Richie Hebner Marquee

b. November 26, 1947 · Pittsburgh Pirates 1968–1976, 1982–1983, Philadelphia Phillies 1977–1978, New York Mets 1979, Detroit Tigers 1980–1982, Chicago Cubs 1984–1985

He worked as a gravedigger in Massachusetts every offseason of his career, which reporters raised with him constantly and which he answered the same way: the money was good and the work was quiet. He was Pittsburgh's third baseman for the clubs that won five division titles between 1970 and 1975 and the 1971 World Series, and then Philadelphia's for two more.

Eighteen seasons gave him 1,694 hits, 203 home runs, 890 runs batted in, 687 walks and a .276 average. He hit 25 home runs in 1973 and drove in 82 for Detroit in 1980, at thirty-two, having been sold there.

He was never chosen for an All-Star team. He has coached hitters in the major and minor leagues for thirty years since. The 1991 ballot gave him one vote of 443.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1968	PIT	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
1969	PIT	129	459	72	138	23	4	8	47	53	53	4	.301
1970	PIT	120	420	60	122	24	8	11	46	42	48	2	.290
1971	PIT	112	388	50	105	17	8	17	67	32	68	2	.271
1972	PIT	124	427	63	128	24	4	19	72	52	54	0	.300
1973	PIT	144	509	73	138	28	1	25	74	56	60	0	.271
1974	PIT	146	550	97	160	21	6	18	68	60	53	0	.291
1975	PIT	128	472	65	116	16	4	15	57	43	48	0	.246
1976	PIT	132	434	60	108	21	3	8	51	47	39	1	.249
1977	PHI	118	397	67	113	17	4	18	62	61	46	7	.285
1978	PHI	137	435	61	123	22	3	17	71	53	58	4	.283
1979	NYM	136	473	54	127	25	2	10	79	59	59	3	.268
1980	DET	104	341	48	99	10	7	12	82	38	45	0	.290
1981	DET	78	226	19	51	8	2	5	28	27	28	1	.226
1982	DET/PIT	93	249	31	70	8	0	10	30	30	24	5	.281
1983	PIT	78	162	23	43	4	1	5	26	17	28	8	.265
1984	CHC	44	81	12	27	3	0	2	8	10	15	1	.333
1985	CHC	83	120	10	26	2	0	3	22	7	15	0	.217
Career	—	1908	6144	865	1694	273	57	203	890	687	741	38	.276

On this day & linked events

1947

Born November 26, 1947

Boston, MA, USA

1968

Major-league debut: Richie Hebner

Richie Hebner made a major-league debut on September 23, 1968.

1985

Final major-league game: Richie Hebner

Richie Hebner played a final major-league game on October 3, 1985.

Image: Stephen V. Russell, CC BY-SA 4.0