James Michael Hegan (July 21, 1942 – December 25, 2013) was an American professional baseball player, who later worked as a sports commentator.

[1] A graduate of Saint Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Hegan attended College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, on a football and baseball scholarship.

[3] Hegan began his major league career with the New York Yankees in 1964, appearing in five games late in the regular season; he was hitless in five at bats.

[4] During the 1970 season, Hegan started an error-less streak as a first baseman, which would last for 178 games – it stood as an American League record until it was broken by Kevin Youkilis on September 7, 2007.

[6] Midway through the 1971 season, Hegan was batting .221 with four home runs and 11 RBI in 46 games when his contract was sold to the Oakland Athletics.

[4] During the second half of the 1971 season, Hegan appeared in 65 games for Oakland, mostly as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement; he batted .236 (13-for-55) with 3 RBI.

[4] Hegan's diving stop of a hot smash grounder off the bat of Cesar Geronimo in the ninth inning helped seal the win for the A's in game 2.

[7] Hegan was the Yankees' regular first baseman for the remainder of the 1973 season; he appeared in 37 games and hit .275 (36-for-131) with six home runs and 14 RBI.