Batting average .273 Role Baseball player Name Bob Hale | RBI 89 Hits 171 | |
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Died September 8, 2012, Park Ridge, Illinois, United States | ||
Robert Houston Hale (November 7, 1933 – September 8, 2012) was an American professional baseball player and a former Major League Baseball first baseman.
Born in Sarasota, Florida, Hale attended Lake View High School in Chicago, and was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Browns before the 1952 season. In the minor leagues, Hale showed promise in 1953 when he had a batting average of .332 with 30 doubles and had 100 RBI at Aberdeen of the Northern League. The following season, 1954, Hale starred as a member of the York White Roses, leading the Piedmont League in doubles with 35. He also managed to hit 10 triples, 12 home runs, and drove in 101 runs in 142 games. Bob continued his offensive tear in the league with York in 1955, hitting .355 with 12 triples and 65 RBI in just 61 games before being called up to the majors by the Baltimore Orioles.
Hale made his Major League debut with the Orioles on July 4, 1955 and would go on to have a very successful first year, batting .357 in 67 games. He followed that up in 1956 with a career-high 85 games in 1956 with a .237 batting average. After three more seasons where he played sparingly, Hale was released by the Orioles. The Cleveland Indians picked him up for the 1960 season, and he played there for a season and a half before being purchased by the New York Yankees on July 28, 1961. He would play his final game with the Yankees on October 1, 1961.
