Baseball has lost one of its truest, toughest warriors, as former MLB second baseman Ron Hunt has passed away at the age of 85. While fans across the country may remember him as a New York Met or a Montreal Expo, the St. Louis Cardinals family remembers him as a hometown kid who finally got to wear the Birds on the Bat before hanging up his spikes.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Hunt was the quintessential old-school ballplayer. He was never someone who blasted towering home runs, nor was he someone who relied on flashing leather.
Instead, Hunt made his mark with pure grit. He refused to strike out, and more than anything, he possessed a legendary willingness to put his own body on the line just to get on base.
He once perfectly summed up his style by noting that while some people choose to donate their bodies to medical science, he chose to give his to the game of baseball.
His professional journey took him all over the map. Signed out of high school by the Milwaukee Braves, he eventually landed with the Mets in late 1962.
He quickly became a fan favorite in New York, finishing as the runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year in 1963 and earning two All-Star selections during his time in the Big Apple.
From there, his career included stints with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, but it was his time in Montreal where Hunt truly turned the hit-by-pitch into an art form. In 1971, he was plunked by opposing pitchers an astonishing 50 times.
It remains a modern Major League record, and by the time his 12-year career concluded, he had been hit 243 times, placing him sixth on the all-time list.
After years of grinding it out on the coast and up north, fate finally brought the local kid back to where it all began. Late in the 1974 season, St. Louis front office claimed Hunt off waivers from the Expos.
Getting to see him wear the Redbirds uniform, even for just 12 games at the tail end of that season, was a cool moment for the city, even if he only played in five games at second base for the club.
He returned to Cardinals spring training camp in 1975 before ultimately making the decision to retire.
Hunt left the game with 1,429 hits, 745 runs scored, and a reputation as a fierce competitor that no opponent could intimidate. In his post-playing days, he stayed active by running local businesses and passing his deep knowledge of the game down to the next generation through youth baseball clinics.
The city of St. Louis will fondly remember Hunt.
