Grady Hatton

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Grady Hatton
Runs batted in
533
Managerial record164–221
Winning %.426
Teams
As player

As manager

Career highlights and awards

Grady Edgebert Hatton Jr. (October 7, 1922 – April 11, 2013) was an American professional baseball second baseman, third baseman, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds / Redlegs, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs. Hatton is most identified with his native Texas: he was born in Beaumont, attended the University of Texas at Austin, managed minor league teams in Houston and San Antonio, and was an important contributor to the early years of Major League Baseball's Houston Astros.

Playing career

Hatton batted left-handed and threw right-handed, standing 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) and weighing 170 lb (77 kg). He came to the Majors in

runs batted in in a 4–3 loss.[2] Hatton would bat .254 with 91 home runs
and 1,068 hits over his 12-year big league career in 1,312 games played.

Hatton appeared in 116 games in 1946, the first of his six consecutive seasons as Cincinnati's regular third baseman. In 1952, Hatton moved to second base and was selected to the National League All-Star team, although he did not play in the July 8 game at Shibe Park (and hit only .212 for the season).

However, in 1954, Hatton's tenure in Cincinnati came to an abrupt end, as he appeared in only one game for the Redlegs before being traded to the

San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League
.

Managerial career

From 1958–60, Hatton was the

Oklahoma City 89ers farm in the Pacific Coast League from 1963–65 and was named minor league manager of the year for 1965 by The Sporting News
.

Hatton succeeded

record of only 164–221 (.426) in 2+12 years. He was replaced as skipper by Harry Walker midway through the 1968
campaign, on June 17. At the time, Houston was 23–38 and tenth and last in the National League.

Post-managerial and coaching career

Hatton remained with the Astros as a scout from 1968–72, and as a Major League coach in 1973–74. He was still active in baseball in the late 1980s as a scout for the San Francisco Giants.

Hatton died from natural causes on April 11, 2013. He was 90.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Baseball in Wartime - Those Who Served A to Z". baseballinwartime.com.
  2. ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore: Chicago Cubs 4, Cincinnati Reds 3". www.retrosheet.org.
  3. San Antonio Light
    . November 11, 1964. p. 40.
  4. ^ "Grady Hatton, the former third baseman who managed the Houston Astros in 1960s, has died". The Washington Post.[dead link]

External links