Ron Hassey

Ron Hassey
Catcher
Born: (1953-02-27) February 27, 1953 Tucson, Arizona
Batted: Left	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 23, 1978 for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
September 3, 1991 for the Montreal Expos
Career statistics
Batting average	.266
Home runs	71
Runs batted in	438
Teams
As Player Cleveland Indians (1978–1984) Chicago Cubs (1984) New York Yankees (1985–1986) Chicago White Sox (1986–1987) Oakland Athletics (1988–1990) Montreal Expos (1991) As Coach Colorado Rockies (1993–1994) St. Louis Cardinals (1996) Seattle Mariners (2005–2006)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1989)

Ronald William Hassey (born February 27, 1953 in Tucson, Arizona) is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. Hassey began his career with the Cleveland Indians (1978–1984) after the Indians drafted him in the 18th round of the 1976 MLB amateur draft. He would also play for the Chicago Cubs (1984), New York Yankees (1985–1986), Chicago White Sox (1986–1987), Oakland Athletics (1988–1990), and Montreal Expos (1991). Hassey is the only catcher in major league history to catch two perfect games (the first with Len Barker in 1981 and his second with Dennis Martínez in 1991 ).

Regular season

He made his Major League Baseball debut on April 23, 1978, and played his final game on September 3, 1991. He played in 1,192 regular season games, finishing with a .266 batting average, 71 home runs, and 438 runs batted in. He had the highest average among all catchers in the 1980 baseball season with a .318 batting average. Hassey holds the distinction of being the only player to catch two perfect games in the major leagues. On May 15, 1981, Hassey caught starting pitcher Len Barker's perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 28, 1991, he caught a perfect game pitched by Dennis Martínez against the Los Angeles Dodgers. While with the Oakland Athletics he was known for almost exclusively catching all of starting pitcher Bob Welch's games, most notably during the 1990 season in which Welch won 27 games and earned the Cy Young Award trophy. On June 13, 1984, Hassey was involved in a high-profile trade, when the Cleveland Indians traded Hassey, Rick Sutcliffe, and George Frazier to the Chicago Cubs for Joe Carter, Mel Hall, and Don "The Rock" Schulze.

Postseason

Hassey played for the Athletics in three World Series. He was a member of the A's team that lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1988 World Series, defeated the San Francisco Giants in the 1989 World Series (though he did not play in the series), and lost to the Cincinnati Reds in the 1990 World Series. In five postseason series, Hassey tallied an impressive career postseason .323 batting average.

Present

Hassey was a coach for the expansion Colorado Rockies from 1993–1995, and for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996. He then served as a scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1997 to 2003. He managed the Carolina Mudcats in 2004, and from 2005–06 served as a bench coach for the Seattle Mariners under manager Mike Hargrove. Hargrove and Hassey played together for the Cleveland Indians from 1979-1984. He spent the 2011 season managing the Florida Marlins' Class A Affiliate, the Jupiter Hammerheads. Currently, Hassey is the Manager of the Marlins' Triple A Affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Preceded by Don Zimmer

Colorado Rockies Bench Coach 1994

Succeeded by Don Zimmer