Don Hahn (baseball)

Donald Antone Hahn (born November 16, 1948 in San Francisco, California) is a former Major League baseball player, an outfielder known primarily for his fielding ability. Hahn played for the Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres.

Hahn attended Campbell High School in Campbell, California. There, along with his studies, he played baseball, basketball, and football. The right-handed throwing and batting Hahn was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 17th round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft

On April 8, 1969, Hahn played in his first major league game; he was the starting center fielder in the Montreal Expos' first game ever. He also was the first fielder in Expo franchise history to field a ball; in the bottom of the first inning, the New York Mets' Tommie Agee singled to center field, and Hahn retrieved it and threw the ball to the cutoff man. The game was played at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York, and the Expos defeated the Mets by a score of 11-10. Hahn's first major league at-bat came in the second inning of the game; he struck out, which pretty much set the tone for his career.^[1]

Hahn later became quite accustomed to the Shea Stadium outfield grass; a few days before the 1971 MLB season began, the Mets traded 1969 World Series hero Ron Swoboda, along with minor leaguer Rich Hacker, to the Expos, in exchange for the young outfielder.^[2]

Hahn emerged as the starting center fielder for the pennant-winning Mets of 1973. Hahn started all 12 games for the Mets during post-season play. Earlier in '73, in July, Hahn was involved in a brutal collision in the outfield with left fielder George Theodore, which resulted in a broken hip for Theodore.

After the 1974 MLB season, Hahn was traded to the Phillies, along with relief pitcher Tug McGraw and fellow outfielder Dave Schneck. The Phillies sent catcher John Stearns, relief pitcher Mac Scarce, and outfielder Del Unser to the Mets.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)