Jim Hickman
From BR Bullpen
Note: This page links to All Star outfielder Jim Hickman. For the former major league outfielder who played from 1915 to 1919, click here.
James Lucius Hickman (Gentleman Jim)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 205 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Jim Hickman overcame the misfortune of being drafted from the St. Louis Cardinals to play as a rookie for the 1962 New York Mets in their inaugural season when they lost 120 games.
After five years of horrid Mets teams, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for one season, and then spent most of the rest of his career with the Chicago Cubs. He was part of the famous 1969 team that supposedly "choked". He had 21 home runs with the Cubs that year, and the following year had a career year as he hit 32 home runs with 115 RBI, 93 walks and a .315 batting average. He was eighth in the MVP voting and made the All Star team. He won Comeback Player of the Year award in 1970 after hitting .237 in 1969 with a .326 OBP, twenty points below league average. The famous collision at home plate between Pete Rose and Ray Fosse occurred during the 1970 All-Star Game when Jim hit a game winning single in the bottom of the 12th inning to drive in Rose.
He appeared in 1421 games in his major league career. He played many games at all the outfield positions as well as first base and a bit of third. Not normally thought of as a speedy player, Hickman played 365 major league games in center field, nearly as many as in right and many more than in left. He also pitched the final two innings of a game for the 1967 Dodgers against the Giants, entering when the Dodgers trailed only 6-1 and allowing just one earned run in two innings.
One of the ten most similar players is an interesting comparison: Vince DiMaggio, although Hickman never had the speed or base-running skills of Di Maggio.
In 1999, Hickman was a coach for the Clinton Lumber Kings.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- NL All-Star (1970)
- 1970 NL Comeback Player of the Year Award
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (1969 & 1970)
- 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1970)
- 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1970)
- 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (1970)
