Carroll Hardy Carroll William Hardy ( born May 18 , 1933 in Sturgis , South Dakota ) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians ( 1958 – 1960 ) , Boston Red Sox ( 1960 – 1962 ) , Houston Colt . 45s ( 1963 – 1964 ) and Minnesota Twins ( 1967 ) . He batted and threw right - handed . Amateur career . Hardy attended the University of Colorado from 1951 – 1955 , where he lettered in football , baseball and track . He was all - Big Seven Conference as a tailback , running from a single - wing formation under head coach Dal Ward , and All - Conference in baseball under head coach Frank Prentup . Professional football . A third - round pick in the 1955 NFL Draft , Hardy chose baseball over football after one year in the National Football League . He caught 12 passes – four for touchdown s – while he played halfback with the San Francisco 49ers in 1955 , but his biggest claim to fame will always be related to baseball , even though he was named the Hula Bowl MVP that year . As a 49er , he shared the field with Pro Football Hall of Fame rs Y . A . Tittle , Joe Perry and Hugh McElhenny . Major League Baseball . Most die - hard baseball fans know that Hardy has the honor of being the only player ever to pinch - hit for Ted Williams , but few people know that Hardy ' s pinch - hit resume goes well beyond this claim to trivia immortality . He then became the only player to pinch - hit for Carl Yastrzemski , Williams ' replacement in left field . He also pinch hit for Roger Maris . Indians . Hardy spent two seasons , 1957 – 58 , with the Indians farm team , the San Diego Padres , which was owned at the time by C . Arnholt Smith , founder and owner of San Diego ' s U . S . National Bank . A reserve for the majority of his career , he debuted with the Cleveland Indians in the 1958 season . On May 18 , celebrating his 25th birthday , he pinch - hit for Roger Maris and belted his first major league home run , a three - run blast off Billy Pierce , to lead Cleveland to a 7 – 4 victory over the Chicago White Sox . Red Sox . Late in the 1960 season , Hardy was on the bench for the Boston Red Sox . Ted Williams , in the final days of his Hall of Fame career , fouled a ball off his foot in the first inning of a game on September 20 . After he limped off the field , Hardy finished the at bat for him , becoming the only player ever to do so . Hardy lined into a double play . On September 28 at Fenway Park , in his final major league appearance , Williams hit his 521st and last home run against Jack Fisher of the Baltimore Orioles . In the ninth inning , he was replaced by Hardy in left field . " They booed me all the way out and cheered him all the way in , " Hardy later remembered . Then , on May 31 , 1961 , Hardy pinch - hit for rookie Carl Yastrzemski , making him the only player in major league history to go in for both future Hall of Famers . Hardy saw most action in 1962 , posting career - highs in games ( 115 ) , at - bats ( 362 ) , hits ( 78 ) , runs , home runs ( eight ) and runs batted in ( 36 ) , but hit for just a . 215 average . On April 11 , Hardy enjoyed another career highlight at Fenway Park , when he broke up a scoreless pitching duel between Ron Taylor of Cleveland and Bill Monbouquette of the Red Sox , hitting a 12th - inning , walk - off grand slam for a 4 – 0 Boston victory over the Indians . Remaining career . On December 10 , 1962 , Hardy was traded to the Houston Colt . 45s for another outfielder , Dick Williams . Williams would eventually become Boston ' s manager , lead them to the 1967 American League pennant , and forge a Hall of Fame career as a manager . Hardy spent most of the rest of his playing career at the Triple - A level , with brief appearances for Houston and Minnesota . On the last day of the 1967 season , the Twins lost a chance to clinch the American League pennant , losing to the Red Sox , 6 - 2 , in Fenway Park . With two outs in the 9th inning , Rich Rollins pinch hit for catcher Russ Nixon and popped out to Rico Petrocelli for the last out of the game . Had Rollins reached base , Hardy , was on - deck , to pinch hit for Twins pitcher Mudcat Grant . He managed in the Twins ' farm system at the Class A level in 1968 . In an eight - season career , Hardy was a . 225 hitter with 17 home runs and 113 RBI in 433 games . After baseball . With his baseball career behind him , Hardy worked for 20 years in the Denver Broncos ' front office . As a player personnel director , he was the key figure in building what eventually became the Orange Crush Defense in the 1970s . He was also part of the Broncos when they went to Super Bowl XII in 1977 . Currently , he work for Steamboat Springs , Colorado .