Quote:
Originally Posted by Pinetarpress
If u look up Hughes....
John Hughes Minor League Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com
And I run across this a lot when researching minor leaguers in the 70s...but, he was really young when his career was done. He was coming off two excellent power seasons ...
Today guys play as long as they can....but, makes you wonder why Hughes called it a career when he did
I do know he was not much of a defender so as a bat first guy perhaps the Phillies did not know what to do with him |
Hughes had a good final pro year in 1978 for Reading AA Eastern League with 17 HR, 92 RBI and a .264 average in 503 plate appearences at age 24. You have to wonder why he suddenly quit the game. He did seem to be transitioning out of the catching role and was being used more as a first baseman and a designated hitter in his final year, so perhaps his defense as a catcher was second-rate.
His name is in a program I have for a game where Reading plays at Roosevelt Field, Jersey City,NJ , then an Athletics farm team.in 1978. Rickey Henderson played for the home team, Jersey City. Born in 1954, Hughes would be 60 today.
I believe that In 1946 Jersey City was a New York Giants AAA farm team and that Roosevelt Field was where Jackie Robinson played his first regular season pro game as a member of the visiting AAA International League - Montreal Royals. . ..