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Jim Hegan CLE-N, DET-A, PHI-N, SF-N, CHI-N  All-Star Selection 1947, 49, 50, 51,
52 |
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Jim Hegan CLE-N, DET-A, PHI-N, SF-N, CHI-N All-Star Selection 1947, 49, 50, 51,
52 |
| Full Name: James Edward Hegan Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'2" Weight: 195 lbs. Born: Aug 03, 1920 in Lynn, MA Major League Debut: Sep 09, 1941 Died: Jun 17, 1984 in Swampscott, MA |
CAREER STATISTICS - BATTING
TOTALS
| BATTING | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YR 1941 1942 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1958 1959 1959 1960 |
TM Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Det Phi Phi SF Chi |
LG AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL NL NL NL NL |
POS C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C C |
G 16 68 88 135 144 152 131 133 112 112 139 116 122 58 45 25 25 21 24 |
AB 47 170 271 378 472 468 415 416 333 299 423 304 315 148 130 59 51 30 43 |
R 4 10 29 38 60 54 53 60 39 37 56 30 42 14 14 5 1 0 4 |
H 15 33 64 94 117 105 91 99 75 65 99 67 70 32 25 13 10 4 9 |
2B 2 5 11 14 21 19 16 17 17 10 12 5 15 7 6 6 1 1 2 |
3B 0 0 5 5 6 5 5 5 2 1 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
HR 1 0 0 4 14 8 14 6 4 9 11 9 6 4 1 0 0 0 1 |
RBI 5 11 17 42 61 55 58 43 41 37 40 40 34 15 7 6 8 0 5 |
TB 20 38 85 130 192 158 159 144 108 104 158 103 107 51 34 19 11 5 16 |
BB 4 11 17 41 48 49 42 38 29 25 34 34 49 16 10 4 3 1 1 |
IBB 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 1 1 0 1 0 0 |
| Totals | G 1666 |
AB 4772 |
R 550 |
H 1087 |
2B 187 |
3B 46 |
HR 92 |
RBI 525 |
TB 1642 |
BB 456 |
IBB 14 |
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| BATTING | BASERUNNING | PERCENTAGES | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YR 1941 1942 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1958 1959 1959 1960 |
TM Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle Det Phi Phi SF Chi |
LG AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL AL NL NL NL NL |
K 7 31 44 49 74 89 52 72 47 41 48 33 54 23 32 16 10 10 10 |
HBP 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 |
SH 2 3 3 6 4 12 12 3 2 4 7 7 4 2 0 0 1 0 0 |
SF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 0 1 0 0 2 0 0 |
GDP 1 3 8 8 10 12 11 6 4 8 15 7 8 4 5 0 0 1 2 |
SB 0 1 1 3 6 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 |
CS 0 3 4 1 3 0 0 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 |
SB% -.--- .250 .200 .750 .667 1.000 1.000 .000 .000 .333 .000 .000 .500 .000 -.--- -.--- .000 .000 -.--- |
AVG .319 .194 .236 .249 .248 .224 .219 .238 .225 .217 .234 .220 .222 .216 .192 .220 .196 .133 .209 |
OBP .373 .243 .284 .324 .317 .298 .291 .302 .287 .280 .289 .293 .327 .291 .250 .270 .232 .161 .244 |
SLG .426 .224 .314 .344 .407 .338 .383 .346 .324 .348 .374 .339 .340 .345 .262 .322 .216 .167 .372 |
AB/HR 47.0 --.- --.- 94.5 33.7 58.5 29.6 69.3 83.3 33.2 38.5 33.8 52.5 37.0 130.0 --.- --.- --.- 43.0 |
AB/K 6.7 5.5 6.2 7.7 6.4 5.3 8.0 5.8 7.1 7.3 8.8 9.2 5.8 6.4 4.1 3.7 5.1 3.0 4.3 |
| Totals | K 742 |
HBP 4 |
SH 72 |
SF 14 |
GDP 113 |
SB 15 |
CS 24 |
SB% .385 |
BAVG .228 |
OBP .295 |
SLG .344 |
AB/HR 51.9 |
AB/K 6.4 |
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ALL-STAR STATISTICS -
BATTING TOTALS
| BATTING | PERCENTAGES | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YR 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 |
TM Cle Cle Cle Cle Cle |
LG AL AL AL AL AL |
G 0 0 1 1 0 |
AB 0 0 3 1 0 |
R 0 0 0 0 0 |
H 0 0 0 1 0 |
2B 0 0 0 1 0 |
3B 0 0 0 0 0 |
HR 0 0 0 0 0 |
RBI 0 0 0 0 0 |
TB 0 0 0 2 0 |
BB 0 0 0 0 0 |
K 0 0 3 0 0 |
SB 0 0 0 0 0 |
BAVG -.--- -.--- .000 1.000 -.--- |
SLG -.--- -.--- .000 2.000 -.--- |
AB/HR --.- --.- --.- --.- --.- |
AB/K --.- --.- 1.0 --.- --.- |
| Totals | G 2 |
AB 4 |
R 0 |
H 1 |
2B 1 |
3B 0 |
HR 0 |
RBI 0 |
TB 2 |
BB 0 |
K 3 |
SB 0 |
AVG .250 |
SLG .500 |
AB/HR --.- |
AB/K 1.3 |
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WORLD SERIES STATISTICS - BATTING
TOTALS
| BATTING | PERCENTAGES | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YR 1948 1954 |
TM Cle Cle |
LG AL AL |
G 6 4 |
AB 19 13 |
R 2 1 |
H 4 2 |
2B 0 1 |
3B 0 0 |
HR 1 0 |
RBI 5 0 |
TB 7 3 |
BB 1 1 |
K 4 1 |
SB 1 0 |
BAVG .211 .154 |
SLG .368 .231 |
AB/HR 19.0 --.- |
AB/K 4.8 13.0 |
| Totals | G 10 |
AB 32 |
R 3 |
H 6 |
2B 1 |
3B 0 |
HR 1 |
RBI 5 |
TB 10 |
BB 2 |
K 5 |
SB 1 |
AVG .188 |
SLG .313 |
AB/HR 32.0 |
AB/K 6.4 |
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| TEAM ABBREVIATION KEY | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YEARS 1941-1957 1958 1958-1959 1959 1960 |
TM Cle Det Phi SF Chi |
LG AL AL NL NL NL |
TEAM NAME Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers Philadelphia Phillies San Francisco Giants Chicago Cubs |
LEAGUE NAME American League American League National League National League National League |
The last generation of Cleveland baseball fans to see the Indians win a World Series, still mention his name in awe. Indeed, Hegan was the Indians' catcher for the ages. And his popularity was well deserved. Tall, handsome, almost regal in bearing. Hegan was behind the plate for the Indians most of the time from 1941 through 1957, though he missed three seasons (1943-45) while serving in the Coast Guard during World War II.
Those who were fortunate enough to watch Hegan play saw a man develop the art of catching to a new level. And when those fans of the 1940s and 1950s talk about Hegan, they invariably bring up his ability to catch foul balls. "Hegan didn't even have to watch the ball going up," they'd say. "He could tell by the sound of the ball off the bat where it was going to land. He'd just run to the spot and catch it."
Baseball men felt the same way about Hegan's ability. "As far as I'm concerned, you start and end any discussion of catchers with Jim Hegan," it was said by Birdie Tebbetts, a former Indians manager and a long-time scout -- and a very good major league catcher himself from 1936 through 1952." Add all the things a catcher has to do (catch, throw, call a game) and Jim Hegan was the best I ever saw," Tebbetts stated unequivocally. He was the best that many ever saw.
Though only a .228 lifetime hitter, Hegan made his reputation catching some of the best pitchers in Indians' history: Early Wynn, Bob Feller, Mike Garcia, Bob Lemon, Herb Score, Mel Harder, Satchel Paige, Art Houtteman, Ray Narleski, Hal Newhouser and Don Mossi. But, in his typically modest manner, Hegan always minimized his contributions to their success. "They threw the ball, all I did was catch it," he'd say.
As testament to his popularity, the Indians, in 1953, held a "Jim Hegan Night" that was one of the best attended games of that season. Hegan often said his greatest satisfaction was catching the Indians' 1954 pitching staff, which helped the team win a record 111 games in one season. "Every time you put your fingers down to give a signal, you worry if it's going to be the right pitch," Hegan said in talking about his position, and especially how it related to the three no-hitters he caught -- by Don Black (1946), Lemon (1948) and Feller (1951). "It's really the pitcher's game. If he doesn't feel good about a pitch you call, chances are he won't throw it well." But not many pitchers questioned Hegan's decisions on or off the field, as Score once reminisced. "In a tight spot, you always went with Jim's call," said Score.
During his 17 years in the majors, Hegan led American League catchers in putouts, assists, double plays, total chances per game and fielding percentage three times and finished with a career fielding mark of .990 while being behind the plate for 1,629 games.
(By Russell Schneider from Baseball Digest February 1999)