor hitting called the Mason Dixon Line (.204), which is closer to .200 than the Mendoza Line of Mario Mendoza (.215).
Mason is one of a handful of players to hit four doubles in one game, doing so while with the Yankees against his former team, the Rangers, at Arlington Stadium on July 8, 1974.