Grady Hatton
From SoSH
| Born: | October 7, 1922 |
| Birthplace: | Beaumont, Texas |
| Hometown: | |
| Height: | 5' 9" |
| Weight: | 175 lbs |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Right |
| Drafted: | 1946: Amateur Free Agent by the Cincinnati Reds |
| College: | University of Texas |
| High School: | |
| Other Teams: | Cincinnati Reds 1946-1954 Chicago White Sox 1954 Baltimore Orioles 1956 St. Louis Cardinals 1956 Chicago Cubs 1960 |
| Years with Boston: | 1954 - 1956 |
Contents |
Overall Career
Grady Edgebert Hatton (born October 7, 1922 in Beaumont, TX) was an American baseball player, coach, manager and executive. Although the bulk of his playing career was as the third baseman of the Cincinnati Reds, 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.
A left-handed hitter who came to the majors in 1946 without any minor league seasoning, Hatton batted .254 with 91 home runs in a 12-year big league career with Cincinnati, the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs, for whom he served as a player-coach in 1960 at the end of his playing career. From 1957-61, he managed in the Baltimore and Chicago Cubs systems before joining the nascent Houston Colt .45's (as the Astros were first known) as Director of Player Personnel in their maiden 1962 season. Hatton then moved back into uniform as manager of Houston's AAA Oklahoma City farm in the Pacific Coast League from 1963-65.
Named to succeed Luman Harris as the Astros' manager for 1966 - and also carrying the unusual (for a field manager) title of club Vice President - it was expected that he would be able to harness the young talent he had developed at AAA. But the Astros compiled a record of only 164-221 in 2 1/2 years, and Hatton was replaced as skipper by Harry Walker midway through the 1968 campaign.
Hatton's Moments in the Sun
- Elected to Texas Longhorn's Hall of Fame - 1967
Awards
- 1952 National League All-Star
Trivia
- 1946 - finished 18th in MVP voting
Transactions
- Before 1946 Season: Signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent.
- April 18, 1954: Traded by the Cincinnati Redlegs to the Chicago White Sox for Johnny Lipon.
- May 23, 1954: Traded by the Chicago White Sox with $100,000 to the Boston Red Sox for George Kell.
- May 11, 1956: Purchased by the St. Louis Cardinals from the Boston Red Sox.
- August 1, 1956: Purchased by the Baltimore Orioles from the St. Louis Cardinals.
- October 22, 1956: Released by the Baltimore Orioles.
- July 19, 1960: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs.
- October 10, 1960: Released by the Chicago Cubs.
External Links
- Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
- Baseball Almanac
