Infield: Highpockets Hudspeth was a big, strong Negro League first baseman. No indication on where his nickname came from, other than that he was 6-foot-6 and therefore had pockets that were higher than normal. Hudspeth was a slow-footed power hitter, a decent glove but immobile in the field. In his prime he was a very good hitter, but his prime was relatively short. Second baseman Harry Hinchman (1907) was a switch-hitter who played for two decades in the minors, collecting almost 2,300 hits and batting .260. His major-league career consisted of a couple of weeks in Cleveland. Third baseman Harry Hanebrink (1953-59) was a bit player on the Milwaukee Braves teams that won two pennants in the late 1950s. Shortstop Hob Hiller (1920-21) played briefly for the post-Ruth Red Sox.
Outfield: Right fielder Harry Heilmann (1914-32) played alongside Cobb in Detroit as part of one of history’s greatest outfields. Heilmann’s .342 career average is one of the best of all time, and he was good for 40 doubles a year (as well as a double-figures in triples and home runs). He won four AL batting titles – every odd-numbered year between 1921-27. Like Heilmann, center fielder Harry Hooper (1909-25) is in the Hall of Fame, but they were very different types of players. Hooper was a great defensive outfielder and a steady but unspectacular hitter. He played right field for much of his career, but only because he was sharing the Boston outfield with Tris Speaker. Hooper is the only player in history to win four World Series titles with the Red Sox. For his career, he batted .281, but he had only moderate power and slightly above-average speed. Left fielder Harvey Hendrick (1923-34) batted .308 for his career, during a high-average era. He had decent line-drive power. He bounced around the league, playing for seven teams in 11 seasons, and most of his career was as a part-time player.
Catcher: Hughie Hearn (1901-03) was a pretty decent catcher who played for Brooklyn but was always in a role backing up an established veteran. He was essentially a .280-.290 hitter, both in his short major-league career and his longer minor-league career.
Rotation: Harvey Haddix (1952-65) is famous for pitching one of the greatest games in history. On May 6, 1959, pitching for the Pirates, he worked 12 perfect innings but was still stuck in a scoreless tie with Milwaukee. In the 13th, he lost the perfecto and the game, but the performance remains legendary. That game remains his legacy, the first thing people think of when they heard Haddix’s name, but he was actually a good pitcher for a long time. He won 136 games, mostly for the Cardinals and the Pirates, and in the 1960 World Series he was the winning pitcher in Game 5 (starter) and Game 7 (reliever). Harry Harper (1913-23) was known as “Hackensack Harry,” after his hometown in New Jersey. He spent most of his career with the Senators, which led to a career record of 57-76 despite an ERA that was better than league average. His reward was to spent 1921 with the pennant-winning Yankees. Harper was in the majors at age 18 and out of baseball by 30, at which point he embarked on a very successful career in business and politics (though he ultimately came up short in a U.S. Senate election in 1948 and a Congressional election two years later). Hardie Henderson (1883-88) lost 32 games in 1883 and then, to prove it wasn’t a fluke, he lost 35 in 1885. OK, so, losing 30 games in a season wasn’t all that rare in the 1880s. Still, there weren’t a lot of guys who did it twice. Henderson was a fairly average pitcher who finished his career 81-121 because, like Harry Harper, he pitched for bad teams. Harry Howell (1898-1910) bounced around for a few years before settling in with the St. Louis Browns. He finished with a career record of 131-146 and an ERA of 2.74. He never won 20 games in a season, but he lost 20 three times. Harry Hulihan (1922) came home from World War I and pitched a handful of games for the Boston Braves in 1922. He was a 23-year-old lefty, and he pitched very well (3.15 ERA in 40 innings for a terrible team in a league where the average ERA was 4.10). He hurt his arm, kicked around the semipro ranks for a while without ever playing in the minors, and then retired in his mid-20s and spent the rest of his life selling real estate and insurance. We suspect that Harry Harper and Harry Hulihan will be business partners in the offseason (Harry & Harry Inc., a consulting firm).
Outfield: Right fielder Harry Heilmann (1914-32) played alongside Cobb in Detroit as part of one of history’s greatest outfields. Heilmann’s .342 career average is one of the best of all time, and he was good for 40 doubles a year (as well as a double-figures in triples and home runs). He won four AL batting titles – every odd-numbered year between 1921-27. Like Heilmann, center fielder Harry Hooper (1909-25) is in the Hall of Fame, but they were very different types of players. Hooper was a great defensive outfielder and a steady but unspectacular hitter. He played right field for much of his career, but only because he was sharing the Boston outfield with Tris Speaker. Hooper is the only player in history to win four World Series titles with the Red Sox. For his career, he batted .281, but he had only moderate power and slightly above-average speed. Left fielder Harvey Hendrick (1923-34) batted .308 for his career, during a high-average era. He had decent line-drive power. He bounced around the league, playing for seven teams in 11 seasons, and most of his career was as a part-time player.
Catcher: Hughie Hearn (1901-03) was a pretty decent catcher who played for Brooklyn but was always in a role backing up an established veteran. He was essentially a .280-.290 hitter, both in his short major-league career and his longer minor-league career.
Rotation: Harvey Haddix (1952-65) is famous for pitching one of the greatest games in history. On May 6, 1959, pitching for the Pirates, he worked 12 perfect innings but was still stuck in a scoreless tie with Milwaukee. In the 13th, he lost the perfecto and the game, but the performance remains legendary. That game remains his legacy, the first thing people think of when they heard Haddix’s name, but he was actually a good pitcher for a long time. He won 136 games, mostly for the Cardinals and the Pirates, and in the 1960 World Series he was the winning pitcher in Game 5 (starter) and Game 7 (reliever). Harry Harper (1913-23) was known as “Hackensack Harry,” after his hometown in New Jersey. He spent most of his career with the Senators, which led to a career record of 57-76 despite an ERA that was better than league average. His reward was to spent 1921 with the pennant-winning Yankees. Harper was in the majors at age 18 and out of baseball by 30, at which point he embarked on a very successful career in business and politics (though he ultimately came up short in a U.S. Senate election in 1948 and a Congressional election two years later). Hardie Henderson (1883-88) lost 32 games in 1883 and then, to prove it wasn’t a fluke, he lost 35 in 1885. OK, so, losing 30 games in a season wasn’t all that rare in the 1880s. Still, there weren’t a lot of guys who did it twice. Henderson was a fairly average pitcher who finished his career 81-121 because, like Harry Harper, he pitched for bad teams. Harry Howell (1898-1910) bounced around for a few years before settling in with the St. Louis Browns. He finished with a career record of 131-146 and an ERA of 2.74. He never won 20 games in a season, but he lost 20 three times. Harry Hulihan (1922) came home from World War I and pitched a handful of games for the Boston Braves in 1922. He was a 23-year-old lefty, and he pitched very well (3.15 ERA in 40 innings for a terrible team in a league where the average ERA was 4.10). He hurt his arm, kicked around the semipro ranks for a while without ever playing in the minors, and then retired in his mid-20s and spent the rest of his life selling real estate and insurance. We suspect that Harry Harper and Harry Hulihan will be business partners in the offseason (Harry & Harry Inc., a consulting firm).
Bullpen: Hal Haid (1919-33) saved five games for the Cardinals in 1928. That was enough to lead the National League, and it's enough to make him the H.H. closer. Haid finished his career with a dozen saves. Haid pitched one game for the Browns at age 21, then pitched in the minors for severals years before resurfacing with the Cardinals at age 30. After a few years in the bigs, he went back to the minors and pitched until he was 40, finishing with 139 minor-league wins. Herb Hutson (1974) pitched in 20 games for the Cubs. Not much of a big-league career, but he did a decent job of getting people out (3.45 ERA, 22 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings). Hal Haydel (1970-71) had a 6-2 record and, yes, one save in his brief career in Minnesota. Homer Hillebrand (1905-08) could actually count as two players, partly because his full name was Homer Hiller Henry Hillebrand and partly because he was both a hitter and a pitcher. In truth, he wasn’t much of a hitter, for which reason he washed out as a first baseman in his early 20s, but as a pitcher he had a couple of pretty good years for the Pirates. Harry Hoch (1908-15) was a minor-league starter who pitched well in three starts for the Phillies in 1908 but didn’t stick, so he went back to the minors and resurfaced with the St. Louis Browns a few years later to go 0-6 primarily as a reliever. His durability will make him valuable in the exceedingly thin H.H. pen. Herm Holshouser (1930) pitched a few games for the St. Louis Browns in which the league batted about .350 against him, which led to a 7.80 ERA. Hilly Hathaway (1992-93) was a tall lefty who pitched very well in the minors but got hit hard when the Angels gave him a dozen starts in his early 20s. He went back to the minors and struggled, and he was out of baseball before he turned 30. If Hathaway struggles, there is a crowded field of guys who appeared in fewer than five games, including guys like Harry Hedgpeth, Herb Hippauf, Hanson Horsey, Harley Hisner, Heath Haynes and Horace Heimbold ready to step in and hurl.
Bench: Ham Hyatt (1909-18) was an outfielder and first baseman who batted a respectable .267 during the deadball era. He will compete for playing time with Harvey Hendrick, but there’s no possibility of platoons since they are both lefty hitters (as is Highpockets Hudspeth at first base). Heine Heitmuller (1909-10) was a big, strapping outfielder who played well in a couple of extended trials with the Philadelphia A’s but couldn’t crack their formidable lineup. He returned to the minors and was leading the Pacific Coast League in batting in 1912 when he died of typhoid fever. Hugh High (1913-18), another outfielder, was a decent hitter (though not as good as his brother Andy), and he was a part-time starter for the pre-Ruth Yankees. Herb Hunter (1916-21) couldn’t hit, but he beats out Heine Heltzel and Hunter Hill for the utility infield spot in part because he has the distinction of organizing some of the first barnstorming trips that took American players to Japan, helping to popularize the sport there. His tours included major stars such as Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane. Hub Hart (19905-07) was the backup catcher for some very good White Sox teams, including the World Series champions of 1906. If one of the backup outfielders gets injured, we would look forward to the pitched battle between Hinky Haines and Hunky Hines for the last roster spot.
Manager: Holly Hollingshead had a career record of 16-66 in two partial seasons managing the Washington Nationals in the 19th century. He was just 22 years old when he led the team in 1875 but he went just 4-16. They gave him another shot in 1884 at age 31, but the results weren’t much better.
Bench: Ham Hyatt (1909-18) was an outfielder and first baseman who batted a respectable .267 during the deadball era. He will compete for playing time with Harvey Hendrick, but there’s no possibility of platoons since they are both lefty hitters (as is Highpockets Hudspeth at first base). Heine Heitmuller (1909-10) was a big, strapping outfielder who played well in a couple of extended trials with the Philadelphia A’s but couldn’t crack their formidable lineup. He returned to the minors and was leading the Pacific Coast League in batting in 1912 when he died of typhoid fever. Hugh High (1913-18), another outfielder, was a decent hitter (though not as good as his brother Andy), and he was a part-time starter for the pre-Ruth Yankees. Herb Hunter (1916-21) couldn’t hit, but he beats out Heine Heltzel and Hunter Hill for the utility infield spot in part because he has the distinction of organizing some of the first barnstorming trips that took American players to Japan, helping to popularize the sport there. His tours included major stars such as Lou Gehrig, Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane. Hub Hart (19905-07) was the backup catcher for some very good White Sox teams, including the World Series champions of 1906. If one of the backup outfielders gets injured, we would look forward to the pitched battle between Hinky Haines and Hunky Hines for the last roster spot.
Manager: Holly Hollingshead had a career record of 16-66 in two partial seasons managing the Washington Nationals in the 19th century. He was just 22 years old when he led the team in 1875 but he went just 4-16. They gave him another shot in 1884 at age 31, but the results weren’t much better.
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