Tom Haller

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#fd5a1e
bgcolor2=black
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Tom Haller
position=Catcher
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=June 23, 1937
deathdate=death date and age|2004|11|26|1937|6|23
debutdate=April 11
debutyear=1961
debutteam=San Francisco Giants
finaldate=October 4
finalyear=1972
finalteam=Detroit Tigers
stat1label=AVG
stat1value=.257
stat2label=HR
stat2value=134
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=504
teams=
*San Francisco Giants (by|1961-by|1967)
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1968-by|1971)
*Detroit Tigers (by|1972)
highlights=
*NL All-Star: 1966-1968

Thomas Frank Haller (June 23, 1937 - November 26, 2004) was a Major League Baseball catcher who played with the San Francisco Giants (by|1961-by|1967), Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1968-by|1971) and Detroit Tigers (by|1972). Haller was born in Lockport, Illinois. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was the younger brother of American League umpire Bill Haller.

A quarterback with the University of Illinois, Haller was signed by the Giants as an amateur free agent in 1958. He made his debut on April 11, 1961 as a platoon catcher.

Haller hit .261 with 18 home runs and 55 RBIs for the Giant team that lost to the Yankees in the by|1962 World Series. He collected four hits in 14 at-bats with a home run and three RBIs in the Series.

A regular from by|1964-by|1967, Haller hit career highs of 27 home runs and 67 RBIs in by|1966. He was traded from the Giants to the Dodgers in February, by|1968 in a four-player deal, with two players (one of whom was Ron Hunt) going to San Francisco. The trade was the first between the two teams since their move to the West Coast, and also the first since the one that would have sent Jackie Robinson from the Dodgers to the Giants after the by|1956 season; he retired rather than report with his new team. After hitting .285 in by|1968 and .286 in by|1970, Haller was sent to Detroit in December 1971. He batted .207 with two homers and 12 RBIs in by|1972 and retired at the end of the season.

An All-Star from by|1966 to by|1968, Haller was a career .257 hitter with 134 home runs and 504 RBIs in 1294 games. After retiring, he worked for the Giants as a coach (by|1977-by|1979), and was their vice president of baseball operations (by|1981-by|1986). He was named to the Giants' 25th anniversary team in 1982.

After a long illness, Haller died in Los Angeles, California, at age of 67.

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time

External links

* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/H/Haller_Tom.stm Baseball Library]