Fred James Hatfield (March 18, 1925 – May 22, 1998), nicknamed "Scrap Iron", was a Major League Baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who played nine seasons in the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox (1950–52),

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

(1952–56), Chicago White Sox (1956–57), Cleveland Indians (1958) and Cincinnati Redlegs (1958). He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and .

Playing career

Born in Lanett, Alabama, Hatfield attended Birmingham–Southern College and

Troy State College Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accre ...

before Hatfield was signed by the Red Sox as an amateur free agent in 1942. As a big-leaguer, Hatfield played in 722 games and had a career batting average of .242 with an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

of .332. He had 493 hits, 248 bases on balls, and 165

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

s. Hatfield played in the infield, with 408 games at third base, 179 games at second base, and 27 games at shortstop. Hatfield was among the American League leaders in being

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

in 1952, 1954, 1956, and 1957. He was also among the league leaders in 1955 for sacrifice hits and intentional walks.

Coaching career

As his playing career wound down in the minor leagues in the late 1950s, Hatfield became a professional baseball manager and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and a college baseball coach. He skippered teams in the minors for 16 years between 1960 and 1986, spent two seasons (1977–78) as the third-base coach on Ralph Houk's Detroit Tigers staff, and five years (1964–68) as head baseball coach of the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

, where he posted a 161–57 (.739) record. He was posthumously inducted into the

Florida State University Hall of Fame The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

in 1999.Akin, William. ''Fred Hatfield.''
Society for American Baseball Research Biography Project Hatfield died in 1998 at age 73 in Tallahassee, Florida.

References

External links

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Retrosheet
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SABR Biography Project
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* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Hatfield, Fred 1925 births 1998 deaths Asheville Tourists managers Baseball players from Alabama Birmingham Barons players Boston Red Sox players California Angels scouts Canton Terriers players Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Redlegs players Cleveland Indians players Danville-Schoolfield Leafs players Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers coaches Detroit Tigers players Florida State Seminoles baseball coaches Jamestown Tigers players Lakeland Flying Tigers managers Little Rock Travelers players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Lynn Red Sox players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Modesto Colts players New York Yankees scouts Oakland Athletics scouts People from Lanett, Alabama Roanoke Red Sox players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Scranton Red Sox players Spokane Indians players Troy Trojans baseball players American expatriate baseball people in the Dominican Republic