Donald Hopkins (born January 9, 1952) is an American former professional baseball player. An outfielder during his minor league baseball career, he was used almost exclusively as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

by the

American League West Division The American League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The division has five teams as of the 2013 season, but had four teams from 1994 to 2012, and had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams curr ...

champion

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He stood tall and weighed , batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Although a native of West Point, Mississippi, Hopkins attended

Benton Harbor High School Benton Harbor High School is a high school in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States, and is part of the Benton Harbor Area Schools. History In 2009, the school received a $52,000 grant from the U.S. federal government's stimulus program to upgrad ...

in Benton Harbor, Michigan where he played baseball with

Dave Machemer David Ritchie Machemer ( ; born May 24, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player, scout, and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1978 to 1979 for the California Angels and Detroit Tige ...

. and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Montreal Expos in . A speedy baserunner, Hopkins stole over 40 bases four times in his minor league career, and was acquired the Athletics from Montreal just prior to the 1975 campaign. At the time, Oakland owner Charlie Finley — one of the early proponents of the designated hitter rule, adopted in the American League in — was also advocating the creation of the "designated runner" in baseball, and he regularly employed fast players on his 25-man roster to specialize in

pinch running In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

. Hopkins fulfilled that role during the 1975 season. He appeared in 82 games, largely pinch-running for future

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

member and veteran

Billy Williams Billy Leo Williams (born June 15, 1938) is a former left fielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from 1959 to 1976, almost entirely for the Chicago Cubs. A six-time All-Star, Williams was named the 1961 National League (NL) ...

, who was Oakland's designated hitter. Hopkins stole 21 bases and scored 25 runs, but had only eight

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. He drew two

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 ...

and collected one hit, a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, off the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Fernando Arroyo Fernando Arroyo (born March 21, 1952) is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, Minnesota Twins, and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). In eight MLB seasons, he had a 24–37 record over 121 ga ...

in a lopsided, 16–4 Oakland win on July 22.1975-7-22 (2) box score from Retrosheet
/ref> Hopkins spent much of 1976 in the minor leagues, although he made three more pinch-running appearances for Oakland during September 1976. He retired after the 1977 minor-league season.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Don 1952 births Living people African-American baseball players Baseball players from Michigan Baseball players from Mississippi Gulf Coast Expos players Jamestown Expos players Kinston Expos players Major League Baseball outfielders Memphis Blues players Oakland Athletics players Québec Carnavals players San Jose Missions players Tucson Toros players Watertown Expos players West Palm Beach Expos players People from West Point, Mississippi 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople