Michael Anthony Easler (born November 29, 1950), nicknamed "The Hit Man", is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

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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 ...

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

, and

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, who played in

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(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

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 ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

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 ...

, and

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, from to .

Playing career

Easler was selected in the 14th round (314th overall) of the 1969 MLB draft by the Houston Astros out of Benedictine High School in Cleveland, Ohio. He played in the Astros' minor league system from 1969 through 1975, both before and after his major league debut. Easler played for the rookie league

Covington Astros The Covington Astros were a minor league baseball team that played from 1967 to 1976 in the Appalachian League. Affiliated with the Houston Astros, they were located in Covington, Virginia. They played their home games at Casey Field. In 1966, th ...

(1969),

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classif ...

Cocoa Astros The Cocoa Astros were a professional minor league baseball team in the Florida State League (FSL), as a Class A affiliate with the Houston Astros from 1965–72 and 1977. The team played at the Astros' spring training facility. The Cocoa FSL tea ...

(1970–1971), Double-A

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(1972–1973), Triple-A

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(1973–1974), and Triple-A Iowa Oaks (1975).

Houston Astros

Easler made his major league debut on September 5, 1973, pinch hitting (and grounding out) in the 11th inning of an Astros 9–3 loss to 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 ...

. Easler appeared in a total of six games with the Astros that season, going hitless in seven

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. He appeared in 15 games in 1974 (batting 1-for-15), and 5 games in 1975 (batting 0-for-5). In June 1975, the Astros traded Easler to the

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 ...

; Easler had appeared in a total of 26 games for Houston, batting just 1-for-27 (.037). Easler spent the remainder of the 1975 season and most of the 1976 season with the Cardinals' Triple-A

farm team In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tuls ...

; he did not appear in an MLB game with the Cardinals. In September 1976, the Cardinals traded Easler to the California Angels.

California Angels

During the 1976 season, Easler played in 21 games for the Angels, all in September, batting 13-for-54 (.241). In April 1977, the Angels traded Easler to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Easler spent most of 1977 with the Pirates' Triple-A team, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. Late in the 1977 season, Easler played ten games with the Pirates, batting 8-for-18 (.444). After spending all of the 1978 season with the Clippers, Easler's contract was sold to the Boston Red Sox by the Pirates; however, in March 1979, Easler was traded back to the Pirates. During the 1979 season, Easler appeared in 55 games for the Pirates, mostly as a pinch hitter, batting 15-for-54 (.278). He made one pinch hitting appearance in the 1979 NLCS (he flied out) and two pinch hitting appearances in the 1979 World Series (he walked once, and flied out), as the Pirates defeated the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in seven games. Although he had earned a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

, from 1973 through the end of the 1979 season, Easler had played a total of just 112 regular season MLB games, batting .242 with three home runs and 20 RBIs. Easler's playing time changed significantly in 1980, when he played 132 games, mainly as the Pirates' regular left fielder. He batted .338 with 21 home runs and 74 RBIs. He

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

on June 12, 1980, in a 10–6 win over the Cincinnati Reds. In the strike shortened 1981 season, Easler played in 95 games, batting .286 with 7 home runs and 42 RBIs. Easler was selected to the 1981 All-Star Game; he entered the game in sixth inning, and had a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

and a run scored in two

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s, as the National League won, 5–4. Easler continued as the Pirates' regular left fielder in 1982 (142 games, batting .276 with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs) and 1983 (115 games, batting .307 with 10 home runs at 54 RBIs). After the 1983 season, the Pirates traded Easler to the Red Sox for pitcher John Tudor. In his six seasons with the Pirates, Easler appeared in 549 games, batting .302 with 56 home runs and 244 RBIs.

Boston Red Sox

Easler was Boston's primary designated hitter for two years. In 1984, he batted .313 with 27 home runs and 91 RBIs in 156 games. In 1985, he played in 155 games, batting .262 with 16 home runs and 74 RBIs. Before the start of the 1986 season, Boston traded Easler to the New York Yankees for

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowding ...

New York Yankees

Easler spent the 1986 season with the Yankees, as a designated hitter and

corner 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 ...

. He appeared in 146 games, batting .302 with 14 home runs and 78 RBIs. On December 11, 1986, the Yankees traded Easler and Tom Barrett to the Philadelphia Phillies for Charles Hudson and Jeff Knox.

Philadelphia Phillies

Easler started in left field on opening day for the Phillies and appeared in 33 games and batting .282 with one home run and ten RBIs. On June 10, he was traded back to the Yankees as he never got completely comfortable with playing the field every day instead of being a DH. This time the Yankees sent Keith Hughes and

Shane Turner Shane Lee Turner (born January 8, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in parts of three seasons in the Major League Baseball (MLB) for three different teams. Career Turner attended Garey High School in Pomona CA A ...

to Philadelphia.

Second Stint with the Yankees

He returned to the Yankees the same day he was traded and got a pinch hit in his first AB back in a loss to Toronto. He appeared in 65 games for the club while batting .281 with 4 home runs and 21 RBIs. In his last career plate appearance, he got a pinch hit single in a loss to the Orioles in a game started by Hudson whom he was traded for less than a year earlier. In his 14 seasons in MLB, Easler played a total of 1151 regular season games, batting .293 with 118 home runs and 522 RBIs. He played 480 games in left field, 434 games as designated hitter, 81 games in right field, and 29 games at first base, along with 189 pinch hitting appearances.

Late career

Easler started the 1988 season with the Texas Rangers' Triple-A team, the

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He played just two games with the team, batting 5-for-7 (.714). Easler then spent the rest of the 1988 season, and the 1989 season, with the

Nippon-Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a s ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. He played a total of 142 games for the Fighters, batting .302 with 26 home runs and 90 RBIs. Easler finished his playing career with the

West Palm Beach Tropics The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielded a lineup that included slugger Dave Kingman and R ...

during the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

's inaugural season (October 1989–February 1990).

Career statistics

In 1151 games over 14 seasons, Easler posted a .293

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1078-for-3677) with 465 runs, 189 doubles, 25 triples, 118

home runs 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 ...

, 522 RBI, 321

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, .349

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and .454

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

. Defensively, he recorded an overall .974

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

Post-playing career

After his retirement, Easler managed the unaffiliated

Miami Miracle The Miracle in Miami, also known as the Miami Miracle, was an American football play that took place at the end of a National Football League regular season game on December 9, 2018, between the Miami Dolphins and the New England Patriots. It ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

in 1990. He was the hitting coach for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in 1992, the

in 1993, and the

from 1999 to 2001. Easler returned to the minor leagues in 2004, managing the

Florence Freedom The Florence Y'alls are a professional baseball team based within the Greater Cincinnati region in the city of Florence, Kentucky. The Y'alls are a member of the West Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league. Since 2004, ...

of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

for part of the season. Easler was the hitting coach for the Double-A

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

in 2006, and the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s in 2007, both then-farm teams of 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 ...

. On January 22, 2008,

Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...

, who had been announced as

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

's hitting coach for the Dodgers, chose not to take the position citing personal reasons; the team then named Easler as the new hitting coach on Torre's staff. Easler was dismissed as the Dodgers' hitting coach on July 9, when it was announced that Mattingly would be returning to his role after dealing with his personal situation. Easler worked as a minor league hitting instructor for the remainder of the season and then left the organization, confirmed by agent

Burton Rocks Burton Evan Rocks (June 25, 1972), born in New York City, is an American sports attorney/agent, and writer. Rocks collaborated with Yankee outfielder Paul O'Neill on the 2003 ''New York Times'' bestseller ''Me and My Dad: A Baseball Memoir''. ...

. In 2011, Easler served as hitting coach of the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

in 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 ...

' organization. Easler is an ordained Baptist minister.

References

External links

Mike Easler
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Mike Easler
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) : {{DEFAULTSORT:Easler, Mike 1950 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American expatriate baseball players in Japan Boston Red Sox coaches Boston Red Sox players California Angels players Cocoa Astros players Columbus Astros players Columbus Clippers players Covington Astros players Denver Bears players Houston Astros players Iowa Oaks players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball left fielders Baseball players from Ohio Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Milwaukee Brewers coaches New York Yankees players National League All-Stars Nippon Ham Fighters players Oklahoma City 89ers players Philadelphia Phillies players Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Cardinals coaches Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players West Palm Beach Tropics players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople