Tim Hulett's Time in the Big Leagues
SPOKANE, WA - Tim Hulett has been managing so long and so well - he's a two-time Northwest League manager of the year - that it's easy to forget how good he was as a player during his 12-year professional career. A talented athlete who excelled in baseball, basketball, and football at Lanphier High School in Springfield, IL, Hulett was picked by the Texas Rangers in the 39th round of the 1978 amateur draft. Hulett didn't sign and chose instead to attend the University of South Florida where he clubbed 17 doubles and four home runs as a freshman. Following that year, Hulett transferred to baseball powerhouse Miami Dade Community College, which produced MLB players such as Hall-of-Famer Steve Carlton, Mike Piazza, and Raul Ibanez, for the 1980 season.
While at Miami Dade, Hulett caught the eye of major league scouts and was selected third overall in the secondary phase of the 1980 MLB draft by the Chicago White Sox. He played at three different levels his first year in the minors, posting a .252 average with 13 home runs while advancing all the way to the Iowa Oaks (AAA). Hulett slumped to a .227 average in 1981 but rebounded to smash a career-high 22 home runs for the Glens Falls White Sox (AA) in 1982. He continued to hit at a high level for the Denver Bears (AAA) the following year and earned his first call-up to the White Sox at the end of the season, making his major league debut on September 15, 1983 against the Seattle Mariners. Hulett was named the number eight overall prospect in Chicago's farm system following that season by Baseball America.
He returned to AAA for some additional seasoning in 1984 before seizing a full-time job with the White Sox the next year. The versatile Hulett spent time at second base, third base, and left field for Chicago in 1985, hitting .268 in 140 games under manager Tony La Russa, who was also an alum of South Florida. The next season was arguably Hulett's finest in the majors as he set career highs in games (150), runs (53), hits (120), home runs (17), and RBI (44).
"Tim Hulett is the kind of baseball player every team needs," said sportswriter John Feinstein at the time. "He was invaluable because he would play anywhere, anytime, and never complained about not playing. He is one of those rare baseball people whom everyone likes."
Hulett struggled at the plate and bounced between the majors and minors the next two years before reemerging with the Baltimore Orioles in 1989. He would spend the next five years in Baltimore, highlighted by his 1993 season when he hit .300 and posted a career-best 2.5 WAR on the strength of his vastly improved defense at the hot corner (he finished that year third in the American League in double plays turned by a third baseman). Hulett would make a brief pit stop with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1995 before retiring as a part of the Rangers organization after signing a mid-season contract with the club several months earlier.
He finished his career with a .249 average, 48 home runs, 220 RBI, and 529 hits in 720 MLB games. Hulett played at second base, third base, shortstop, designated hitter, and leftfield in the majors, and made one lone pitching appearance in the minors, retiring two batters without allowing a baserunner for the Rochester Red Wings in 1989. Although he never had the chance to play in the postseason, Hulett did some of his best work against baseball's brightest stars, compiling a .407 average (11-27) against 1988 Cy Young winner Frank Viola and a .370 average (10-27) against 1993 Cy Young winner Jack McDowell. So, while most Indians fans might know Tim Hulett only as their manager, they certainly shouldn't overlook his solid career as a player.
About the Indians
The Indians are the Short Season Class "A" affiliate for the Texas Rangers. For more information, please visit www.spokaneindians.com or call (509) 343-6886 (OTTO).