Robert Hamilton Hyatt (November 1, 1884 – September 11, 1963) was an American

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 ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He 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) from 1909 to 1918 for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

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 ha ...

, and

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. Hyatt started his professional baseball career with the Vancouver Beavers of the Northwestern League. In 1908, he hit .323 with 15

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s; he led the league in hits, home runs, and runs scored. He was purchased by the

after the season. From to , Hyatt served mostly as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

for the Pirates; Steve Treder of

The Hardball Times The Hardball Times (abbreviated as THT) is a website which publishes news, original comments and statistical analysis of baseball each week Monday through Friday, in addition to the Hardball Times Annual book which features essays by leading sabe ...

credits him as baseball's first pinch-hitting specialist. His 181

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in is the highest for a single season of any player deployed in this role. Hyatt also had one-year stints playing for the

and the

. After his time in the major leagues ended, Hyatt played in the minors. He spent – with the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Vernon Tigers The Vernon Tigers were a Minor League Baseball team that represented Vernon, California in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1909 to 1925. The team won back-to-back PCL pennants in 1919 and 1920. The Tigers, together with the Sacramento Solons, ...

, hitting over .300 each year.

References

External links

* 1884 births 1963 deaths Major League Baseball first basemen Baseball players from North Carolina Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals players New York Yankees players Vancouver Beavers players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Chattanooga Lookouts players Toledo Mud Hens players Vernon Tigers players Baseball players from Buncombe County, North Carolina American expatriate baseball players in Canada {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub