Player #123B: Minter C. "Jackie" Hayes. Infielder with the Washington Senators in 1927-1931. 1,069 hits and 20 home runs in 14 MLB seasons. One of his better seasons was 1936 with Chicago as he posted a .366 OBP with 84 RBIs in 461 plate appearances. He also played for the Chicago White Sox in 1932-1940. He was the first player to wear a batting helmet in an MLB game.
Hayes' SABR biography: Jack Hayes was a doctor’s son and former pre-med student — an apt coincidence, since he needed medical attention often during his major league career. “He should be recognized as the holder of some sort of record for being injured every season,” the Chicago Tribune’s Irving Vaughan wrote. . . .
After two more years (with Washington following the 1929 season) as a utility infielder, Hayes was traded to the White Sox in December 1931. “That Hayes is one of the greatest kids around second base I ever saw,” Griffith said. “He’ll do the White Sox a lot of good, but he couldn’t help us much.”
When Hayes was healthy, his White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes called the second baseman “absolutely the best double play man of his time.” But it was not injury that drove him into early retirement. An eye ailment (glaucoma) left him blind.
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