William Joseph Haselman (born May 25, 1966) is an American professional baseball coach and former player who currently serves as the catching coach for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played as a catcher in MLB for 13 seasons between 1990 and 2003. A first-round selection in the 1987 MLB draft, he played for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers.
He previously was the bullpen coach and first base coach for the Red Sox and the third base coach for the Los Angeles Angels. He has also served as a manager in Minor League Baseball.
Early life
Haselman was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and graduated from Saratoga High School in Saratoga, California. At Saratoga, he played high school football in addition to baseball. There, he played for the UCLA Bruins baseball team as an understudy to Todd Zeile. He also played briefly for the UCLA Bruins football team—while some sources state he was a backup for starting quarterback Troy Aikman,
Playing career
Texas Rangers
Haselman was drafted as the 23rd pick of the first round of the 1987 Major League Baseball draft by the Texas Rangers. He began his professional career that year for the Gastonia Rangers of the South Atlantic League. Haselman was the battery-mate for Red Sox pitcher Roger Clemens on September 18, 1996, when Clemens struck out 20 batters in a game against the Detroit Tigers to tie his own major league single-game strikeout record in a nine-inning game. It was also a productive night for Haselman, who had three hits and two RBIs in the memorable Red Sox victory.
Texas Rangers (second stint)
The Red Sox traded Haselman (along with Mark Brandenburg and Aaron Sele) on November 6, 1997, to the Texas Rangers for Damon Buford and Jim Leyritz. In 40 games, he hit .314 with 6 home runs. While predominantly a catcher (524 games), Haselman also made appearances as a designated hitter (39 games), outfielder (six games), first baseman (three games), and third baseman (one game).
Coaching and managing career
Haselman served as the Red Sox' interim first base coach in 2004, filling in for Lynn Jones from early May to late July, after Jones sustained a non-baseball eye injury. The team went on to win the World Series. Haselman served as the team's bullpen coach in 2005, and was first base coach for the 2006 season.
In 2010, Haselman returned to professional baseball as manager of the Class A Bakersfield Blaze, a California League affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim named Haselman as the manager of the club's Inland Empire 66ers minor league team on January 9, 2012. In 2013, Haselman guided Inland Empire to a California League title. That season, the team compiled an 81–60 record and advanced to the championship series of the PCL. He remained with the team as their manager through the 2018 season.
Following cancellation of the 2020 minor-league season, Heselman returned to Oklahoma City as bench coach and third base coach for the 2021 season.
Haselman joined the Angels' major-league staff in January 2022 as the team's catching instructor, succeeding José Molina. In July, he temporarily served as the Angels' manager for two games, due to the suspension of interim manager Phil Nevin and acting interim manager Ray Montgomery. For the 2023 season, Haselman was named the Angels' third base coach, succeeding Mike Gallego.
On November 3, 2025, the Cincinnati Reds hired Haselman to serve as the team's major league catching coach.
Personal life
Haselman and his wife have two children. Son Ty was a catcher for the UCLA Bruins during the 2018 season.