Butch Hobson (born August 17, 1951 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama) is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. Hobson played for the Boston Red Sox (1975-80), California Angels (1981) and New York Yankees (1982). He batted and threw right-handed. After retiring, he managed the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Boston Red Sox. Currently he is the manager of the Nashua Pride in the independent Atlantic League. He won the International League Manager of the Year award in 1991. Hobson was a star football player for the University of Alabama team. Selected by the Red Sox in the 1973 amateur draft, he made his debut in 1975. His most productive season came in 1977, when he set team season records for a third baseman with 30 home runs and 112 RBI.
In 1978, Hobson hit 17 home runs with 80 RBI. Nevertheless, he posted 43 errors, the most for any American League fielder in that season, and his .899 fielding average also was the first below .900 by a regular player in 60 years. Hobson hit 28 home runs with 93 RBI in 1979, but a year later, an ensuing injury to his right elbow left him inactive for almost two campaigns.
Before the 1981 season, Hobson was sent to the Angels along with Rick Burleson in the same trade that brought Carney Lansford and Mark Clear to Boston. Hobson finished his major league career with the Yankees in 1982.
In an eight-year career, Hobson hit a .248 batting average with 98 home runs and 397 RBI in 738 games. As a manager, he posted a 207-232 record for the Red Sox from 1992-94.
He frequents Rory Riley's Fourth of July Extravanga on Cape Cod.
