Billy Hoeft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Billy Hoeft | |
|---|---|
 Topps baseball card - 1956 Series, #152 |
|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: May 17, 1932 Oshkosh, Wisconsin |
|
| Batted: Left | Threw: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| April 18, 1952 for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 25, 1966 for the San Francisco Giants | |
| Career statistics | |
| Win-Loss Record | 97-101 |
| Earned run average | 3.94 |
| Strikeouts | 1,140 |
| Saves | 33 |
| Teams | |
William Frederick (Billy) Hoeft (born May 17, 1932 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball whose career spanned 15 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Braves, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants.
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[edit] Detroit Tigers (1952-1959)
Hoeft was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1950. He made his major league debut on April 18, 1952 for the Tigers, and went on to pitch seven full seasons in Detroit.
On September 7, 1953, Hoeft struck out three batters on nine pitches in the seventh inning of a 6-2 win over the Chicago White Sox. Hoeft became the fourth American League pitcher and the ninth pitcher in Major League history to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning.
On June 24, 1955, Hoeft surrendered the first home run in the career of Harmon Killebrew. Killebrew would eventually hit 573 home runs in his career, ninth all-time.
He was primarily used as a starting pitcher in Detroit, starting in 176 games during his time there. His best season came in 1956, when he won 20 games and pitched 18 complete games.
[edit] Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles (1959-1962)
In May 1959, Hoeft was dealt to the Boston Red Sox for Dave Sisler and Ted Lepcio. He was the losing pitcher in three of his five appearances for Boston, and was soon dealt to Baltimore for Jack Harshman after a little more than a month.
Hoeft remained in Baltimore through the 1962 season. He was primarily used as a relief pitcher, although he did start 16 games for the Orioles. During the 1961 season, Hoeft posted a career best Earned Run Average of 2.02 in 12 starts and 23 relief appearances.
[edit] San Francisco, Milwaukee and Chicago (1963-1966)
After the 1962 season, Baltimore traded Hoeft, as well as Jimmie Coker and Jack Fisher to the San Francisco Giants for Stu Miller, Mike McCormick and John Orsino.
In 23 appearances for San Francisco during the 1963 season, Hoeft saved four games and posted an Earned Run Average of 4.44. After the season ended, he was dealt to the Milwaukee Braves along with Felipe Alou, Ed Bailey and a player to be named later for Del Crandall, Bob Shaw and Bob Hendley. San Francisco ended up sending Ernie Bowman to Milwaukee to complete the deal.
In Milwaukee, Hoeft put up slightly better numbers than he did in San Francisco, appearing in 42 games and posting an ERA of 3.80. He saved four games for the Braves in the 1964 season.
After the 1964 season, Hoeft entered free agency, and ended up being signed by his original team, the Detroit Tigers. He was released during spring training for the 1965 season. Shortly afterwards, the Chicago Cubs signed Hoeft to a contract for the 1965 season, where he ended up posting an ERA of 2.81 in 2 starts and 29 appearances for the Cubs.
1966 was Hoeft's last season in Major League Baseball. He appeared in 36 games for the Cubs, before being released in August. In September, he was signed by the San Francisco Giants once more, where he appeared in only 4 games. His ERA during his second stint in San Francisco was a career high 7.36.
Following the 1966 season, the Giants released Hoeft.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
- Baseball Library
