Why this card is awesome: Because, as promised, right after Gibby here is another 1988 World Series hero. This might be one of the most meaningful cards of 1988. Hatcher was a decent major leaguer who warmed the hearts of fans in Minnesota for several years. But he will always be remembered for a few huge moments in the sun in the 1988 post-season. He batted in some big runs in the NLCS against the Mets and then hit two big home runs in the World Series.
Hatcher hit only 1 HR in the entire 1988 regular season and then two in that year's World Series. Can anybody else think of someone to hit more HRs in the World Series than in the regular season? I bet it's been done a number of times by someone (perhaps a pitcher) who hit zero in the regular season. (A quick search just revealed Ken Holtzman in 1974 and Bob Gibson in 1967...but can we find any non-pitchers?)
Cool stat: 1984 was an utterly bizarre year for Hatcher. It's one of only 9 seasons since 1901 where a player got 620 PAs, batted over .300, but didn't score or drive in 70 runs. The reason, of course, is that his .302 batting average was incredibly soft, bolstered by only 37 walks and a .406 SLG, giving him an OPS of .748 and an OPS+ just 104.
4 comments:
Yes indeedy! Wikipedia notes this about the 1959 World Series:
"The Dodgers found an unlikely hero when Chuck Essegian, who hit only 1 home run in 1959 and had only 6 in his career to that point, set a World Series record with two pinch-hit home runs."
My own blog entry today (about Rip Repulski) linked to that series and I thought, "wow, just like Mickey Hatcher." That's a nice bit of Dodger-blue coincidence.
Off the top of my head, Tom Lawless hit one in the '87 Series and I'm sure he didn't hit any in the season.
Scott Podsednik did it in 2005. If I remember correctly, he had no homers in the regular season, but hit 2 in the postseason (including one in the World Series).
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