Mike Hegan

James Michael Hegan

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 190 lb.
• School John Carroll University, College of the Holy Cross
• High School St. Ignatius High School (Cleveland)
• Debut September 13, 1964
• Final Game July 8, 1977
• Born July 21, 1942 in Cleveland, OH USA
• Died December 25, 2013 in Hilton Head, SC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

"Mike Hegan has been hitting like fury. He does that from time to time. His history is streaks. He's either hitting .450 or .150." - Jim Bouton, Ball Four

Mike Hegan was an outfielder-first baseman for several American League teams throughout the 1960s and 1970s. He played a key role on the 1972 world champion Oakland A's as a left-handed pinch hitter and defensive replacement for regular first baseman Mike Epstein. He was on the New York Yankees' roster for the 1964 World Series, shortly after making his major league debut, as a replacement for the injured Tony Kubek. He went 0 for 5 for the Yankees during his September call-up, but scored a run as a pinch-runner against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.

He was the first player to become the property of the Seattle Pilots when the Yankees sold him to the expansion team on June 14, 1968, although the Pilots would not begin playing until the following season. The clause was that the Pilots were to leave Hegan to play with the Syracuse Chiefs for the remainder of the season. On Opening Day 1969, he hit the first homer in Pilots history, off Jim McGlothlin of the California Angels; it came in the 1st inning after Tommy Harper had led off with a double. He led the Pilots in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage in their first and only season, and was named to represent the team at the 1969 All-Star Game, but he had to bow out because of a pulled hamstring, being replaced by teammate Don Mincher.

Hegan played 178 consecutive errorless games at first base between 1970 and 1973; it was a major league record until 1984, when beaten by Steve Garvey. Hegan hit for the cycle as a Brewer on September 3, 1976, in a battle against the Detroit Tigers.

He served in the National Guard during the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, missing large blocks of playing time while he was in the minors.

The son of Jim Hegan, Mike was a broadcaster for the Milwaukee Brewers from 1977 to 1988 and was with the Cleveland Indians from 1989 until his retirement in 2011. He died of heart failure in 2013.

Notable Achievements

• AL All-Star (1969)
• Won a World Series with the Oakland Athletics in 1972

Further Reading

• Gary Belleville: "April 8, 1969: Mike Hegan homers, sacrifices body for win in Seattle Pilots’ inaugural game," SABR Baseball Games Project.
• Joseph Wancho: "Mike Hegan", in Chip Greene, ed.: Mustaches and Mayhem, Charlie O's Three-Time Champions: The Oakland Athletics 1972-74, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2015, pp. 194-198. ISBN 978-1-943816-07-1

Related Sites

• Mike Hegan at the SABR Bio Project