Hurricane Hazel - 1957
Bob 'Hurricane' Hazle is remembered for his 1957 performance. He was called up from Wichita and did not play until the Braves' 100th game.
In less than three weeks he batted .473 with 5 home runs and 19 RBI in 14 games. That earned him the nickname "Hurricane." The original hurricane Hazel had struck the coast of Hazle's home state, South Carolina, in 1954.
The first-place Braves swept the second-place Cardinals on August 9–11, which went a long way towards sealing the National League pennant for Milwaukee; the first two games of the series were blowouts, and Hazle had seven hits and five RBI. He batted a torrid .556 in his first dozen games. For the season, Hazle batted .403 in only 41 games, with 7 home runs and 27 RBI. On the next-to-last day of the season, Hazle broke up a no-hit bid by Cincinnati's Johnny Klippstein with a two-out, eighth inning single.
The following year he played only 63 games (112 at-bats) for the Braves and Tigers and was finished.
|