Chick Hafey (1971)


Date of Birth: 2/12/1903
Date of Death: 7/2/1973
Birthplace: Berkeley, California

Chick Hafey started his amateur baseball career as a high school pitcher. He played professional baseball for the first time in 1923 when he joined a minor league team in the Western Association. He signed with the St. Louis Cardinals that year.

St. Louis Cardinals

Hafey started in the major leagues in 1924, playing in 24 games with the St. Louis Cardinals. He continued to play part time for the team, playing in 93 games in 1925 and in 78 games in 1926.

In 1927, Hafey led the NL in slugging percentage with .590. He finished the season with 114 hits, 26 doubles, 18 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .329 batting average in 103 games. The following year, he had a career high 175 hits. He finished the 1928 season with 46 doubles, 27 home runs, 111 RBIs, and a .337 batting average in 138 games.

Hafey's best season was 1929, when he batted .338 with career highs in hits (175), doubles (47), home runs (29), and RBIs (125). He followed that season with another strong one, batting .336 in 1930. That year, he had 150 hits, 39 doubles, a career high 12 triples, 26 home runs, and 107 RBIs in 120 games.

In 1931, his last season with the Cardinals, Hafey led the NL in batting average. He finished the season with 157 hits, 35 doubles, 16 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a career high batting average of .349.

Cincinnati Reds

In 1932, Hafey had a salary dispute with general manager Branch Rickey and he left the Cardinals to play with the Cincinnati Reds. He batted .344 with 87 hits in 83 games in his first season with the Reds. In 1933, he played in a career high 144 games, and he had 172 hits, 34 doubles, 62 RBIs, and a .303 batting average.

Health issues caused Hafey to retire in 1935 after just 15 games. He returned in 1937 to finish his major league playing career with 89 more games with the Reds.

Career Statistics

Hafey played in over 100 games in each of 7 seasons (1927-1931, 1933-1934). His statistics during that time include:

  • 6 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 175 in 1928 and 1929
  • 5 seasons with over 30 doubles, with highs of 46 in 1928 and 47 in 1929
  • 3 seasons with over 20 home runs, with a high of 29 in 1929
  • 3 seasons with over 100 RBIs, with a high of 125 in 1929
  • 7 seasons with a batting average over .300, with a high of .349 in 1931

Career batting statistics for Hafey include:

  • 1,283 games played
  • 1,466 hits
  • 341 doubles
  • 164 home runs
  • 833 RBIs
  • 477 strikeouts to 372 walks
  • .317 batting average
  • .372 on-base percentage
  • .898 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Hafey as an outfielder include:

  • 1,185 games played
  • 2,527 putouts
  • 80 errors
  • .971 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Hafey include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 23 games played
  • 88 at-bats
  • 18 hits
  • 7 doubles
  • 1 stolen base
  • 2 RBIs
  • 19 strikeouts to 2 walks
  • .205 batting average

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Chick Hafey
ESPN - Chick Hafey
Baseball Reference - Chick Hafey

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