26-531: As coach William Augustus Hatcher (born October 4, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first base coach . He played for the Chicago Cubs , Houston Astros , Pittsburgh Pirates , Cincinnati Reds , Boston Red Sox , Philadelphia Phillies , and Texas Rangers . In 1979, Hatcher graduated from Williams High School in Williams, Arizona , where he had pitched an 11-inning no-hitter as
52-582: A Major League coach with the Reds organization. He works as third-base, outfield, and baserunning coach. Prior to joining the Reds, he spent ten seasons in the Tampa Bay Rays organization, first as a roving minor-league instructor (1996), then as a minor-league coach for 1997 Florida State League champion St. Petersburg. Hatcher spent the next eight seasons as a member of the Rays' Major League coaching staff (1998–2005) as
78-571: A fielder's choice. From 1980 to 1988, the game-winning RBI was an additional statistic used in MLB. The perceived significance of the RBI is displayed by the fact that it is one of the three categories that compose the triple crown . In addition, career RBIs are often cited in debates over who should be elected to the Hall of Fame . However, critics, particularly within the field of sabermetrics , argue that RBIs measure
104-585: A junior. Hatcher then played for Yavapai Community College in Prescott, Arizona , where he was a junior college All-America selection. Hatcher was drafted by the Cubs in the sixth round of the January 1981 MLB draft . He rose quickly through the Cubs' minor league system, playing exactly one season at each minor league level before receiving a late-season call-up to the major league club in 1984. He split time between AAA and
130-411: A memorable season in 1990 for the Reds when he stole 30 bases during their closely contested 1990 pennant run. On August 21, 1990, he tied the major league record against the Cubs with four doubles in one game. He ended up leading National League outfielders in fielding percentage (.997) on the season. The best hitting performance of Hatcher's career was timely, coming during the 1990 World Series against
156-458: A nearly perfect series of his own. Hatcher was later awarded the 1990 Babe Ruth Award for his performance. He finished his career with a .404 postseason batting average in 14 games which included 12 runs , 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in . Hatcher was traded to the Red Sox for Tom Bolton in the middle of the 1992 season and, on August 3 of that season while with the Red Sox, stole home against
182-411: A run batted in (c) The official scorer's judgment must determine whether a run batted in shall be credited for a run that scores when a fielder holds the ball or throws to a wrong base. Ordinarily, if the runner keeps going, the official scorer should credit a run batted in; if the runner stops and takes off again when the runner notices the misplay, the official scorer should credit the run as scored on
208-675: A son, Derek, who was Florida's 2004 Class A Player of the Year in football at Berkley Prep in Tampa, Florida and then played safety for the University of Richmond football team that won the 2008 NCAA FCS National Championship. The couple also have a daughter, Chelsea, who played soccer at the University of Tennessee from 2008 to 2011. She was selected to the All-SEC first team in 2010. He is now an assistant coach for
234-481: Is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the batter bats a base hit which allows a teammate on a higher base to reach home and so score a run, then the batter gets credited with an RBI. Before the 1920 Major League Baseball season , runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic . Nevertheless,
260-669: Is often applied as an umbrella term for all leagues — major and minor — under the authority of the Commissioner of Baseball . Operating outside the Minor League Baseball organization are many independent minor leagues such as the Atlantic League , American Association , Frontier League , and the feeder league to these the Empire Professional Baseball League . Japan has had professional baseball since
286-492: The China National Baseball League , Israel Baseball League , and Baseball Philippines . During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, players of black African descent were barred from playing the major leagues , though several did manage to play by claiming to be Cubans or Native Americans . As a result, a number of parallel Negro leagues were formed. However, after Jackie Robinson began playing with
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#1732851043149312-666: The National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series , in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play . The Philadelphia Phillies , founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to
338-461: The Oakland Athletics . During the 1990 post-season he hit .519 overall (14-for-27), including a World Series record .750 in the four-game World Series sweep over the heavily favored A's. This mark broke a 62-year-old World Series record that was previously held by Babe Ruth (.625 in 1928 ), though it was achieved with the at-bat totals for only three games, as Hatcher was removed from Game 4 in
364-546: The Toronto Blue Jays ' Juan Guzmán . He was the Red Sox' starter in center field for the 1993 season before finishing his career as a reserve for the Phillies and Rangers before retiring following the 1995 season. Hatcher played 12 seasons in the major Leagues. He finished his career with a .264 career batting average with 54 home runs and 399 runs batted in during 1,233 games. In 2015, Billy Hatcher entered his tenth season as
390-676: The 1930s. Nippon Professional Baseball consists of two leagues, the Central League and the Pacific League , each with six teams. South Korea has had professional baseball since 1982. There are 10 teams in KBO League . Taiwan has had professional baseball since the 1990s. The Chinese Professional Baseball League absorbed Taiwan Major League in 2003. There are currently 6 teams in the CPBL. Other Asian leagues include three now defunct leagues,
416-535: The 1st inning after being hit on the hand by a Dave Stewart pitch and was taken to the hospital for precautionary x-rays. They were negative and he was able to return to the ballpark in time for the victory celebration. Hatcher also set records for most consecutive hits in a series (7) and most doubles in a four-game series (4). Despite his torrid hitting, Hatcher was not named the Series Most Valuable Player , that going to Reds pitcher José Rijo , who had
442-495: The Astros from elimination. Hatcher achieved his best statistical season in 1987, when he opened the season with a 16-game hitting streak and led the Astros in hitting (.296) and had career highs in stolen bases (53, third in the National League ), home runs (11) and runs batted in (63). His most dubious achievement came that season as well, as he received a 10-day suspension for bat corking . Hatcher later explained that he had borrowed
468-505: The Cubs during the 1985 season before being traded to the Astros along with Steve Engel for Jerry Mumphrey . Hatcher would be the Astros' starting left fielder for the next 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 seasons and is remembered by Astros fans for hitting one of the most dramatic post-season home runs ever in the 14th inning of Game 6 of the Astros' 1986 National League Championship Series vs the New York Mets ' Jesse Orosco , temporarily saving
494-575: The Madeira Mustangs—a high school football team in Cincinnati, Ohio. Professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada consists of
520-565: The RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan , according to the Society for American Baseball Research . Common nicknames for an RBI include "ribby" (or "ribbie"), "rib", and "ribeye". The plural of "RBI" is a matter of "(very) minor controversy" for baseball fans: it is usually "RBIs", in accordance with the usual practice for pluralizing initialisms in English; however, some sources use "RBI" as
546-450: The bat from relief pitcher Dave Smith . Hatcher broke several of his own, uncorked bats in games leading up to the incident, and he continues to maintain his innocence. Near the end of the 1989 season, the struggling Astros traded Hatcher to the Pirates for Glenn Wilson . He played just 27 games for Pittsburgh before being traded to the Reds for Jeff Richardson and Mike Roesler. Hatcher had
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#1732851043149572-512: The first-base coach (1998–99, 2003–05), bench coach (2001–02), and third-base coach (2000). He holds the distinction of being the only coach to work for the Rays in each of the club's first eight years of existence. For the 2016 season, he switched from first base coach to third base coach. Hatcher was named the first base coach for the Miami Marlins prior to the 2020 season, and remained in that position until 2021. Hatcher and his wife Karen have
598-687: The major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization officially styled Minor League Baseball , formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the United States and Canada. The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High-A, A, and Rookie. These minor-league divisions are affiliated with major league teams, and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers. "Affiliated baseball" (archaically, " organized baseball ")
624-683: The major-league Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, the Negro leagues gradually faded. The process of integration did not go entirely smoothly; there were some ugly incidents, including pitchers who would try to throw directly at a black player's head. Now, however, baseball is fully integrated, and there is little to no racial tension between teammates. Between 1943 and 1954, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League fielded teams in several Midwestern towns. Runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in ( RBI )
650-532: The plural, on the basis that it can stand for "runs batted in". The 2018 edition of the Official Baseball Rules of Major League Baseball (MLB), Rule 9.04 Runs Batted In , reads: A run batted in is a statistic credited to a batter whose action at bat causes one or more runs to score, as set forth in this Rule 9.04. (a) The official scorer shall credit the batter with a run batted in for every run that scores (b) The official scorer shall not credit
676-406: The quality of the lineup more than it does the player himself. This is because an RBI can only be credited to a player if one or more batters preceding him in the batting order have reached base (the exception to this being a home run , in which the batter is credited with driving himself in, not just those already on base). This implies that better offensive teams —and therefore, the teams in which
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