Jim Ray Hart

James Ray Hart (October 30, 1941 – May 19, 2016) was an American baseball player who was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played for the National League's San Francisco Giants from 1963 to 1973 and the American League's New York Yankees in 1973 and 1974. Hart batted and threw right-handed. In a 12-season career, Hart posted a .278 batting average, with 170 home runs and 578 runs batted in (RBI) in 1,125 major league games played. In 1962, with the Single-A Springfield Giants of the Eastern League, Hart had a .337 batting average with 18 home runs and 107 RBIs. He was named the Eastern League Most Valuable Player. In 1963, he hit .312 for the Triple-A Tacoma Giants of the Pacific Coast League in 83 games. The following spring training, Giants manager Alvin Dark worked with Hart on how to avoid being hit by pitches. ), and 18th in voting for most valuable player.

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 hit .299, with 23 home runs and 96 RBIs in 1965, and was 15th in MVP voting.

He was named NL Player of the Month in July 1967

Hart's batting average fell to .258 in 1968, splitting time between third base and left field. He only played in 136 games, the first time he had played less than 153 games in a full season for the Giants. From 1969 to 1972, he continued to play in fewer games (95, 76, 31, 24) for the Giants. In October 1972, he had surgery on a cartilage tear in his left knee. Alcohol and weight control may also have played a part in his declining performance. 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.

Hart died on May 19, 2016.