Billy Hatcher

William Augustus "Billy" Hatcher (born October 4, 1960 in Williams, Arizona), was an outfielder and basestealing threat for the Boston Red Sox from 1992 to 1994. He was the last Red Sox player to steal home until Jacoby Ellsbury repeated the feat against the Yankees on April 26th, 2009.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Hatcher's Moments in the Sun 3 Trivia 4 Transactions 5 External Links

Overall Career

Selected by the Cubs in the sixth round of the 1981 draft, Hatcher spent 12 seasons in the major leagues with Chicago, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Texas Rangers, and former coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Hatcher is currently the first base coach for the Cincinnati Reds.

The Red Sox acquired Hatcher from the Cincinnati Reds on July 9, 1992, and later traded with Paul Quantrill on May 31, 1994 to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wes Chamberlain and minor leaguer Mike Sullivan.

Hatcher's Moments in the Sun

• Hit dramatic home run in the bottom of the fourteenth inning of Game 6 of the 1986 National League Championship Series for the Houston Astros, temporarily saving the Astros from elimination. The Astros, however, went on to lose the game, and the series, to the New York Mets in the sixteenth inning.

• Also remembered for his fantastic hitting performance for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series against the Oakland Athletics. Hatcher set a World Series record with seven consecutive hits, and his .750 batting average (9 for 12) broke a mark for a four-game World Series that was previously set by Babe Ruth (.625 in 1928). Hatcher though, was not named the Series Most Valuable Player, which went to teammate and star pitcher José Rijo.

• The last Red Sox player to steal home prior to Jacoby Ellsbury, Hatcher accomplished the feat on August 3, 1992 against the Toronto Blue Jays in the bottom of the 3rd.

Trivia

• Suspended for ten games with the Pirates during the 1987 season for bat corking, which was levied after Hatcher's bat shattered in a game and was discovered to be filled with super balls. Hatcher later claimed that he had borrowed the bat from relief pitcher Dave Smith, a claim that was not widely believed.

• Some poor slob with entirely too much time on their hands wrote an entire web page about Hatcher's 1992 thieft of home that can be accessed here.

Transactions

• June 5, 1979: Drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 30th round of the 1979 amateur draft, but did not sign.
• January 11, 1980: Drafted by the Houston Astros in the 2nd round of the 1980 amateur draft (Secondary Phase), but did not sign.
• January 13, 1981: Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 6th round of the 1981 amateur draft. Player signed May 22, 1981.
• December 16, 1985: Traded by the Chicago Cubs with Steve Engel (PTBNL) to the Houston Astros for Jerry Mumphrey.
• August 18, 1989: Traded by the Houston Astros to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Glenn Wilson.
• April 3, 1990: Traded by the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Cincinnati Reds for Mike Roesler and Jeff Richardson.
• July 9, 1992: Traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Boston Red Sox for Tom Bolton.
• November 2, 1992: Granted Free Agency.
• November 27, 1992: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• May 31, 1994: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with Paul Quantrill to the Philadelphia Phillies for Wes Chamberlain and Mike Sullivan (minors).
• October 15, 1994: Granted Free Agency.
• April 25, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Texas Rangers.
• May 16, 1995: Released by the Texas Rangers.
• June 8, 1995: Signed as a Free Agent with the Kansas City Royals.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis