In 1957, the Milwaukee Braves brought up an outfielder who went on a brief but unforgettable run. Decades later, Andrew Vaughn is faring similarly.
Milwaukee Brewers fans have been elated with the play of newcomer Andrew Vaughn, who's up to 21 RBIs in 15 games with the club since his arrival after his six-RBI showing July 29.
His 21 RBIs are third-most in Major League Baseball since he got here July 7, an injury replacement at first base for Rhys Hoskins. Vaughn came to the organization in June, part of an exchange with the Chicago White Sox for starter Aaron Civale, and his 16 RBIs in 16 games at Class AAA Nashville perhaps offered a clue of what was to come.
Older Milwaukee baseball fans will remember another story that mirrors what Vaughn has done, a seemingly-out-of-nowhere midseason arrival who took the city by storm.
Bob Hazle only collected 134 at-bats with the Milwaukee Braves in 1957, and yet he hit .403 and helped the organization win the National League and, eventually, a World Series.
Hazle, who picked up the nickname "Hurricane" in 1954 when a Category 4 hurricane named Hazel hit near his home in South Carolina, also played briefly in the minors for a Nashville team in 1955 when it was the Cincinnati Reds minor-league affiliate. Hazle was traded to the Braves in 1956 and endured an injury-riddled season in the minors. He said he contemplated quitting baseball altogether.
But after an injury to Bill Bruton, the Braves promoted the right-fielder Hazle 100 games into the 1957 season (Vaughn, by comparison, came up for Game No. 91). Hazle borrowed a bat from teammate Chuck Tanner and immediately caught fire. His first 15 games weren't quite as productive as Vaughn's, but he did have three homers and a 1.299 OPS. His batting average was .479 and it went up from there, peaking at .526 in game No. 19.
"All this came from a young man whose chief claim to fame was that he came to the Braves in a trade in which Milwaukee supposedly got taken," the Milwaukee Journal wrote before the World Series began. "That was the deal that sent George Crowe to Cincinnati. Crowe has been a valuable man for the Redlegs, but his season long consistency was matched by the fiery brilliance of Hazle's 22-game (hitting) streak.
"At the time he was traded from Cincinnati and sent straight to the minors by the Braves, Hazle considered the shift the biggest disappointment in his career. It has now turned out to be his biggest break."
Hazle only hit .154 in the World Series, a seven-game thriller against the Yankees, but he did jumpstart a four-run third inning of Game 7 with a one-out single in the third off Don Larsen, one of two hits in the 5-0 clincher. Hazle finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting despite his limited 134 at-bats.
Injuries popped up again early in the 1958 preseason, and he was subsequently dealt to the Detroit Tigers after 20 mediocre games with the Braves. He played sparingly for Detroit and didn't return to Major League Baseball in 1959. But the shooting-star trajectory of Hazle left a lasting impression, and he was named the team's rookie of the year for 1957 and earned a spot on the baseball writers' all-rookie MLB team, a list that included Milwaukee native Tony Kubek.
Hazle, who was 26 in 1957 (while Vaughn is 27) wound up on the Braves Wall of Honor in 2023.
Looking for one more connection to the 2025 Brewers teams? Bob Hazle's hometown in South Carolina ... was Woodruff.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Remember Bob Hazle? Andrew Vaughn is mirroring Milwaukee's 'Hurricane'
Category: Baseball
