[Update: 10:58PM: Thanks to a comment by our always vigilant reader mmb1980, I made a few corrections to this post. Check the comment itself for some more detail because it's about three times better than my half-assed effort.]A few things I didn't know about Charlie Hayes:
- Hayes is one of only 11 players to play in the World Series and Little League World Series, appearing for his hometown of Hattiesburg, Mississippi in 1977.
- He was the Yankees starting 3rd baseman for most of the 1992 season.
- And played games for seven MLB teams (Yanks, Pirates, Phillies, Giants, Brewers, Astros, Rockies)
He was brought in the top of the 7th of Game 6 as a defensive replacement, which is why he was drifting towards the stands along the third baseline when John Wetteland got Mark Lemke to pop up.
I briefly shared the story of where I was when Charlie made that catch. Would anyone else like to chime in? I'm sure some of you weren't awkward 12 year olds with braces, sitting alone, saying to themselves, "Thisccch isscch scchhoooo sccccchhweeet!"
Posts
At the risk of sounding like a know-it-all dick, here's a few other things about Charlie Hayes:
ReplyDeleteHe only wore #33 with Yanks during 1996, wearing #28 in '92 and #13 in '97. The '96 Yanks had used so many players and were running short on non-Spring Training type numbers that Hayes actually took #33 from Melido Perez who had been on the DL all year and would never play in the bigs again.
Hayes did only appear in 20 games with the '96 Yanks, but it was 20 of the final 28 games, not final 56. He was acquired just before the August 31st waiver deadline, not the July 31st non-waiver deadline. If I remember correctly from Joel Sherman's Birth of a Dynasty, the acquisition of Hayes pissed Boggs off pretty good.
Hayes was acquired for Chris Corn, not Chris Singleton. The Yankees received Chris Singleton from the Giants when they traded Hayes following the 1997 season.
Prior to Spring Training in 1997, both Hayes and Cecil Fielder demanded trades, as was their right having been acquired the year before while in the midst of a multi-year deal. Both ended up staying the whole season, but the Yanks may have been better off trading both since they were both horseshit in 97.
My favorite Charlie Hayes story comes from his time with the Giants in 1999 when he charged the mound against Todd Stottlemyre of the Diamondbacks. Hayes didn't charge the mound after getting hit by a pitch. Rather, he charged as the baserunner on second base after Stottlemyre buzzed another Giant.
At the risk of sounding like a lazy, burnt out blogger... see above.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of sounding like a 24 year old loser who lives in his parents basement, blogging is awesome.
ReplyDelete