Highlighted Year: Chuck Hinton, 1964

Outfielder, Washington Senators

Age:  30 (May 3)

4^th season with Senators

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 180 

Prior to 1964:

A native of Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Hinton became known as an athlete with good speed in his youth. While attending the segregated Booker T. Washington High School, he played American Legion baseball. Moving on to Shaw University in Raleigh on a baseball scholarship, Hinton also played football and basketball. Following a tryout in Washington during the summer of 1956, he signed with the Baltimore Orioles for $200 a month plus a $500 bonus. Assigned to the Phoenix Stars of the Class C Arizona-Mexico League as a reserve catcher, in 29 games he batted .271 with a .340 on-base percentage. He went to the outfield after the injured starting backstop he was covering for returned to action. Drafted into the Army, Hinton missed the next two seasons although he kept honing his baseball skills. Returning to action in 1959 with Aberdeen of the Class C Northern League, he was used primarily in the outfield due to his speed and strong throwing arm and batted .358 with 22 doubles, 7 triples, 20 home runs, 108 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, a .443 OBP, and a .551 slugging percentage. Hinton started the 1960 season with the Vancouver Mounties of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, but when his production sagged he was sent back to Class C and Stockton of the California League where he hit a league-best .369 with 22 doubles, 7 triples, 20 home runs, 88 RBIs, 34 stolen bases, a .477 OBP, and a .628 slugging percentage. Selected by the Senators in the AL expansion draft in the offseason, he started the 1961 season with Indianapolis of the Class AAA American Association and was called up to Washington in May. Filling a need for a righthanded-hitting outfielder, Hinton saw significant playing time and batted .260 with 13 doubles, 5 triples, 6 home runs, 22 steals, and a .337 OBP. He broke out in 1962 to contend for the league batting title until late in the season while hitting .310 with 25 doubles, 6 triples, 17 home runs, 75 RBIs, 28 stolen bases, a .361 OBP, and a .472 slugging percentage. Hinton had a disappointing season in 1963, capped by a September beaning that knocked him out of action for two weeks and left him with vision problems. He ended up batting .269 with 20 doubles, 12 triples, 15 home runs, 55 RBIs, 25 stolen bases, a .340 OBP, and a .426 slugging percentage. A fan of the NFL’s Washington Redskins, he expressed an interest in playing pro football in addition to baseball, a desire which went unrealized.

1964 Season Summary

Appeared in 139 games

LF – 131, 3B – 2, PH – 6, PR – 3, 3B – 2, CF – 1, RF – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 575

At Bats – 514

Runs – 71

Hits – 141

Doubles – 25 [16, tied with eight others]

Triples – 7 [7, tied with Dick McAuliffe]

Home Runs – 11

RBI – 53

Bases on Balls – 57

Int. BB – 7 [15, tied with eight others]

Strikeouts – 77

Stolen Bases – 17 [5]

Caught Stealing – 6 [8, tied with Tony Oliva, Chico Salmon & Mike Hershberger]

Average - .274 [19, tied with Rocky Colavito]

OBP - .346

Slugging Pct. - .414

Total Bases – 213

GDP – 21 [3]

Hit by Pitches – 1

Sac Hits – 0

Sac Flies – 3   

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 18, 3B – 4, HR – 8, RBI - 38, SB – 8, AVG - .305, OBP - .364

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Most hits, game – 3 on fourteen occasions

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

Most HR, game – 1 on eleven occasions

HR at home – 6

HR on road – 5

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 on five occasions

Pinch-hitting/running – 1 for 5 (.200) with 1 R & 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 269

Put Outs – 258

Assists – 7

Errors – 4

DP - 3

Pct. - .985 

Awards & Honors:

All-Star

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The Senators went 62-100 to finish ninth in the AL, 37 games behind the pennant-winning New York Yankees, while leading the league in batting strikeouts (1124), fewest hits (1246), lowest batting average (.231), and lowest OBP (.299). Hindered by a weak offense, the Senators were at 19-29 by the end of May but dropped into the AL cellar thanks to a 13-32 stretch that commenced in late June. Entering September while apparently heading toward another disastrous finish, they still managed to do better than the Kansas City Athletics. Hinton led the league in batting for much of the first half of the season but was hindered by a wrist injury when hit by a pitch that sidelined him for an extended period and reduced his effectiveness.

Aftermath of 1964:

In the offseason, Hinton was traded to the Cleveland Indians for two players. In 1965 he appeared in the outfield and at first and second base and batted .255 with 17 doubles, 6 triples, 18 home runs, 54 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, a .336 OBP, and a .448 slugging percentage. Appearing primarily in left and center field in 1966, Hinton hit .256 with 12 home runs, 50 RBIs, 10 stolen bases, a .323 OBP, and a .402 slugging percentage. 1967 brought no improvement as Hinton batted .245 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs, 37 RBIs, and a .304 OBP. In the offseason he was dealt to the California Angels for outfielder Jose Cardenal. In a 1968 season that was difficult for hitters in general, Hinton finished at .195 with 7 home runs, 23 RBIs, and a .259 OBP. The result was that Hinton was traded back to Cleveland prior to the 1969 season. Appearing in 94 games as a backup outfielder/third baseman, he batted .256 with a .303 OBP. He lasted two more years before being released by the Indians after the 1971 season, thus concluding his major league career. Overall Hinton batted .264 with 1048 hits that included 152 doubles, 47 triples, and 113 home runs. He scored 518 runs and compiled 443 RBIs, 130 stolen bases, a .332 OBP, and a .412 slugging percentage. With the Senators he batted .280 and scored 275 runs with 83 doubles, 30 triples, 49 home runs, 217 RBIs, 92 stolen bases, a .347 OBP, and a .428 slugging percentage. He was an All-Star just once and never appeared in the postseason. Following his playing career, he was head coach of the Howard University baseball team for 28 years. Hinton died in 2013 at age 78.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.