Butch Hobson

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=#0d2b56
bgcolor2=#ba313c
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Butch Hobson
position=Third baseman
birthdate =birth date and age|1951|8|17
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=September 7
debutyear=1975
debutteam=Boston Red Sox
finaldate=August 3
finalyear=1982
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.248
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=98
stat3label=RBI
stat3value=397
teams=
*Boston Red Sox (by|1975-by|1980)
*California Angels (by|1981)
*New York Yankees (by|1982)
highlights=
* Led the American League in strikeouts (162) in by|1977

Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson, Jr. (born August 17 1951 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. Hobson played for the Boston Red Sox (1975-80), California Angels (1981) and New York Yankees (1982). He batted and threw right-handed. After retiring, he managed the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Boston Red Sox. Today, he is manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (better known as the Atlantic League). He won the International League Manager of the Year award in 1991, and led the Nashua Pride to the Atlantic League Championship in 2000 and the Can-Am League Championship in 2007.

Hobson was a star football player for the University of Alabama team. Selected by the Red Sox in the by|1973 amateur draft, he made his debut in by|1975. His most productive season came in by|1977, when he set team season records for a third baseman with 30 home runs and 112 RBI.

In by|1978, Hobson hit 17 home runs with 80 RBI. Nevertheless, he posted 43 errors, the most for any American League fielder in that season, and his .899 fielding average also was the first below .900 by a regular player in 60 years. Hobson hit 28 home runs with 93 RBI in by|1979, but a year later, an ensuing injury to his right elbow left him inactive for almost two campaigns.

Before the by|1981 season, Hobson was sent to the Angels along with Rick Burleson in the same trade that brought Carney Lansford and Mark Clear to Boston. Hobson finished his major league career with the Yankees in by|1982. In an eight-year career, Hobson hit a .248 batting average with 98 home runs and 397 RBI in 738 games.

Hobson managed Pawtucket for one season and posted a 79-64 record to lead his team to a first-place finish in the International League. After losing the Governors' Cup to Columbus, he was hired to manage the Red Sox parent club and posted a 207-232 record for Boston from 1992-94. In 1996, while managing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, he was arrested for possession of cocaine and immediately fired. Since 2000, he managed the Pride for eight straight seasons with a record of 508-456.

On July 27, 2007 managing the Pride in a game against the North Shore Spirit, Hobson was ejected after arguing against a call reversed against a Spirit baserunner who was called safe after initially being called out. Hobson reacted by pulling first base from the ground, then going into the stands to give it to a young fan.

Hobson left the Nashua Pride after the 2007 season. On November 19, 2007, Hobson was officially named the first-ever manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hobsobu01.shtml Baseball-Reference.com] - career playing statistics and managing record