John Hatfield

Born: 7/20/1847 in Hoboken, NJ, USA

Died: 2/20/1909 in Long Island City, NY, USA

MLB Debut: 1871-05-18 | Final Game: 1876-05-05

Height: 5'10" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: John Van Buskirk Hatfield

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Biography

John Hatfield was a prominent position player in the early days of professional baseball, whose career spanned from 1871 to 1876. Born in 1847, Hatfield emerged during a transformative period in baseball history when the game was evolving from its amateur roots into a more organized, professional sport. Over the course of his career, he played in 206 games, where he distinguished himself with a batting average of .28, amassing a total of 283 hits, including 3 home runs and 146 RBIs. His contributions on the base paths were significant as well; he stole 28 bases, showcasing his speed and agility, which were crucial in an era that valued aggressive base running. Hatfield's playing style reflected the competitive spirit of the 1870s, a time when baseball was still finding its identity amidst the larger context of American sports. While he may not have reached the legendary status of some of his contemporaries, his solid performance and consistent hitting helped pave the way for the game's future. His legacy as a player is preserved not only through his statistics but also as a representative of baseball's formative years, a time when the sport began to capture the imagination of the American public and solidify its place in the nation's culture.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
0	1	3	0	0	0	0	8.0	11	2	0	0	0	2.25	0

Career ERA 2.25 vs. league average 2.19 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1874	NY2		0	1	3	0	0	0	0	8.0	11	2	0	0	2.25	—	0.0

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
206	1011	219	283	36	11	3	146	28	23	20	0.280	0.296	0.346	0.642	-165.3

Career AVG .280 vs. league average .273 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .296 vs. league average .285 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .346 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.642 vs. league average 0.621 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1871	NY2		33	168	41	43	3	2	0	22	10	4	0	0.256	.286 (-11%)	.311 (-12%)	.383 (-22%)	.695 (-18%)	-467.1
1872	NY2		56	288	76	93	15	2	1	47	12	9	6	0.323	.285 (+13%)	.296 (+16%)	.347 (+15%)	.644 (+15%)	714.6
1873	NY2		52	255	54	78	5	6	2	46	2	3	2	0.306	.290 (+5%)	.304 (+3%)	.357 (+11%)	.661 (+7%)	268.3
1874	NY2		63	292	47	66	12	1	0	29	4	7	12	0.226	.273 (-17%)	.282 (-14%)	.333 (-18%)	.615 (-16%)	-681.2
1875	NY2		1	4	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.500	—	—	—	—	0.0
1876	NY3	NL	1	4	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0.250	—	—	—	—	0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	2	1	13	0	2	0
2B	75	62	209	200	75	28
3B	54	7	125	100	77	7
OF	84	81	252	5	39	0
P	3	0	2	5	0	1
SS	1	0	0	1	1	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1871	NY2	2B	7	7	22	16	6	2
1871	NY2	3B	2	2	4	4	5	0
1871	NY2	OF	24	24	79	2	14	0
1872	NY2	1B	1	0	10	0	0	0
1872	NY2	2B	55	55	157	159	57	25
1873	NY2	2B	12	0	29	21	11	1
1873	NY2	3B	45	0	105	83	65	5
1873	NY2	OF	1	0	0	0	0	0
1874	NY2	1B	1	1	3	0	2	0
1874	NY2	3B	7	5	16	13	7	2
1874	NY2	OF	58	57	171	3	25	0
1874	NY2	P	3	0	2	5	0	1
1874	NY2	SS	1	0	0	1	1	0
1875	NY2	OF	1	0	2	0	0	0
1876	NY3	2B	1	0	1	4	1	0