Mickey Hatcher is a Cleveland, Ohio native. Following his high school career at Mesa High, he attended the University of Oklahoma, where he played both football and baseball. He was drated twice (in the 12th round of the 1974 draft by the Houston Astros and in 1976 by the New York Mets in the 2nd round), the before he signed with the Dodgers in 1977.
Mickey made his MLB debut as a Dodger on August 3, 1979 subbing for Ron Cey at third base. He hit .269 in 22 games for the Dodgers in 1979. On March 30, 1981, the Dodgers traded Hatcher and two minor leagueers to the Twins for veteran ourfielder, Ken Landreaux. He played with the Twins from 1981 to 1986, hitting .284 in 672 games and then returned to the Dodgers as a free agent on April 10, 1987.
Mickey is admired for his fun-loving approach to playing baseball, particularly on the World Champion 1988 Dodger team, and was featured in various presentations to the tune of the “Mickey Mouse Club” song. He would sprint to first base after drawing walks like Pete Rose, and garnered a lot of media attention in the 1988 World Series by hitting a first-inning home run in Game 1 and sprinting at full speed around the bases instead of jogging. Hatcher had only hit one home run in that ’88 season, but hit two World Series homers.
He remained a Dodger through the 1991 season. Following his playing days, Hatcher was a coach for the Texas Rangers and the LA Dodgers organization. In 2000, he became the hitting coach for the Los Angeles Angels, under manager Mike Scioscia, Hatcher’s teammate from the 1988 World Championship team. Later, he continued to work in baseball through the 2012 season as a special assistant to the General Manager for the Dodgers.