John Hatfield (baseball)

John Hatfield
Left fielder / Infielder
Born: (1847-07-20)July 20, 1847
Hoboken, New Jersey
Died: February 20, 1909(1909-02-20) (aged 61)
Long Island City, Queens, New York
Batted: Unknown
Threw: Unknown
MLB debut
May 18, 1871, for the New York Mutuals
Last MLB appearance
May 5, 1876, for the New York Mutuals
MLB statistics
Batting average.280
Home runs3
Runs batted in146
Teams
  National Association of Base Ball Players
Gotham of New York (1864)
Active of New York (1865)
New York Mutuals (1866–1867, 1869–1870)
Cincinnati Red Stockings (1868)
  League player
New York Mutuals (1871–1876)
  League manager
New York Mutuals (1872–1873)

John Van Buskirk Hatfield (July 20, 1847 – February 20, 1909) was an American professional baseball player in the 1860s and 1870s. He was a batting star and versatile fielder for the Mutual Base Ball Club (New York Mutuals) both before and after spending the 1868 season as left fielder for Harry Wright's Cincinnati Red Stockings. Left field was his primary position during four years as a regular player in the major leagues from 1871. For a few decades after leaving the game he was famous for his "world record" long-distance throw. During an 1868 exhibition at Cincinnati's Union Grounds he threw the baseball 132 yards (396 feet).[1] On October 15, 1872 Hatfield threw a baseball 400 feet.[2]

  1. ^ Ryczek (1998, 141) says 396 feet and cites the Henry Chadwick Scrapbooks. Elsewhere I have read 132 and fractional yards.
  2. ^ James, Bill, "The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract", Simon & Schuster, 2003.