Von Francis Hayes (born August 31, 1958) 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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player whose

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 (A ...

(MLB) career spanned from 1981 to 1992 for 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) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. Hayes was acquired by the Phillies in a "five-for-one" trade with the Indians, in exchange for Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller, Jerry Willard, and Julio Franco.

Playing career

Hayes enjoyed his most successful seasons playing for the Phillies in the late 1980s. He finished 8th in NL MVP voting in 1986, when he led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) in runs, doubles, and extra base hits. Hayes achieved an on-base average of .404 in 1987. In 1989, Hayes made his only appearance on the NL All-Star team, while posting a career-high OPS+ of (140). On June 11, 1985, Hayes became the first player in MLB history to hit two home runs in the first inning of a baseball game. After leading off the game with a home run off Tom Gorman, Hayes hit a grand slam later that inning off

Calvin Schiraldi Calvin Drew Schiraldi (born June 16, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 through 1991 for five different teams. He is best remembered as the losing pitcher of Game 6 and ...

. The Phillies beat the Mets 26-7, the most single-game runs scored by a major league team in over 40 years. Hayes also hit two two-run home runs in a June 8, 1989, game against 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 ...

, at

Veterans Stadium Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, at the northeast corner of Broad Street (Philadelphia), Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. The seating capa ...

. It was in that game that, after the Pirates scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning, Pirate broadcaster Jim Rooker said on the air, "If we lose this game, I'll walk home." Hayes' two homers triggered a comeback, with the Phillies eventually winning the game 15-11. (After the season, Rooker kept his word, by conducting a charity walk from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh.) Playing against 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 ...

on June 14, 1991, Hayes was hit by a pitch by

Tom Browning Thomas Leo Browning (April 28, 1960 – December 19, 2022) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1984 to 1995, spending almost his entire career with the Cincinnati Reds. In his rookie season in 1985, ...

, breaking Hayes’ arm. He returned to action on September 6, 1991, against 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 s ...

. Hayes was traded to the Angels in the off-season, but would later cite Browning's pitch as having ended his career, "I broke my arm when I was hit by a pitch from Tom Browning ... and I was finished. I tried to make a comeback (with California) in 1992, but it was no good." An

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band named themselves after Hayes. Hayes was the inspiration for one of

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

announcer Chris Berman's most famous "Bermanisms" — Von "Purple" Hayes — a nod to the

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...

Purple Haze "Purple Haze" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and released as the second single by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on March 17, 1967. The song features his inventive guitar playing, which uses the signature Hendrix chord and a mix of blues and Ea ...

." He is mentioned ''both'' in an episode of the hit TV series "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" and "The Goldbergs".

Career statistics

Hayes played 555 games at right field, 401 games at first base, 398 games at center field, 207 games at left field and 23 games at third base.

Managerial career

In November 2007, Hayes was named manager of the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. Hayes debuted with the

South Central Pennsylvania South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania that includes the fourteen counties of Adams, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lancaster, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, and York. Portions of w ...

-based franchise in the 2008 season. Hayes has also managed Minor League teams in South Bend,

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

, and Midland, and was

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major L ...

Manager of the Year in 2004 and Texas League Manager of the Year in 2005. On Oct. 26, 2009, the

Camden Riversharks The Camden Riversharks were an American professional baseball team based in Camden, New Jersey, from 2001 to 2015. They were a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not at that time affiliated ...

of the

announced they hired Hayes as their new manager.
Riversharks' press release: Riversharks Hire Von Hayes as New Team Manager He became the manager of the

Alexandria Aces The Alexandria Aces were a baseball team based in Alexandria, Louisiana. The last version of the Aces played in the United League Baseball in 2013. The Aces have played their home games at historic Bringhurst Field, which was built in 1933 for the ...

United League Baseball United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American Leagu ...

in 2013. In 2015, he was named the manager of the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, but after a slow start he was replaced early in the season by

Matías Carrillo Matías Carrillo García (born 24 February 1963 in Macapule, Sinaloa, México) is a Mexican professional baseball manager and former outfielder who is the manager of the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He played for three seasons in ...

. In 2016, he became the manager of the Algodoneros de San Luis Rio Colorado in the Northern Mexican League, an affiliate of the Mexican League. In 2017, Hayes returned to the

as the manager. However, after a 26-28 start to the season, he was fired on June 3, 2017.

References

External links

Von Hayes
at Baseballbiography.com
Von Hayes advanced statsHayes to Manage BarnstormersVon Hayes 'The Band'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Von 1958 births Living people Major League Baseball outfielders National League All-Stars Cleveland Indians players Philadelphia Phillies players California Angels players Saint Mary's Gaels baseball players Baseball players from Stockton, California Mexican League baseball managers Minor league baseball managers Waterloo Indians players Charleston Charlies players Clearwater Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players

Playing career

Career statistics

Managerial career

See also

References

External links