Maurice Samuel Vaughn (born December 15, 1967), nicknamed "the Hit Dog", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets from 1991 to 2003.

Vaughn earned the Jack Kaiser Award as MVP of the 1987 Big East Conference baseball tournament while keying the Pirates' championship run.

He was noted for "crowding the plate"; his stance was such that his front elbow often appeared to be hovering in the strike zone, which intimidated pitchers into throwing outside pitches.

Though Vaughn's powerful personality and extensive charity work made him a popular figure in Boston, he had many issues with the Red Sox management and local media; his disagreements with Boston Globe sports columnist Will McDonough and Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette were particularly acute.

Incidents in which he allegedly punched a man in the mouth outside of a nightclub and crashed his truck while returning home from a strip club in Providence led to further rifts with the administration.

Vaughn hit a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning of Opening Day at Fenway Park against the Seattle Mariners in 1998.

He started his Anaheim career by falling down the visitor's dugout steps on his first play of his first game, badly spraining his ankle.

Vaughn was nevertheless seen as a viable middle of the line-up producer before the 2002 season and was traded to the New York Mets for Kevin Appier on December 27, 2001.

This prompted the normally mild-mannered Vaughn to go off on a profanity-laced tirade, stating such statements as, "They ain't got no flags hanging at friggin' Edison Field, so the hell with them."

[9][10] With the Mets, Vaughn was counted upon to be a key catalyst in a revamped lineup that featured imports Roger Cedeño, Jeromy Burnitz, and Roberto Alomar.

[13] In January 1998, Vaughn was arrested and charged with drunk driving after crashing into a disabled car on the side of the road and struggling with field sobriety tests in Norwood, Massachusetts.

He purchased the Noble Drew Ali Plaza in Brownsville, Brooklyn for $21 million, and plans to add massive security upgrades and renovate it.

[16] He has also been involved in refurbishing the Whitney Young Manor in Yonkers, New York, a development first constructed by a company owned by his hero Jackie Robinson.

Besides the New York metropolitan area, his company is also involved in projects in Cheyenne, Miami and Las Vegas and has expressed an interest in Boston.

[17] In January 2009, it had been reported by WCVB-TV in Boston that Vaughn had recently committed to investing "$6 million in improvements to the 168-unit Sycamore Village complex that will include new appliances and exterior renovations.