Ron Hassey
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| Ron Hassey | |||
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| File:Ron Hassey (USA) homerun.jpg | |||
| Catcher | |||
| Born: February 27, 1953 Tucson, Arizona |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 23, 1978, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 3, 1991, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .266 | ||
| Home runs | 71 | ||
| Runs batted in | 438 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Ronald William Hassey (born February 27, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. Hassey began his career with the Cleveland Indians (1978–1984) after the Indians drafted him in the 18th round of the 1976 MLB amateur draft. He would also play for the Chicago Cubs (1984), New York Yankees (1985–1986),[1] Chicago White Sox (1986–1987), Oakland Athletics (1988–1990), and Montreal Expos (1991). Hassey is the only catcher in major league history to catch two perfect games (the first with Len Barker in 1981[2] and his second with Dennis Martínez in 1991[3] ).
Contents
Early life
Hassey is the son of Joseph Bill Hassey, a former baseball player in the New York Yankees’ minor-league system. He was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, and attended Tucson High Magnet School where, in 1972, his team went undefeated and won the state championship. He then went to the University of Arizona coached by Jerry Kindall. In Hassey's senior year (1976) the Wildcats won their the first of three NCAA Championship's under Kindall. Hassey's father also played for Tucson High Magnet School and the University of Arizona.
Playing career (1976–91)
Minor Leagues
Hassey was drafted by the Clevelend Indians in the 18th round of the 1976 amateur draft. He played for the San Jose Bees, the Williamsport Tomahawks, the Toledo Mud Hens, and the Portland Beavers.
MLB Regular season
He made his Major League Baseball debut on April 23, 1978, and played his final game on September 3, 1991. He played in 1,192 regular season games, finishing with a .266 batting average, 71 home runs, and 438 runs batted in. He had the highest average among all catchers in the 1980 baseball season with a .318 batting average. Hassey holds the distinction of being the only player to catch two perfect games in the major leagues. On May 15, 1981, Hassey caught starting pitcher Len Barker's perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 28, 1991, he caught Dennis Martínez's perfect game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. While with the Oakland Athletics he was known for almost exclusively catching all of starting pitcher Bob Welch's games, most notably during the 1990 season in which Welch won 27 games and earned the Cy Young Award trophy.[4] On June 13, 1984, Hassey was involved in a high-profile trade, when the Cleveland Indians traded him along with Rick Sutcliffe and George Frazier to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Joe Carter, Mel Hall and Don Schulze.[5]
MLB Postseason
Hassey played for the Athletics in three World Series. He was a member of the A's team that lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series, and he was catching Dennis Eckersley during the legendary Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run.[6] He was also a member of the A's team that defeated the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 World Series (though he did not play in the series), and lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series. In five postseason series, Hassey tallied an impressive career postseason .323 batting average.
Post-playing career (1992–present)
Hassey was a coach for the expansion Colorado Rockies from 1993–1995, and for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996. He then served as a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1997 to 2003. He managed the Carolina Mudcats in 2004, and from 2005–06 served as a bench coach for the Seattle Mariners under manager Mike Hargrove. Hargrove and Hassey played together for the Cleveland Indians from 1979-1984. He spent the 2011 season managing the Miami Marlins' Class A Affiliate, the Jupiter Hammerheads. He spent the 2012-2013 season managing, Miami MarlinsTriple A Affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs. The last game for the New Orleans Zephyrs, Hassey announced he was going to retire from baseball.
See also
References
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External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Baseball Gauge
- Retrosheet
- Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
| Preceded by | Colorado Rockies Bench Coach 1994 |
Succeeded by Don Zimmer |
- Pages with broken file links
- 1953 births
- Living people
- Arizona Diamondbacks scouts
- Arizona Wildcats baseball players
- Baseball players from Arizona
- Chicago Cubs players
- Chicago White Sox players
- Cleveland Indians players
- Colorado Rockies (baseball) coaches
- Hawaii Islanders players
- Leones del Caracas players
- Major League Baseball bench coaches
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Minor league baseball managers
- Montreal Expos players
- New York Yankees players
- New York Yankees scouts
- Oakland Athletics players
- Portland Beavers players
- St. Louis Cardinals coaches
- San Jose Bees players
- Seattle Mariners coaches
- Sportspeople from Tucson, Arizona
- Tacoma Tugs players
- Toledo Mud Hens players
- University of Arizona alumni
- Williamsport Tomahawks players
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