Clint Hartung

Clinton Clarence Hartung (1922-2010), nicknamed "the Hondo Hurricane" after his hometown of Hondo, Texas, was an American pitcher and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball with the New York Giants from 1947 to 1952. Standing 6 feet 5 inches, he served in the Army Air Forces during World War II, playing on military baseball teams before signing with the Giants for a reported $35,000, an unusually large sum that brought heavy expectations and comparisons to Babe Ruth. His rookie season in 1947 was his most productive, with a 9-7 pitching record and a .306 batting average, but his results declined afterward. In 1950 he shifted from pitcher to outfielder. He was on the field as a pinch runner at third base during Bobby Thomson's pennant-winning home run for the Giants in the 1951 playoff against Brooklyn, known as the "Shot Heard 'Round the World." Over six major league seasons he compiled a 29-29 pitching record with a 5.02 earned run average and 167 strikeouts, and batted .238 with 14 home runs. He continued playing in the minor leagues through 1955. Statistician Bill James later named an award for the most overhyped prospect of each decade after Hartung.