| Bill Haselman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Haselman with theBoston Red Sox in 2006 | |
| Cincinnati Reds | |
| Catcher /Coach | |
| Born: (1966-05-25)May 25, 1966 (age 59) Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 3, 1990, for the Texas Rangers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 27, 2003, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .259 |
| Home runs | 47 |
| Runs batted in | 210 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
William Joseph Haselman (born May 25, 1966) is an American professionalbaseballcoach and former player who currently serves as the catching coach for theCincinnati Reds ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played as acatcher in MLB for 13 seasons between 1990 and 2003. A first-round selection in the1987 MLB draft, he played for theTexas Rangers,Seattle Mariners,Boston Red Sox, andDetroit Tigers.
He previously was thebullpen coach andfirst base coach for the Red Sox and thethird base coach for theLos Angeles Angels. He has also served as amanager inMinor League Baseball.
Haselman was born inLong Branch, New Jersey, and graduated fromSaratoga High School inSaratoga, California.[1][2] At Saratoga, he playedhigh school football in addition to baseball.[3] He committed to playcollege football at theUniversity of Nevada, Reno, but backed out in order to attend theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).[3] There, he played for theUCLA Bruins baseball team as an understudy toTodd Zeile.[4] He also played briefly for theUCLA Bruins football team—while some sources state he was a backup for startingquarterbackTroy Aikman,[4] Haselman has stated this is incorrect, as during his half-season with the team, the starting quarterback wasDavid Norrie.[5]
Haselman was drafted as the 23rd pick of the first round of the1987 Major League Baseball draft by theTexas Rangers.[6] He began his professional career that year for theGastonia Rangers of theSouth Atlantic League.[7] In 1988, he was promoted to thePort Charlotte Rangers of theClass A-AdvancedFlorida State League, where he hit .245 in 122 games.[7]
Haselman spent 1989 and 1990 with theDouble-ATulsa Drillers of theTexas League.[7] He was aSeptember call-up with the Rangers in 1990 and made his MLB debut at the age of 24 as apinch hitter on September 3, 1990, against theCleveland Indians.[1] He recorded his first hit, also as a pinch hitter, offJoe Klink of theOakland Athletics on September 27. In 14 games, he had two hits in 13at bats.
Haselman returned to the minors and spent 1991 and the first part of 1992 with theOklahoma City 89ers of theTriple-AAmerican Association.[7]
On May 29, 1992, Haselman was selected off waivers by theSeattle Mariners, who assigned him to theCalgary Cannons of thePacific Coast League, where he hit .255 in 88 games with 19home runs and 53runs batted in (RBI).[7] He also appeared in eight games for the Mariners in September and had five hits in 19 at bats.[1]
Haselman spent most of 1993 as the Mariners back-up catcher and hit his first home run on May 8 off ofJim Deshaies of theMinnesota Twins. On June 6, 1993, Haselman was hit by a pitch thrown byBaltimore Orioles pitcherMike Mussina, leading to himcharging the mound and igniting a bench-clearing brawl.[4] In parts of three seasons with Seattle, he appeared in 104 games and hit .234 with 6 home runs and 24 RBI.[1]
Haselman signed as afree agent with theBoston Red Sox on November 7, 1994, and played with the Red Sox through the 1997 season as a backup catcher.[1] Haselman's most dramatic offensive performance came in a game atFenway Park against theToronto Blue Jays on June 27, 1995. With the bases empty and the score tied, 5–5, he pinch hit for catcherMike Macfarlane in the bottom of the 11th inning. Haselman shattered his bat, sending aWoody Williams' offering sailing over theGreen Monster to give the Red Sox their first walk-off win of their 1995American League East division-winning campaign. Haselman's only postseason appearance was during the1995 American League Division Series, when he played in one game against Cleveland and was hitless in two at bats.[1]
Haselman had his best season in 1996, when he hit .274 with 8 home runs and 34 RBI in a career-high 237 at bats for the Red Sox.[1] He also ledAmerican League catchers with a 7.64range factor.[8] Haselman was thebattery-mate for Red Sox pitcherRoger Clemens on September 18, 1996, when Clemens struck out 20 batters in a game against the Detroit Tigers to tie his ownmajor league single-game strikeout record in a nine-inning game.[9][10] It was also a productive night for Haselman, who had three hits and two RBIs in the memorable Red Sox victory.[11]
The Red Sox traded Haselman (along withMark Brandenburg andAaron Sele) on November 6, 1997, to theTexas Rangers forDamon Buford andJim Leyritz. In 40 games, he hit .314 with 6 home runs.[1]
Haselman signed as a free agent with theDetroit Tigers on December 14, 1998. With the1999 Tigers, he hit .273 in 48 games.[1] The Tigers traded Haselman back to the Rangers (along withFrank Catalanotto,Francisco Cordero,Gabe Kapler,Justin Thompson and a minor leaguer) on November 2, 1999, in exchange forJuan González,Danny Patterson andGregg Zaun.[1]
Haselman remained with Texas from 2000 through 2002. He appeared in at least 47 MLB games during each of those seasons. Overall, in three stints spanning parts of five seasons with the Rangers, Haselman played in 225 games and hit .273.[1]
Haselman rejoined the Tigers again on a free agent contract on January 20, 2003, but was released on March 27, before the season started.[1]
Haselman was signed as a free agent by the Red Sox on April 11, 2003. In his second stint with Boston, he was hitless in three at bats in four games. He played in his final major league game on September 27, 2003.[1] He also played in 79 games with the Triple-APawtucket Red Sox.[7]
Haselman signed as a minor-league free agent with theBaltimore Orioles on December 3, 2003, but retired at the age of 37 before playing in any games.[7]
In a thirteen-year major-league career, Haselman played in 589 games, accumulating 416 hits in 1,606 at bats for a .259 career batting average, along with 47 home runs, 210 RBI and a .311on-base percentage.[1] He had a .991 careerfielding percentage as a catcher.[1] While predominantly a catcher (524 games), Haselman also made appearances as adesignated hitter (39 games), outfielder (six games),first baseman (three games), andthird baseman (one game).[1]
Haselman played in 783 minor-league games over 10 seasons, batting .269 with 95 home runs and 400 RBIs.[7]
Haselman served as the Red Sox' interimfirst base coach in 2004, filling in forLynn Jones from early May to late July, after Jones sustained a non-baseball eye injury.[12][13] The team went on to win theWorld Series. Haselman served as the team'sbullpen coach in 2005, and was first base coach for the 2006 season.[2] Boston then offered him amanager position in the minor leagues, but Haselman declined, as he did not want to spend that much time away from his family.[14]
In August 2009, Haselman was named a volunteer assistant coach, to work with catchers and act as first base coach, for theWashington Huskies baseball team, under head coachLindsay Meggs.[15][16]
In 2010, Haselman returned to professional baseball as manager of theClass ABakersfield Blaze, aCalifornia League affiliate of the Texas Rangers.[2] In 2011, the Red Sox hired Haselman to assist their minor-league catching instructor.[17] TheLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim named Haselman as the manager of the club'sInland Empire 66ers minor league team on January 9, 2012.[2][18] In 2013, Haselman guided Inland Empire to a California League title.[2]
Haselman joined theLos Angeles Dodgers organization in 2014 as the manager for theGreat Lakes Loons of theMidwest League.[2] In 2015, the Dodgers assigned Haselman to be the manager of theRancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League.[2] He led them to a 78–62 record and the team's first California League championship since 1994.[2] In 2016, Haselman became the manager of theOklahoma City Dodgers in the Triple-APacific Coast League (PCL).[2][19] That season, the team compiled an 81–60 record and advanced to the championship series of the PCL.[20] He remained with the team as their manager through the 2018 season.[21]
Following cancellation of the 2020 minor-league season, Heselman returned to Oklahoma City asbench coach andthird base coach for the 2021 season.[22][23]
Haselman joined the Angels' major-league staff in January 2022 as the team's catching instructor, succeedingJosé Molina.[24][25] In July, he temporarily served as the Angels' manager for two games, due to the suspension of interim managerPhil Nevin and acting interim managerRay Montgomery.[26] For the 2023 season, Haselman was named the Angels' third base coach, succeedingMike Gallego.[27]
On November 3, 2025, theCincinnati Reds hired Haselman to serve as the team's major league catching coach.[28]
Haselman and his wife have two children.[16] After he left the Red Sox following the 2006 season, Haselman took a position working forMerrill Lynch and also worked as a postgame radio host during Seattle Mariners games.[14] Son Ty was a catcher for the UCLA Bruins during the 2018 season.[29][30]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxbullpen coach 2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Boston Red Soxfirst-base coach 2006 | Succeeded by |
