Paul Hinson

James Paul Hinson (May 9, 1904 – September 23, 1960) was an American professional baseball shortstop and third baseman who made three appearances for the 1928 Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pinch runner. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed. He later served as a police officer in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Biography Hinson played in minor league baseball from 1927 to 1930, and again in 1933. He batted .306 in 1929 and .307 in 1930; records for some of his other seasons are incomplete.

Hinson appeared in three major league games for the Boston Red Sox in 1928, each time as a pinch runner. Ira Flagstead doubled, advancing Hinson to third base, followed by a ground out by Phil Todt, scoring Hinson. At the beginning of June, the Red Sox optioned Hinson to the Salem Witches of the New England League; he successfully stole home in his first game with Salem.

As well as Hinson and sprinter Herb Washington, several other players have made a majority of their major league appearances a pinch runner, notably Mel Kerr for the 1925 Chicago Cubs and Gary Hargis for the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. Other teams have occasionally kept pinch-running specialists for brief stretches, such as Matt Alexander, Allan Lewis, Don Hopkins and Larry Lintz.

Hinson was born in 1904 in Vanleer, Tennessee. During and after his baseball career, he served as a police officer in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he was shot in the hip in November 1930 while attempting to capture a burglary suspect. He was married, with no children.