The Mets announced that former big leaguer Ron Hunt has passed away at the age of 85. Hunt played in 12 big league seasons as a prototypical old-school scrappy guy. He didn’t have much power but was difficult to strike out and got on base by intentionally getting hit by pitches with regularity. “Some folks give their bodies to science,” he once said. “I gave mine to baseball.”
A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Hunt was signed out of high school by the Milwaukee Braves. Before reaching the majors, he was purchased by the Mets in October of 1962. The Mets had just finished their 40-120 maiden season.
Hunt was able to crack the roster in 1963 and eventually took over the second base job. He managed to hit ten home runs, a figure that he would never come close to matching, as he couldn’t hit more than six in any subsequent season. But he only struck out 50 times in 600 plate appearances and was hit by 13 pitches. That all led to a .272/.334/.396 line.
He finished second to Pete Rose in National League Rookie of the Year voting. He was also voted Most Valuable Met and was given an Amphicar as a prize, perhaps due to the fact that he lived in New Jersey and often complained about having to pay a 50-cent toll twice a day taking the George Washington Bridge to and from work. After getting the award, he drove his new car to the Hudson and then steered it across the river to his home in Fort Lee.
His on-field performance continued in fairly similar fashion and he become a favorite among fans and fellow ballplayers. He was selected to the All-Star team in 1964 and 1966, with the season in between marred by injuries.
Prior to the 1967 campaign, he was traded to the Dodgers along with Jim Hickman, in exchange for Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith. One year later, he was flipped again, this time going to the Giants. He and Nate Oliver were sent to San Francisco for Francis Kasheta and Tom Haller.
It was with the Giants that he took his skill for getting hit by pitches to a new level. With the Mets and Dodgers, he was usually plunked 10 to 13 times per year. But 1968 was the first of six straight campaigns where he was hit at least 24 times. He was traded to the Expos in the 1970-71 offseason, with Dave McDonald going the other way. In his first season in Montreal, he got hit an incredible 50 times. That’s a modern record, second on the all-time list behind Hughie Jennings and his 51 HBPs way back in 1896.
Late in 1974, the Expos put Hunt on waivers. The Cardinals claimed him, giving Hunt a chance to play for his hometown team. He got into 12 games for the Cards late in that campaign. He was in camp with the Cards in 1975 but was cut before Opening Day and decided to hang up his spikes.
He retired with 1,483 games under his belt, having stepped to the plate 6,158 times. He racked up 1,429 hits, including 39 home runs. He scored 745 times and drove in 370. He drew 555 walks and was hit by 243 pitches. The latter number is sixth on the All-Time list behind Jennings, Craig Biggio, Tommy Tucker, Don Baylor and Jason Kendall. After his playing days were done, he kept himself busy with various things. He ran a liquor store, a sporting goods store, and ran some instructional baseball clinics for youngsters.
We at MLB Trade Rumors send our condolences to Hunt’s family, friends and all those in the baseball world mourning him today.
Photo courtesy of Darryl Norenberg, Imagn Images. Most of the information in this post came from Hunt’s page at the Society for American Baseball Research. Readers interested in learning more about Hunt are encouraged to check that out.
