Burt Carlton Hooton (born February 7, 1950), nicknamed "Happy", is an American former right-handed
starting pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...
and former coach in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
. He won 151 games over a 15-year career, mostly with the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...
and
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...
.
Hooton's career began auspiciously with a
no-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...
in his fourth major league game for the Cubs, and perhaps gained his widest recognition for his several playoff performances with the Dodgers. His only
All-Star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry.
Sports
"All-star" as a sport ...
appearance was in 1981, when he also was named the
NLCS
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Major League Baseball po ...
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...
on the way to helping the Dodgers to a
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
championship with four postseason
wins in five appearances.
He was pitching coach of the
Fort Wayne TinCaps
The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...
, the
Class-A affiliate of the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
from 2013 to 2019.
Playing career
High school
Hooton attended
Richard King High School in
Corpus Christi, Texas
Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...
, leading the Mustangs to a 4A State Championship in the school's second year of operation in 1967. Hooton graduated from King in 1968.
College
Hooton attended the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...
, where he had a College Hall of Fame career, was a three-time All-American from 1969–71 and set several school and conference records. He also made the Southwest All-Conference team three times and was the team MVP in 1971. He posted a 35–3 record including two no-hitters within weeks of each other in 1971, one of which was a perfect game for 8 innings of a scheduled 7 inning game.
He played in the NCAA Tournament all three years, making it to the College World Series in 1969 and 1970. In 1969, the Longhorns came in 4th and Hooton made the All-Tournament team, and in 1970, the Longhorns came in 3rd. The Longhorns won conference championships all three years he was on the team.
Pitching for the
Boulder Collegians in the summer of 1969, Burt started and won the 64th Midnight Sun Game, which was hosted by the Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks.
He was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 1981. In 1998 he was admitted to the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame and in 2008 to the College Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2009, his number (#20) was retired by the Longhorns.
Chicago Cubs
After college, Hooton was selected by the Cubs with the second pick of the 1971 amateur draft. He made his major league debut with the team on June 17 of that year, but appeared in only three games before the end of the season,
striking out
''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...
15 batters in one of them. He was the third player to go straight to the Major Leagues after being drafted without spending a day in the minors. He began 1972 in outstanding fashion, pitching a 4–0 no-hitter against the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
at
Wrigley Field
Wrigley Field is a ballpark on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charl ...
on April 16, the second day of the strike-delayed season. But he was unable to win consistently as the team's fortunes declined in the early 1970s, and he was traded to Los Angeles in May 1975 after compiling a 34–44 record with a steadily increasing
earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...
.
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers were headed in the opposite direction from the Cubs, and Hooton was 18–7 with a 2.82 ERA over the remainder of the year, winning his last 12 decisions for a team record. After a disappointing 1976 season, he used his strong
knuckle curve to become a valuable member of the pennant-winning teams of the next two years, leading the staff with 153 strikeouts in 1977 and with 19 wins and a 2.71 ERA in 1978. He finished second to
Gaylord Perry in the 1978
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
voting. Also in 1978, he finished 15th in
Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award
The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers ...
voting.
Hooton started Game 3 of the
1977 NLCS against the Phillies, but was pulled after issuing three consecutive bases-loaded
walks in the second inning; the Dodgers came back to win, 6–5. In the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
, he pitched a 6–1 victory in Game 2, allowing only five singles and retiring 14 of the last 15 hitters to tie the Series at one game each. But in Game 6, he left in the fourth inning with the Dodgers behind, 4–3, after giving up a 2-run
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...
to
Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cal ...
—Jackson's first of three in the game, all on the first pitch. The Yankees won 8–4, taking the Series in six games. The 1978 playoffs were rematches; in Game 1 of the
NLCS
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Major League Baseball po ...
against the Phillies, Hooton left after allowing three runs in the fifth inning, although the Dodgers still led, 7–4, and went on to win the game. In the
Series rematch with the Yankees he won Game 2, leaving in the seventh inning with a 4–2 lead as Los Angeles held on for a 4–3 win to take a 2–0 Series edge. But Game 5 was another crushing defeat as Hooton was yanked after allowing four runs in the third inning for a 4–2 Yankee lead, with New York romping to a 12–2 blowout and their third straight win. The Yankees won again two days later for their second consecutive title.
After solid but unspectacular years in 1979 and 1980, Hooton enjoyed an 11–6 campaign in the
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
* Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
* Airstrike, ...
-shortened 1981 season, posting a career-best 2.28 ERA and being named to his only
All-Star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry.
Sports
"All-star" as a sport ...
team. He began the playoffs with a win against the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
in Game 3 of the
Division Series
The Division Series is the quarterfinal round of the Major League Baseball postseason. Four series are played in this round, two each for both the American League and the National League.
1981 season
The first use of the term "Division Series ...
, allowing only three
hits
Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block
* ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998
* ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...
, including an
Art Howe
Arthur Henry Howe Jr. (born December 15, 1946) is an American former professional baseball infielder, coach, scout, and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (–), Houston Astros (–), and St. Louis Ca ...
solo homer, through seven innings. After the Dodgers won the series in five games, they went on to face the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...
in the NLCS; Hooton won Game 1, allowing only six hits before leaving in the eighth inning with a 2–0 lead. Returning in Game 4 with the Dodgers behind two games to one, he allowed only five hits and one
unearned run
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...
before leaving in the eighth inning with a 3–1 lead; the Dodgers went on to a 7–1 win, and won Game 5 to advance to the
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...
, again meeting the Yankees. Hooton was named the NLCS MVP for his two wins and perfect 0.00 ERA. He started Game 2 of the World Series, but took a tough loss after leaving the game in the seventh inning, behind 1–0 on an unearned run; the Yankees went on to win 3–0 behind the pitching of his former Dodger teammate
Tommy John
Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "the Bionic Man," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Ch ...
. But he came back with another strong outing in Game 6, leaving with an 8–1 lead in the sixth inning as the Dodgers won 9–2, taking their first World Series title since 1965. Because of his unassuming nature, broadcaster Vin Scully said that to celebrate, Hooton would probably go out and "
paint the town beige." Hooton remained with the Dodgers for three more years, but with a combined record of just 16–21; he spent most of 1984 in the bullpen.
Texas Rangers
Hooton played his last season in 1985 for the
Texas Rangers after signing with them as a free agent, going 5–8.
Coaching
Hooton returned to the University of Texas to earn his degree in journalism and then began a career as a pitching coach. He first worked in the Dodgers organization in 1988 with the Class A Salem (Oregon) Dodgers. He moved up to the pitching coach of the Double-A San Antonio Missions from 1990 to 1994 and then in 1995–96 with the Triple-A Albuquerque Dukes. He returned to the University of Texas again, as the pitching coach from 1997 to 1999. In 2000 started the season as the pitching coach at Double-A Round Rock, a Houston Astros affiliate, before being named pitching coach of the major league club midway through the season where he stayed until mid-season 2004 when manager
Jimy Williams
James Francis Williams (October 4, 1943 – January 26, 2024) was an American professional baseball infielder, Coach (baseball), coach and Manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966 ...
was fired. Nonetheless, one of the pitchers he coached, fellow Longhorn
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and also played ...
, won the
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...
that season. In 2005, he returned to Round Rock as pitching coach until 2010, when the team moved to Oklahoma City, where he worked in the same position through the end of the 2012 season. In 2013, he was hired as the pitching coach for the
Fort Wayne TinCaps
The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The TinCaps compete in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Parkview Field. The TinCaps won the ...
, the
Class-A affiliate of the
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...
.
See also
*
List of Major League Baseball no-hitters
Below is a list of Major League Baseball no-hitters, enumerating every no-hitter pitched in Major League Baseball history. The list also includes no-hit games that were broken up in extra innings or were in shortened games, although they have no ...
*
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooton, Burt
Major League Baseball pitchers
Chicago Cubs players
All-American college baseball players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Texas Rangers players
Texas Longhorns baseball players
National League All-Stars
Baseball players from Hunt County, Texas
1950 births
Living people
Tacoma Cubs players
Houston Astros coaches
Major League Baseball pitching coaches
National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees
Sportspeople from Greenville, Texas
National League Championship Series MVPs
Minor league baseball coaches
20th-century American sportsmen