Third Baseman, Toronto
Blue Jays
Age: 25 (Aug. 5)
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’2” Weight: 235
Prior to 2002:
A native of
Manesha, Wisconsin, where his grandfather founded the local Little League and
Babe Ruth League, Hinske lettered in basketball and football, as well as
baseball, in high school. He also was all-state in baseball. At the University
of Arkansas, he played baseball for three years. Chosen by the Chicago Cubs in
the 1998 amateur draft, Hinske played for two teams at the Class A level in ’98
and batted a combined .310 with 10 home runs, 61 RBIs, and a .397 on-base
percentage. Advancing to Daytona of the advanced Class A Florida State League
in 1999, he hit .297 with 19 home runs, 79 RBIs, and a .385 OBP. He was
selected to the league All-Star team. Hinske finished up the year with four
games for Iowa of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. Having typically played
at first base and in the outfield, he spent considerable time at third base,
which would become his regular position. In 2000 he was with West Tennessee of
the Class AA Southern League. He led the circuit in triples (9) while batting
.259 with 20 home runs, 73 RBIs, and a .373 OBP. In 2001 Hinske was traded to
the Oakland Athletics who assigned him to the Sacramento River Cats of the PCL,
where he hit .282 with 27 doubles, 25 home runs, 79 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, and
a .373 OBP. In the offseason he was dealt to the Blue Jays where he became the
starting third baseman for 2002.
2002 Season Summary
Appeared in 151
games
3B – 148, PH – 10
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate Appearances
– 650
At Bats – 566
Runs – 99 [17,
tied with Darin Erstad, Troy Glaus & Rafael Palmeiro]
Hits – 158
Doubles – 38 [10,
tied with Shannon Stewart]
Triples – 2
Home Runs – 24
RBI – 84
Bases on Balls
– 77 [13]
Int. BB – 5
Strikeouts – 138
[7]
Stolen Bases – 13
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .279
OBP - .365
Slugging Pct. -
.481
Total Bases – 272
GDP – 12
Hit by Pitches
– 2
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 5
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 21, HR – 14, RBI – 46, AVG – .273, OBP – .362
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 7/13, (in 5 AB) vs. Seattle 8/6, (in 5 AB) vs. NY
Yankees 8/30
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
Most HR, game –
2 (in 3 AB) vs. Tampa Bay 6/4, (in 4 AB) vs. Boston 7/14
HR at home – 15
HR on road – 9
Multi-HR games
– 2
Most RBIs, game
– 3 on six occasions
Pinch-hitting –
2 for 9 (.222) with 1 R, 1 RBI & 1 BB
Fielding
Chances – 368
Put Outs – 103
Assists – 245
Errors – 20
DP - 14
Pct. - .946
Awards & Honors:
AL Rookie of
the Year: BBWAA
AL ROY Voting
(Top 5):
Eric Hinske,
Tor.: 122 points – 19 of 28 first place votes, 87% share
Rodrigo Lopez,
Balt.: 97 points –9 first place votes, 69% share
Jorge Julio,
Balt.: 14 points – 10% share
Bobby Kielty,
Min.: 5 points – 4% share
John Lackey,
Ana.: 5 points – 4% share
---
The Blue Jays
went 78-84 to finish third in the AL Eastern Division, 25.5 games behind the
division-winning New York Yankees. The Blue Jays were 20-33 when manager Buck
Martinez was replaced by Carlos Tosca on June 3 and went 58-51 the rest of the
way. The fair-to-middling team with a restricted payroll climbed back to a
solid third place in September. Hinske settled down after a rough start
defensively at third base.
Aftermath of 2002:
In 2003 Hinske
suffered a broken bone in his left hand in May that landed him on the Disabled
List until late June. He returned to reclaim his starting job at third base,
but his batting production dropped to .243 with 12 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a
.329 OBP over the course of 124 games. In 2004 Hinske, despite questions
regarding his defensive play, led all American League third basemen with his
.978 fielding percentage. He also batted .246 with 15 home runs, 69 RBIs, and a
.312 OBP. With Toronto’s acquisition of third baseman Corey Koskie in 2005,
Hinske appeared mostly at first base, or as Designated Hitter or a pinch
hitter, and hit .262 with 31 doubles, 15 home runs, 68 RBIs, and a .333 OBP. His
tenure with the Blue Jays came to an end during the 2006 season when he was
dealt to the Boston Red Sox in August. For the most part appearing as an
outfielder or first baseman, he batted a combined .271 with 13 home runs, 34
RBIs, and a .353 OBP. With the pennant-winning Red Sox in 2007, Hinske was a
part-time player who appeared in 84 games and hit .204 with 6 home runs, 21
RBIs, and a .317 OBP. Appearing in the postseason for the first time, he was
hitless in two pinch-hitting appearances during Boston’s advance to a World
Series title. A free agent in the offseason, Hinske caught on with the Tampa
Bay Rays in 2008 and batted .247 with 20 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .333 OBP.
The Rays reached the World Series and Hinske was activated due to an injury to
DH Cliff Floyd. He homered in Game 4 and struck out in Game 5 as the Rays lost
to Philadelphia. Hinske split 2009 between the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York
Yankees and hit a combined .242 with 8 home runs, 25 RBIs, and a .348 OBP. Appearing
in the World Series for the third straight year (each with a different club),
he walked in his only plate appearance. He spent the next three seasons as a
reserve with the Atlanta Braves and finished up his playing career with the
Arizona Diamondbacks in 2013. For his major league career, which failed to
achieve its initial promise, Hinske batted .249 with 947 hits that included 240
doubles, 18 triples, and 137 home runs. He scored 549 runs and compiled 522
RBIs, 61 stolen bases, and a .332 OBP. With Toronto he batted .259 with 584
hits, 146 doubles, 12 triples, 78 home runs, 313 RBIs, 353 runs scored, 46
stolen bases, and a .337 OBP. Appearing in 10 postseason games, he hit .286
with 2 home runs and 3 RBIs. Following his playing career he became a coach
with several teams.
---
Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of
the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America
(1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from
its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major
league.
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