Hugh Jeffrey Treadway (born January 22, 1963) 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 ...
second baseman. 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) for the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
,
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...
,
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
,
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
, and
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 ...
between 1987 and 1995. Due to injuries leading to shoulder and hand surgeries as well as position battles, he only averaged 84 games per year. His career batting average was .281. His postseason hitting was clutch, in just 8 games he had 11 at bats with 4 hits and a walk for an OPS of .780. Both Atlanta
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
appearances he played in finished with losses, in 1991 to the Twins and in 1992 to the Blue Jays.
["Jeff Treadway Statistics and History"](_blank)
"baseball-reference.com. Retrieved on 2017-05-13.
Treadway was born in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
, and started his MLB career in 1987 with the team that signed him undrafted, the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
. He was traded / sold at the end of spring training in 1989 to the Atlanta Braves. His full-time role lasted there lasted two and a half years before
Mark Lemke
Mark Alan Lemke (born August 13, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball player and current broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for the Atlanta Braves from to . He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves over ...
started to take over second base duties.
By far the biggest offensive highlight of his career came on May 28, 1990. It was in
Veteran's Stadium
Veterans Stadium (full name Veterans Memorial Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in New Britain, Connecticut. Opened in 1982, it is dedicated to the soldiers of the city who died in various U.S. wars, particularly Vietnam. The stadium now House ...
in Philadelphia on the night the Phillies were retiring future Hall Of Famer Mike Schmidt's number. Treadway hit three home runs that night off three different pitchers. There was one more full season of part-time play in 1992 for Atlanta before being released at the end of the season.
Within a month he was signed by the
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...
. His full season of play for the Tribe meant him playing more games at third base than second. He was granted free agency at the end of the 1993 season.
In late 1993 the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
signed Treadway, where he played an even mix of second and third base until May of the 1995 season. He was then traded to the team that had originally tried to draft him out of high school, 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 ...
. 41 games and 55 at bats there were his final as a major leaguer. He announced his retirement on September 16, 1995.
Treadway attended the University of Georgia and played baseball for the Bulldogs from 1982 to 1983.
He is one of the few major leaguers to have successfully completed the
hidden ball trick
A hidden ball trick is a play in which a player deceives the opposing team about the location of the ball. Hidden ball tricks are most commonly observed in baseball, where the defence deceives the runner about the location of the ball, to tag out t ...
, accomplishing it at least twice.
After leaving major league baseball, Treadway managed the minor league Macon Braves for two seasons starting in 1999. He then joined the staff of
Stratford Academy
Stratford Academy is a private school in Bibb County, Georgia, United States, near Macon. It opened September 1960.
The school has a controversial history as part of the segregation academy movement. As of 2017-18, approximately 21% of student ...
in 2003, where he has managed the Macon, Georgia-based high school baseball and softball programs. He led the baseball team to the GISA State Championship in 2007 and the fast-pitch softball team to GISA state championships in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012. As of 2022, he is an assistant baseball coach at Stratford.
References
External links
Baseball almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Treadway, Jeff
1963 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Atlanta Braves players
Baseball players from Columbus, Georgia
Cincinnati Reds players
Cleveland Indians players
Denver Zephyrs players
Georgia Bulldogs baseball players
Greenville Braves players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Major League Baseball second basemen
Middle Georgia Warriors baseball players
Minor league baseball managers
Montreal Expos players
Nashville Sounds players
Tampa Tarpons (1957–1987) players
Vermont Reds players
Peninsula Oilers players