# Ray Hamrick

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**Raymond Bernard Hamrick** [*Handsome Ray*] (August 1, 1921 – June 9, 2009) was an American [infielder](/source/Infielder) in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) who played from through for the [Philadelphia Phillies](/source/Philadelphia_Phillies) of the [National League](/source/National_League_(baseball)). Listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m), 165 lb., Hamrick batted and threw right-handed. He was born in [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville,_Tennessee).

Fast and steady, Hamrick was one of many ballplayers who interrupted their careers to serve during [World War II](/source/World_War_II). Hamrick started his professional baseball career as a [shortstop](/source/Shortstop) and [pitcher](/source/Pitcher) in 1939, playing for the [Nashville](/source/Nashville_Sounds), [Charleston](/source/Charleston_RiverDogs) and [Americus](/source/Americus_(baseball_team)#Americus_Cardinals) [Minor league](/source/Minor_league_baseball) teams. During his stay at Americus, he made the All-Star team in 1941 and batted over a .300 [batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball)) for most of the year. His most productive season came in 1943, when he hit 145 in 460 at-bats with Nashville for a .310 average.

Hamrick joined the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943. The following season, he began [spring training](/source/Spring_training) with the team in [Wilmington, Delaware](/source/Wilmington,_Delaware), because the war kept the teams out of [Florida](/source/Florida) for camp due to the submarine threat. Hamrick left spring training as Philadelphia's starting shortstop, but he left for the military service after appearing in 74 games. With the end of the war, Hamrick rejoined the team (by then the Phillies) in 1946, but the competition for a roster spot was now overwhelming as [Skeeter Newsome](/source/Skeeter_Newsome) became the everyday shortstop.

In a two-season majors career, Hamrick was a .204 hitter (92-for-452) in 118 games, including 34 [runs](/source/Run_(baseball)), 32 [RBI](/source/Run_batted_in), 13 [doubles](/source/Double_(baseball)), two [triples](/source/Triple_(baseball)), one [home run](/source/Home_run) and one [stolen base](/source/Stolen_base). He made 74 appearances at shortstop (86) and [second base](/source/Second_base) (31), and posted a collective .946 [fielding percentage](/source/Fielding_percentage).

After that, Hamrick hit .266 (92-for-346) for the [Oakland Oaks](/source/Oakland_Oaks_(PCL)) of the [Pacific Coast League](/source/Pacific_Coast_League) in 1946, his last professional baseball season.

Hamrick died in his homeland of Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 87.

## See also

- [1943 Philadelphia Phillies season](/source/1943_Philadelphia_Phillies_season)
- [1944 Philadelphia Phillies season](/source/1944_Philadelphia_Phillies_season)

## External links

- [Retrosheet](http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Phamrr101.htm)
- [Baseball in Wartime](http://www.baseballinwartime.com/)
- [Nashville Sounds page](http://www.nashvillesounds.com/news/news.asp?newsId=3044)
- [Oakland Oaks page](http://oaklandoaks.tripod.com/hamrick.html)
- [Sulphur Dell - Obituary](http://www.sulphurdell.com/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ray Hamrick](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Hamrick) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Hamrick?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.