New Ulm HALL OF FAME Member

Thomas (Tom) Hayes

Pitcher

Selected 1997

Lifetime Baseball Batting Stats Page

Lifetime Baseball Pitching Stats Page

            Strikeouts and extremely low earned run averages - they went hand-in-hand for Tom Hayes when he pitched for the New Ulm Millers in the late 1940’s.

            Hayes won almost 70 percent of his games during his Miller career which started in 1947. In 51 games, he had a career ERA of 2.02, and in two years his ERA was below 2.00. His 1.62 average for the 1949 Millers ranks as one of the top 10 single-season best ERAs for a pitcher in New Ulm’s baseball history.

            Following his rookie season, Tom had three years in which when he virtually struckout one batter for every inning he pitched. Three times he recorded 16 strikeouts in one game.

            His addition to the team sparked the Millers, who were just developing again after World War Two. His team won three Tomahawk League championships and one regular season title, and he played a leading role in each championship.

            In 1947 the Millers reached the state tournament, thereby becoming the first team to qualify for a tournament as one of two representatives from the same city.

            In high school, Tom had a career 1.77 ERA with 113 strikeouts in 91 innings. He lost only one game while winning 13.