1950
Born November 29, 1950
Cleveland, OH, USA
Mike Easler Marquee
b. November 29, 1950 · Houston Astros 1973–1975, California Angels 1976, Pittsburgh Pirates 1977, 1979–1983, Boston Red Sox 1984–1985, New York Yankees 1986–1987, Philadelphia Phillies 1987
Mike Easler spent parts of six seasons bouncing between the majors and the minors before Pittsburgh finally gave him a regular job in 1980, when he was twenty-nine. He hit .338 that year, made the All-Star team the next, and was called the Hit Man for the rest of his career.
He had first appeared for Houston in 1973 and been traded three times without ever getting a full season's worth of at-bats. The Pirates years and a strong spell as Boston's designated hitter in 1984, when he drove in 91 runs, were the payoff.
Born in Cleveland in 1950, Easler batted .293 with 1,078 hits and 118 home runs, and later spent many years as a major league hitting coach.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 1 | 1981 |
| Player of the Week | 1 | 1980 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | HOU | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | .000 |
| 1974 | HOU | 15 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .067 |
| 1975 | HOU | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 1976 | CAL | 21 | 54 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 1 | .241 |
| 1977 | PIT | 10 | 18 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .444 |
| 1979 | PIT | 55 | 54 | 8 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 0 | .278 |
| 1980 | PIT | 132 | 393 | 66 | 133 | 27 | 3 | 21 | 74 | 43 | 65 | 5 | .338 |
| 1981 | PIT | 95 | 339 | 43 | 97 | 18 | 5 | 7 | 42 | 24 | 45 | 4 | .286 |
| 1982 | PIT | 142 | 475 | 52 | 131 | 27 | 2 | 15 | 58 | 40 | 85 | 1 | .276 |
| 1983 | PIT | 115 | 381 | 44 | 117 | 17 | 2 | 10 | 54 | 22 | 64 | 4 | .307 |
| 1984 | BOS | 156 | 601 | 87 | 188 | 31 | 5 | 27 | 91 | 58 | 134 | 1 | .313 |
| 1985 | BOS | 155 | 568 | 71 | 149 | 29 | 4 | 16 | 74 | 53 | 129 | 0 | .262 |
| 1986 | NYY | 146 | 490 | 64 | 148 | 26 | 2 | 14 | 78 | 49 | 87 | 3 | .302 |
| 1987 | NYY/PHI | 98 | 277 | 20 | 78 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 20 | 52 | 1 | .282 |
| Career | — | 1151 | 3677 | 465 | 1078 | 189 | 25 | 118 | 522 | 321 | 696 | 20 | .293 |
On this day & linked events
1973
Major-league debut: Mike Easler
Mike Easler made a major-league debut on September 5, 1973.
1980
Mike Easler Hits for the Cycle, 1980
Mike Easler hit for the cycle for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Cincinnati Reds on June 12, 1980.
1987
Final major-league game: Mike Easler
Mike Easler played a final major-league game on October 4, 1987.
Image: Philadelphia Phillies, public domain