Donald Antone Hahn (born November 16, 1948) is an American former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
, known primarily for his defensive abilities. Hahn played in
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
(MLB) for the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
,
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
,
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...
, and
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
.
Hahn attended
Campbell High School in
Campbell, California
Campbell is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, Campbell's population is 43,959. Campbell is home to the Pruneyard Shopping Center, a sprawling open-air retail complex which was in ...
. There, along with his studies, he played
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
. The right-handed throwing and batting Hahn was drafted by the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
in the 17th round of the
1966 Major League Baseball draft
On April 8, 1969, Hahn played in his first major league game; he was the starting
center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...
in the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...
' first game. He also was the first fielder in Expo franchise history to field a ball; in the bottom of the first inning, the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
'
Tommie Agee
Tommie Lee Agee (August 9, 1942 – January 22, 2001) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from through , most notably as a member of the New York Mets team that became known as the ...
singled to center field, and Hahn retrieved it and threw the ball to the cutoff man. The game was played at
Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.[Flushing, New York
Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...](_blank)
, and the Expos defeated the Mets by a score of 11-10. Hahn's first major league at-bat came in the second inning of the game as he batted eighth in the lineup; he struck out. He went 0-for-3 before being taken out for
Don Shaw.
Hahn later became quite accustomed to the Shea Stadium
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball and ...
grass; a few days before the
1971 MLB season began, the Mets traded
1969 World Series
The 1969 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1969 season. The 66th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and the National L ...
hero
Ron Swoboda
Ronald Alan Swoboda (born June 30, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from through , most notably as a member of the New York Mets ...
, along with
minor leaguer Rich Hacker
Richard Warren Hacker (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was a Major League Baseball player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for the Montreal Expos in the 1971 season as a shortstop. He had a .121 batting average, with four hits in ...
, to the Expos, in exchange for the young outfielder.
Hahn emerged as the starting center fielder for the pennant-winning Mets of 1973. Hahn started all 12 games for the Mets during post-season play. Earlier in '73, in July, Hahn was involved in a brutal collision in the outfield with
left fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...
George Theodore, which resulted in a dislocated hip for Theodore.
Hahn was traded along with
Tug McGraw
Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became th ...
and
Dave Schneck
David Lee Schneck (born June 18, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played parts of three seasons, from 1972 until 1974, with the New York Mets.
Originally drafted as a pitcher by the Mets in 1967, he did not begin his profes ...
from the Mets to the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
for
Del Unser
Delbert Bernard Unser (born December 9, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from to , most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a ...
,
John Stearns
John Hardin Stearns (August 21, 1951 – September 15, 2022), nicknamed "Bad Dude", was an American professional baseball catcher and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets from 1975 to 1984 after playing a single ...
, and
Mac Scarce
Guerrant McCurdy "Mac" Scarce (born April 8, 1949) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in parts of five Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons from –. During his short career, the left-hander pitched for the ...
at the
Winter Meetings
Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...
on December 3, 1974.
Durso, Joseph. "Big Deals: McGraw to Phils, Allen to Braves, Lee May to Orioles," ''The New York Times'', Wednesday, December 4, 1974.
Retrieved October 31, 2020
References
External links
Don Hahn
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Don Hahn
at Baseball Almanac
Don Hahn
at Baseballbiography.com
Don Hahn
at Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hahn, Don
1948 births
Living people
Baseball players from San Francisco
Baseball players from San Jose, California
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Major League Baseball outfielders
Montreal Expos players
New York Mets players
Philadelphia Phillies players
St. Louis Cardinals players
San Diego Padres players
Magic Valley Cowboys players
Decatur Commodores players
Fresno Giants players
Vancouver Mounties players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Winnipeg Whips players
Tidewater Tides players
Phoenix Giants players