Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson, Jr. (born August 17, 1951 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. Hobson played for the Boston Red Sox (1975–80), California Angels (1981) and New York Yankees (1982). He batted and threw right-handed.

After retiring, he managed the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Boston Red Sox. He managed the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball in 2008. He won the International League Manager of the Year award in 1991, and led the Nashua Pride to the Atlantic League Championship in 2000 and the Can-Am League Championship in 2007.

Athlete[link]

Hobson was a star football player for the University of Alabama team under Bear Bryant. Selected by the Red Sox in the 1973 amateur draft, he made his debut in 1975. His most productive season came in 1977, when he set team season records for a third baseman with 30 home runs and 112 RBIs.

In 1978, Hobson hit 17 home runs with 80 RBI. Nevertheless, he posted 43 errors, the most for any American League fielder in that season, and his .899 fielding average also was the first below .900 by a regular player in 60 years. Hobson hit 28 home runs with 93 RBI in 1979, but a year later, an ensuing injury to his right elbow left him inactive for almost two campaigns.

Before the 1981 season, Hobson was sent to the Angels along with Rick Burleson in the same trade that brought Carney Lansford and Mark Clear to Boston. Hobson finished his major league career with the Yankees in 1982. In an eight-year career, Hobson hit a .248 batting average with 98 home runs and 397 RBI in 738 games.

Manager[link]

Hobson managed Pawtucket for one season and posted a 79-64 record to lead his team to a first-place finish in the International League. After losing the Governors' Cup to Columbus, he was hired to manage the Red Sox parent club and posted a 207-232 record for Boston from 1992-94. In 1996, while managing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, then a Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, he was arrested for possession of cocaine and immediately fired.

He managed the Nashua Pride for the 2000 through 2007 seasons with a record of 508-456. On rare occasions when an umpire ejected Hobson from a game for arguing a baserunning decision, Hobson would remove one of the bases and deliver it to a young fan before leaving the stadium. This signature move was one of the meanings of Stolen Bases, a movie the Pride commissioned in 2000. For example, Hobson "stole" first base on July 27, 2007 when a baserunner for the North Shore Spirit was called out at first base, then ruled safe after a protest by the opposing manager. The base was always retrieved, allowing the game to resume.

On November 19, 2007, Hobson was named the first-ever manager of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the Atlantic League. He won manager of the year for the Atlantic League for the 2008 season.

On October 19, 2010, Hobson was named Manager of the Lancaster Barnstormers for the 2011 season.

Personal life[link]

Hobson's son, K C Hobson, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 6th round, 190th overall in the June 2009 baseball draft and is currently playing for the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League.

Sources[link]

• The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia – Gary Gillette, Peter Gammons, Pete Palmer. Publisher: Sterling Publishing, 2005. Format: Paperback, 1824pp. Language: English. ISBN 1-4027-4771-3

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Butch Hobson at the Internet Movie Database