As manager James Barton "Mickey" Vernon (April 22, 1918 – September 24, 2008) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for the Washington Senators (1939–1948, 1950–1955), Cleveland Indians (1949–1950, 1958), Boston Red Sox (1956–1957), Milwaukee Braves (1959) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1960).

Mickey Vernon was born in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, and attended Villanova University, before making his major league debut on July 8, 1939.

In December 1948, Vernon and Early Wynn were sent to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Joe Haynes, Ed Klieman and Eddie Robinson.

On September 1, 1960, after a season spent as the Pittsburgh Pirates' first-base coach, Vernon was placed on the active list when MLB rosters expanded to 40 men.

Satchel Paige once said, "If I had a two run lead, and the bases were loaded in the ninth inning, and Mickey Vernon was up...I'd walk him and pitch to the next hitter.

"[4] Vernon's career as a coach and manager began during his 1960 stint on the staff of his longtime friend, Pirates' skipper Danny Murtaugh.

Inheriting the name and home field of the 1901–1960 Washington franchise, now the Minnesota Twins, the expansion Senators were hastily constructed with an undercapitalized ownership, an MLB roster of castoff players,[5] and an almost-nonexistent farm system.

Vernon remained in the game into the 1980s as a major league coach for the Pirates (returning there for a second term in 1964), St. Louis Cardinals (1965), Montreal Expos (1977–1978) and Yankees (1982).

He also managed at the Triple-A and Double-A levels of the minor leagues, and served as a roving batting instructor for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansas City Royals and Yankees before retiring from baseball.

[7] In August 2008, Vernon was named as one of the ten former players who began their careers before 1943 to be considered by the Veterans Committee for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009.