Butch Hobson
Encyclopedia
Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson, Jr. (born August 17, 1951 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
) is a former third baseman
and manager
in Major League Baseball
. Hobson played for the Boston Red Sox
(1975–80), California Angels
(1981) and New York Yankees
(1982). He batted and threw right-handed.
After retiring, he managed the Pawtucket Red Sox
and the Boston Red Sox
. He managed the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
in 2008. He won the International League
Manager of the Year award in 1991, and led the Nashua Pride to the Atlantic League
Championship in 2000 and the Can-Am League Championship in 2007.
Hobson was a star football
player for the University of Alabama
team under Bear Bryant
. Selected by the Red Sox in the amateur draft, he made his debut in . His most productive season came in , when he set team season records for a third baseman with 30 home run
s and 112 RBIs
.
In , Hobson hit 17 home runs with 80 RBI. Nevertheless, he posted 43 errors
, the most for any American League
fielder in that season, and his .899 fielding average also was the first below .900 by a regular player in 60 years. Hobson hit 28 home runs with 93 RBI in , but a year later, an ensuing injury to his right elbow left him inactive for almost two campaigns.
Before the season, Hobson was sent to the Angels along with Rick Burleson
in the same trade that brought Carney Lansford
and Mark Clear
to Boston. Hobson finished his major league career with the Yankees in . In an eight-year career, Hobson hit a .248 batting average
with 98 home runs and 397 RBI in 738 games
.
Hobson managed Pawtucket for one season and posted a 79-64 record to lead his team to a first-place finish in the International League
. After losing the Governors' Cup
to Columbus, he was hired to manage the Red Sox parent club and posted a 207-232 record for Boston from 1992-94. In 1996, while managing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies
, he was arrested for possession of cocaine and immediately fired. Since 2000, he managed the Pride for eight straight seasons with a record of 508-456.
On July 27, 2007 managing the Pride in a game against the North Shore Spirit
, Hobson was ejected after arguing against a call reversed against a Spirit baserunner who was called safe after initially being called out. Hobson reacted by pulling first base from the ground, then going into the stands to give it to a young fan.
Hobson left the Nashua Pride
after the 2007 season. On November 19, 2007, Hobson was officially named the first-ever manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
in the Atlantic League. He won manager of the year for the Atlantic League for the 2008 season.
On October 19, 2010 Hobson was named Manager of the Lancaster Barnstormers
for the 2011 season.
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
) is a former third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
and manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. Hobson played for the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
(1975–80), California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
(1981) and New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(1982). He batted and threw right-handed.
After retiring, he managed the Pawtucket Red Sox
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox are the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and belong to the International League...
and the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
. He managed the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs is an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 2008 season...
in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League...
in 2008. He won the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
Manager of the Year award in 1991, and led the Nashua Pride to the Atlantic League
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball is a professional, independent baseball organization located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, especially the greater metropolitan areas of the Northeast megalopolis. It operates in cities not served by Major or Minor League...
Championship in 2000 and the Can-Am League Championship in 2007.
Hobson was a star football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player for the University of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
team under Bear Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
. Selected by the Red Sox in the amateur draft, he made his debut in . His most productive season came in , when he set team season records for a third baseman with 30 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 112 RBIs
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
.
In , Hobson hit 17 home runs with 80 RBI. Nevertheless, he posted 43 errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
, the most for any American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
fielder in that season, and his .899 fielding average also was the first below .900 by a regular player in 60 years. Hobson hit 28 home runs with 93 RBI in , but a year later, an ensuing injury to his right elbow left him inactive for almost two campaigns.
Before the season, Hobson was sent to the Angels along with Rick Burleson
Rick Burleson
Richard Paul Burleson is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. "Rooster," as he was nicknamed was a famously intense ballplayer...
in the same trade that brought Carney Lansford
Carney Lansford
Carney Ray Lansford is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball and the hitting coach of the Colorado Rockies...
and Mark Clear
Mark Clear
Mark Alan Clear is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels , Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers . He batted and threw right-handed....
to Boston. Hobson finished his major league career with the Yankees in . In an eight-year career, Hobson hit a .248 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
with 98 home runs and 397 RBI in 738 games
Games played
Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...
.
Hobson managed Pawtucket for one season and posted a 79-64 record to lead his team to a first-place finish in the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
. After losing the Governors' Cup
Governors' Cup
The Governors' Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champion of the International League, one of the two current Triple-A level minor leagues of Major League Baseball.-Governors' Cup history:...
to Columbus, he was hired to manage the Red Sox parent club and posted a 207-232 record for Boston from 1992-94. In 1996, while managing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees are a professional minor league baseball club located based in the Scranton-Wilkes-Barre area. They currently play in the International League's Northern Division and are the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball club...
, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
, he was arrested for possession of cocaine and immediately fired. Since 2000, he managed the Pride for eight straight seasons with a record of 508-456.
On July 27, 2007 managing the Pride in a game against the North Shore Spirit
North Shore Spirit
The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball , an independent league that is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or with the Minor League Baseball...
, Hobson was ejected after arguing against a call reversed against a Spirit baserunner who was called safe after initially being called out. Hobson reacted by pulling first base from the ground, then going into the stands to give it to a young fan.
Hobson left the Nashua Pride
Nashua Pride
The Nashua Pride were a professional baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the United States, not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played home games at Holman Stadium from 1998 through 2008, when they were sold and renamed the American Defenders of New Hampshire. In 2010 that...
after the 2007 season. On November 19, 2007, Hobson was officially named the first-ever manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs is an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From the 2008 season...
in the Atlantic League. He won manager of the year for the Atlantic League for the 2008 season.
On October 19, 2010 Hobson was named Manager of the Lancaster Barnstormers
Lancaster Barnstormers
The Lancaster Barnstormers is an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the Freedom Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball...
for the 2011 season.
Sources
- The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3