Jim Ray Hart obit

Baseball Star Jim Ray Hart has died 

He was not on the list.

The San Francisco Giants learned today that longtime Giants third baseman Jim Ray Hart passed away yesterday at the age of 74 in Acampo, California after a long illness.T

“Everyone in the Giants organization is deeply saddened by the news of Jim’s passing,” said Giants President & Chief Executive Officer Larry Baer. “Our condolences go out to the Hart family for their tremendous loss and we extend our thoughts to Jim’s teammates, his friends, and to all those touched by his passing.”

Hart spent 11 seasons in a Giants uniform from 1963 to 1973 and during that span he hit .282 with 488 runs scored, 135 doubles, 27 triples, 157 home runs and 526 RBI in 1,001 games. He had one of his best seasons in 1966 when he was named to the N.L. All-Star team while batting .285 with a career-best 33 home runs and 93 RBI in 156 games. He finished within the top 20 of MVP voting in 1964, 1965 and 1967 and placed second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1964, a season in which he hit 31 home runs while driving in 81 RBI in 153 games. He played his final two seasons with the New York Yankees.

In 1965, Hart was fined and suspended by Giants' manager Herman Franks after breaking curfew. Some of his teammates feared he was becoming an alcoholic, and Giants' captain Willie Mays had a talk with him. Mays told him, "If you play for me for six days, I'll give you one day," meaning if Hart was ready to play during the week, Mays would give him a bottle of Old Crow each Monday. "He was ready to play every day," Mays reported, and he gave Hart five hundred dollars out of his own pocket after the season for always being ready.

Hart had some notable achievements in baseball, including: tying for second with Rico Carty in NL Rookie of the Year award voting in 1964 (they both finished behind Dick Allen); playing in the All-Star game for the National League in 1966; being named NL Player of the Month in July 1967 (.355, 13 HR, 30 RBI); and hitting for the cycle on July 8, 1970. That same day, he also became one of a select few players to have six RBIs in one inning. He did this by hitting a three-run triple and a three-run home run in the fifth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves.

However, Hart had a reputation as a poor defensive player at third base. He finished second, first and second among National League third basemen in errors in his first three full seasons in the majors (1964–66), never playing as many as 90 games at third in a season after that. In The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James ranks Hart as the 74th-best third baseman of all time, writing about him, "A better hitter than 59 of the 73 men listed ahead of him at third base. This should tell you all you need to know about his defense."

Following his release from the major leagues in 1974, Hart played in Mexico before retiring from baseball in 1976.

There will be a moment of silence prior to tonight’s Giants-Cubs game in honor of Mr. Hart.

Hart is survived by his former wife Janet Hart-Ayala, his four children Justin, Ryan, Schineese and Heather, 12 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.