A well-regarded clutch hitter, Chuck Hiller picked up the nickname of Iron Hands because he was not a well-regarded fielder. He played the first six years of his career as a second baseman and the last two mainly in a pinch hitting role. Chuck Hiller was part of an offensive powerhouse San Francisco Giants team during the early 1960s which included Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Orlando Cepeda, Felipe Alou, Harvey Kuenn and Matty Alou. Playing with this group in the 1962 World Series, Chuck Hiller took center stage. After the Yanks took first game, in Game 2 Chuck Hiller doubled in the winning run and scored on an infield out. In Game 4 Hiller hit the first ever grand slam homer by a National League player in World Series history, 7th inning off of reliever Marshall Bridges for a Giants 7-3 victory. The Yanks won though in seven games. In that World Series Chuck Hiller was 7 for 26, .269, had 3 doubles, a HR, 4 Runs, 5 RBI. In 1963 Juan Marichal pitched the first no-hitter by a Giants pitcher in 34 years, Chuck Hiller doubled in the game’s only run. He was traded to the New York Mets in early 1965 and the next season led the majors with 15 pinch-hits. After retiring Chuck Hiller was a hitting coach for 5 different major league teams. In his career he lined 38 hits in 154 pinch-hitting at bats. Baseball History |
