Roy Thomas Hartsfield was a second baseman

Second baseman

Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 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...

; his MLB playing and managing careers each lasted three years. Hartsfield played his entire major-league career with the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 (now the Atlanta Braves) from 1950 to 1952. He was then traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

 for outfielder

Outfielder

Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 Andy Pafko

Andy Pafko

Andrew Pafko is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1943 through 1959, Pafko played for the Chicago Cubs , Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwaukee Braves . He batted and threw right-handed...

. Hartsfield spent the next 19 years in the Dodgers organization as a minor league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 player and manager and major league coach

Coach (baseball)

In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...

. In the latter role, he worked under Los Angeles skipper Walter Alston

Walter Alston

Walter Emmons Alston , nicknamed "Smokey," was an American baseball player and manager. He was born in Venice, Ohio but grew up in Darrtown. He is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he lettered three years in both basketball and baseball and is a member of the University's Hall...

 for three seasons.

Hartsfield was a successful pilot at top levels of minor league baseball, with the Spokane Indians

Spokane Indians

The Spokane Indians are a minor league baseball team located in Spokane, Washington, United States. They are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Texas Rangers since 2003. The Indians play home games at Avista Stadium...

 and the Hawaii Islanders

Hawaii Islanders

The Hawaii Islanders were a AAA minor league baseball team, based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1961 through 1987. The Islanders were originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics. They played their home games at Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu's Aloha Stadium...

 of the Pacific Coast League

Pacific Coast League

The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...

. In 1977, Hartsfield was hired as the first-ever manager of the expansion Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto Blue Jays

The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 by the Jays' first general manager

General manager (baseball)

In Major League Baseball, the general manager of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players....

, Peter Bavasi

Peter Bavasi

Peter Bavasi was the farm director for the US baseball team the San Diego Padres from 1969 to 1972. He then replaced his father, Buzzie Bavasi as General Manager of the Padres from 1973 to 1976. Peter later went on to become the first GM of the Toronto Blue Jays in 1977. He was president of the...

, who had worked with him in the Dodger organization.

Hartsfield managed the Jays from 1977 to 1979, compiling a record of 166–318 (.343) in 484 games. The fledgling Jays finished last in the American League East Division each season. Hartsfield died from complications of liver cancer at his daughter's home in Ball Ground, Georgia

Ball Ground, Georgia

Ball Ground is a city in Cherokee County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1433 at the 2010 census.Ball Ground is at the northernmost end of Georgia Interstate 575, north of Canton at exit 20 on I-575, and ending seven miles north at exit 27...

, on January 15, 2011, aged 85.

Managerial career

Team

|Regular Season

Toronto Blue Jays Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

1977 1977 Toronto Blue Jays season The 1977 Toronto Blue Jays season was the first year of Major League Baseball played by the Toronto-based expansion franchise. The Blue Jays finished 7th in the American League East with a record of 54 wins and 107 losses.- Offseason :...

161

54

107

.335

7th

–

–

–

–

1978 1978 Toronto Blue Jays season The 1978 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 7th in the American League East with a record of 59 wins and 102 losses.- Offseason :* October 25, 1977: Phil Roof was released by the Blue Jays....

161

59

102

.366

7th

–

–

–

–

1979 1979 Toronto Blue Jays season The 1979 Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 7th in the American League East with a record of 53 wins and 109 losses. The loss total of 109 set the franchise mark...

162

53

109

.327

7th

–

–

–

–

Total

484

166

318

.343

–

–

–

–