Buddy Hassett was born on Tuesday, September 5, 1911, in New York, New York. Hassett was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 14, 1936, with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Buddy Hassett baseball stats page.
"In a seven-year major league career, Hassett had a batting average of .292. He was a master of bat control, striking out only 17 times in 635 at-bats as a rookie with the 1936 Dodgers. He never had as many as 20 strikeouts in a season. But John Aloysius Hassett -- an Irish tenor dubbed the Bronx Thrush -- loved to entertain without a bat in his hands. 'I did a little singing in the Paulist church choir on 59th Street when I was growing up and then we moved to the Bronx,' he once recalled. 'My father ran the Shamrock Democratic Club, and he'd have parties up there and I used to sing. I didn't have any formal lessons.' While with the semipro Bay Parkways in Brooklyn, Hassett kept fans around when skies grew gray. 'If some drops came down before game time, Joe Press, the manager, used to grab me,' Hassett remembered. 'He had a little megaphone. He'd get up there and say, 'Hey, sing them a couple of songs to keep them in the park.' Once in a while, it worked.'" - New York Times Staff Writer Richard Goldstein (08/26/1997, 'Buddy Hassett, 85, Ballplayer', Source)
Buddy HassettBuddy "The Bronx Thrush" Hassett Autograph on a Play Ball Baseball Card (#57) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Buddy HassettBuddy Hassett Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Buddy HassettBuddy Hassett Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1936 | 25 | Dodgers | 156 | 635 | 79 | 197 | 29 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 82 | 35 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 9 | .310 | .350 | .405 |
1937 | 26 | Dodgers | 137 | 556 | 71 | 169 | 31 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 53 | 20 | 0 | 19 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 13 | .304 | .334 | .387 |
1938 | 27 | Dodgers | 115 | 335 | 49 | 98 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 32 | 1 | 19 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 9 | .293 | .356 | .361 |
1939 | 28 | Bees | 147 | 590 | 72 | 182 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60 | 29 | 3 | 14 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 10 | .308 | .342 | .354 |
1940 | 29 | Bees | 124 | 458 | 59 | 107 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 25 | - | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | .234 | .273 | .293 |
1941 | 30 | Braves | 118 | 405 | 59 | 120 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 36 | 0 | 15 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .296 | .354 | .346 |
1942 | 31 | Yankees | 132 | 538 | 80 | 153 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 48 | 32 | 0 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | .284 | .325 | .364 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
7 Years | 929 | 3,517 | 469 | 1,026 | 130 | 40 | 12 | 0 | 343 | 209 | 6 | 116 | 70 | 0 | 11 | 67 | .292 | .333 | .362 |
Buddy HassettBuddy Hassett Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1936 Dodgers | 1B | 156 | 156 | 468 | 1,548 | 9.9 | 1,522 | 1,401 | 121 | 26 | 89 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .983 | 87.81 |
1937 Dodgers | 1B | 131 | 128 | 3,255 | 1,261 | 9.6 | 1,241 | 1,125 | 116 | 20 | 96 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 10.29 |
1937 Dodgers | CF | 6 | 6 | 72 | 15 | 2.5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 5.63 |
1937 Dodgers | LF | 1 | 1 | 27 | 1 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1937 Dodgers | RF | 1 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1938 Dodgers | 1B | 8 | 6 | 153 | 76 | 9.5 | 74 | 61 | 13 | 2 | 6 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 13.06 |
1938 Dodgers | LF | 72 | 69 | 1,683 | 163 | 2.3 | 154 | 154 | 0 | 9 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .945 | 2.47 |
1938 Dodgers | RF | 1 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1939 Bees | 1B | 123 | 121 | 3,183 | 1,274 | 10.4 | 1,255 | 1,143 | 112 | 19 | 127 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 10.65 |
1939 Bees | RF | 23 | 23 | 534 | 44 | 1.9 | 43 | 41 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.17 |
1940 Bees | 1B | 98 | 96 | 2,469 | 989 | 10.1 | 968 | 877 | 91 | 21 | 102 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .979 | 10.59 |
1940 Bees | RF | 13 | 13 | 129 | 22 | 1.7 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.60 |
1941 Braves | 1B | 99 | 95 | 2,385 | 982 | 9.9 | 973 | 895 | 78 | 9 | 92 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 11.02 |
1942 Yankees | 1B | 132 | 125 | 3,297 | 1,257 | 9.5 | 1,246 | 1,128 | 118 | 11 | 130 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .991 | 10.20 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1B Totals | 747 | 727 | 15,210 | 7,387 | 9.9 | 7,279 | 6,630 | 649 | 108 | 642 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 12.92 | |
LF Totals | 73 | 70 | 1,710 | 164 | 2.2 | 154 | 154 | 0 | 10 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .939 | 2.43 | |
RF Totals | 38 | 36 | 703 | 66 | 1.7 | 65 | 63 | 2 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .985 | 2.50 | |
CF Totals | 6 | 6 | 72 | 15 | 2.5 | 15 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 5.63 | |
7 Years | 864 | 839 | 17,695 | 7,632 | 8.8 | 7,513 | 6,862 | 651 | 119 | 642 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .984 | 11.46 |
Buddy HassettBuddy Hassett Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1936 Dodgers | 5 | 5 | .500 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 211.7 | 37.4 | 7.7 | - | - | - |
1937 Dodgers | 13 | 11 | .542 | 0 | 1 | n/a | 556.0 | 29.3 | 10.5 | - | - | - |
1938 Dodgers | 3 | 4 | .429 | 36 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 17.6 | 8.4 | - | - | - |
1939 Bees | 13 | 7 | .650 | 3 | 0 | n/a | 295.0 | 42.1 | 9.8 | - | - | - |
1940 Bees | 4 | 2 | .667 | 13 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 28.6 | 17.0 | - | - | - |
1941 Braves | 10 | 6 | .625 | 19 | 0 | n/a | 405.0 | 27.0 | 12.3 | - | - | - |
1942 Yankees | 5 | 5 | .500 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 107.6 | 33.6 | 11.2 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
7 Years | 53 | 40 | .570 | 71 | 1 | n/a | 293.1 | 30.3 | 10.3 | - | - | - |
Buddy HassettBuddy Hassett Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1936 Brooklyn Dodgers | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
1937 Brooklyn Dodgers | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
1938 Brooklyn Dodgers | 22 | Undetermined | - | - |
1939 Boston Bees | 6 | Undetermined | - | - |
1940 Boston Bees | 2 | Undetermined | - | - |
1941 Boston Braves | 2 | $7,500.00 | - | - |
1942 New York Yankees | 34 | $7,500.00 | - | Stats |
Buddy Hassett Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know Buddy Hassett played in 156 games in 1936, tied for first in the National League with Gus Suhr and Arky Vaughan? Hassett, however, had just made his debut that year (April 14, 1936) and finished the season with seventeen strikeouts, a new (and still standing) Major League record for fewest strikeouts in a season by rookie.
Buddy Hassett set the strikeout record playing for the 1936 Dodgers, a National League team. His American League counterpart is Tom Oliver, who only struck out twenty-five times in 1930 while playing for the 1930 Boston Red Sox.
Buddy Hassett committed the most errors at first base in the National League with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937 and 1937. In 1938, the Dodgers traded The Bronx Thrush to the Boston Bees (Atlanta Braves) with Jimmy Outlaw for Gene Moore and Ira Hutchinson. Buddy Hassett then committed the most errors at first base in the National League again, in 1939 and 1940 - the first player in baseball history to lead a league in errors committed at first base in back-to-back seasons with two different teams.
Buddy Hassett Newspaper Article (New York Yankees) | The Lincoln Star | May 30, 1942 | Page 8
In 1981, Manhattan College inducted Buddy Hassett into the Manhattan College Hall of Fame (link), but not because of his on-field abilities. He was the team captain on the hard court and once one seventeen straight games for the Jaspers.