John David Hilton (September 15, 1950 – September 17, 2017) was a professional baseball player. He was picked in the 1971 Secondary Draft out of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

and played four seasons for the

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 penn ...

. He also played three seasons in Japan for the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

and

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

. Hilton was primarily a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, but played several games at second base.

Career

Early in the 1975 season, Hilton contracted

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...

which caused the San Diego Padres to announce he would be out indefinitely. Despite a productive career in Japan, particularly with the Swallows, Hilton was the subject of controversy in his 1980 stint with the Hanshin Tigers. The Tigers were managed by American

Don Blasingame Donald Lee Blasingame (March 16, 1932 – April 13, 2005), nicknamed "Blazer", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1955–1959), San Francisco Giants (1960� ...

, who kept the slumping Hilton in the lineup despite the presence of promising rookie

Akinobu Okada (born November 25, 1957) is a retired professional baseball player and manager for the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball . Okada played, mostly as a second baseman, for the Hanshin Tigers from to , winning the Central League Rook ...

. The media and Hanshin fans campaigned relentlessly for Hilton to be benched and/or let go, making life miserable for both Hilton and Blasingame. As a result of the controversy, Hilton was released by the team and Blasingame resigned as manager. Hilton managed the collegiate summer baseball team the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masc ...

in 1997. Hilton died September 17, 2017.

In popular culture

Hilton is credited by famed Japanese author

Haruki Murakami is a Japanese writer. His novels, essays, and short stories have been bestsellers in Japan and internationally, with his work translated into 50 languages and having sold millions of copies outside Japan. He has received numerous awards for his ...

as having inspired him, at the age of 29, to become an author. Murakami had his epiphany as he saw Hilton hit a double, while watching a Yakult Swallows game in Japan.

References

External links

Dave Hilton
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Dave Hilton
at Baseball Almanac :
1950 births 2017 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Alexandria Aces players Baseball players from Texas Diablos Rojos del México players Hanshin Tigers players Hawaii Islanders players Lodi Padres players Milwaukee Brewers coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Nippon Professional Baseball infielders People from Uvalde, Texas Portland Beavers players Rice Owls baseball players Rice University alumni San Diego Padres players St. Lucie Legends players Sun City Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Yakult Swallows players {{US-baseball-third-baseman-stub