Drungo Hazewood

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Drungo Hazewood

|position=Outfielder

|image=Drungo Hazewood.jpeg

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date|1959|9|2}}

|birth_place=Mobile, Alabama, U.S.

|death_date= {{Death date and age|2013|7|28|1959|9|2}}

|death_place= Sacramento, California, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 19

|debutyear=1980

|debutteam= Baltimore Orioles

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=October 4

|finalyear=1980

|finalteam= Baltimore Orioles

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.000

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=0

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=0

|teams=

Baltimore Orioles ({{baseball year|1980}})

}}

Drungo LaRue Hazewood (September 2, 1959 – July 28, 2013) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Baltimore Orioles in 1980. He spent the majority of his career in the minor leagues, playing for the Class AA Charlotte O's in the 1980s.

Biography

Hazewood was a first-round pick, and the nineteenth player selected overall, by Baltimore in 1977. He spent that first season with the rookie-league Bluefield Orioles and was promoted to the Class A Miami Orioles for the 1978 season. In 1979, he hit 21 home runs with the Class AA Charlotte O's of the Southern League.{{cite web|title=Drungo Hazewood Minor League Statistics and History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=hazewo001dru|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=12 July 2015}}

He made his major league debut in 1980. Despite a .583 batting average during spring training, he only joined the Orioles as a September call-up, appearing in six games and going hitless in five plate appearances with four strikeouts.{{cite book |last=Robbins |first=Mike |date=2004 |title=Ninety Feet from Fame:Close Calls with Baseball Immortality |location=New York |publisher=Carroll & Graf Publishers |page=[https://archive.org/details/ninetyfeetfromfa0000robb/page/71 71] |isbn=0-7867-1335-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/ninetyfeetfromfa0000robb/page/71 }}

In 1981, Hazewood was back in the minor leagues. He struggled in 18 games with the Class AAA Rochester Red Wings, getting 6 hits in 64 at bats. He spent most of the year in Class AA with Charlotte. Hazewood hit .226 with 11 home runs and 28 stolen bases in 1982. In 1983, his last baseball season, Hazewood hit a combined .247 for two minor league teams. He left baseball during that season to take care of his mother, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.{{cite web|last1=Diunte|first1=Nick|title=Former Orioles minor league phenom Drungo Hazewood dies|url=http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-orioles-drungo-hazewood-0731-20130730-story.html|publisher=The Baltimore Sun|accessdate=July 11, 2015|date=July 30, 2013}}

Hazewood was known as a power hitter who struck out frequently and had difficulty hitting a curveball. He had more strikeouts than hits in every major league and minor league season he played.{{cite web|title=Drungo Hazewood Statistics and History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/hazewdr01.shtml|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=July 11, 2015}} Former teammates have recalled Hazewood's strength and speed. Cal Ripken Jr. described an incident in which Hazewood had snapped a baseball bat simply by twisting it.

Hazewood died from cancer at his home in South Sacramento, California, on July 28, 2013. He was 53 years old.{{cite web|last=Davidson |first=Joe |url=http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/30/5607252/local-legend-hazewood-dies-at.html |title=Hometown Report: Local legend Hazewood dies at 53 – Hometown Report |work=The Sacramento Bee |accessdate=2013-07-30 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805073347/http://www.sacbee.com/2013/07/30/5607252/local-legend-hazewood-dies-at.html |archivedate=2013-08-05 }}