Major League Career
Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Hegan was drafted as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1938. After playing in the minor leagues for four seasons, he made his major league debut with the Indians on September 7, 1941 at the age of 20. Hegan appeared in 68 games for the Indians in 1942, before joining the United States Coast Guard for the remainder of the Second World War.
When Hegan returned in 1946 he became the Indians regular starting catcher replacing Frankie Hayes. In his second season back after the war, Hegan was recognized as one of the top catchers in the American League when, he was selected as a reserve in the 1947 All-Star Game. He had his best season offensively in 1948, posting a .248 batting average along with 14 home runs and 61 runs batted in, as the Indians finished the season tied for first place with the Boston Red Sox.
After defeating the Red Sox in a one-game playoff, the Indians went on to defeat the Boston Braves in the 1948 World Series. Despite his low batting average, Hegan ended the season ranked in 19th place in the 1948 American League Most Valuable Player Award voting, due in part to his handling of the Indians' pitching staff which led the league in winning percentage, shutouts and in earned run average.
Hegan's pitch-calling skills continued to be made evident as, the Indian's pitching staff would lead the American League in earned run average every year from 1948 to 1951. In 1951 and 1952, the Indians' pitching staff would have three twenty-game winning pitchers. Cleveland pitchers gave Hegan credit for part of their success. Cleveland Indian Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller was quoted as saying,"He was one of the best defensive catchers in baseball history. Jim called a good game. We disagreed rarely. Jim was very good at keeping pitchers calm." Another Hall of Fame pitcher, Bob Lemon said of Hegan, "When I first started pitching, I used to shake him off sometimes. Invariably, they'd get a hit. So I stopped shaking him off."
In 1954, Hegan would again lead the Indians' pitching staff to the lowest earned run average in the league and committed only 4 errors in 137 games played as, the Indians won the American League pennant with a then-record 111 victories in a 154-game season. The Indians would eventually lose to the New York Giants in the 1954 World Series. Hegan would once again guide the Indians' pitching staff to the league's lowest earned run average in 1956 as, the Indians boasted three twenty-game winning pitchers for the third time during his career.
After the 1957 season, Hegan was traded to the Detroit Tigers. He was traded several more times before ending his playing career with the Chicago Cubs in 1960 at the age of 39.
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