Mo Vaughn (born December 15, 1967 in Norwalk, Connecticut), nicknamed "Hit Dog", a nickname given to him by his Omega Psi Phi fraternity brothers at Seton Hall University, was a Major League Baseball first baseman from 1991 to 2003. Vaughn won the American League MVP award in 1995 and was a key factor in the Boston Red Sox's 1995 and 1998 playoff teams. He was noted for "crowding the plate"; his stance was such that his front elbow often appear to be hovering in the strike zone, which intimidated pitchers into throwing wide and outside. Because of Vaughn and others like Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball instituted regulations in 2001 that changed the strike zone from a low outside box, to a high inside one; the boundaries used decades ago.
