A Long Road for Eric Hinske

In just his second at bat as a New York Yankee, Eric Hinske took a fifth inning offering from the Toronto Blue Jays’ Ricky Romero and sent it into the right field foul pole at new Yankee Stadium.

Having been recently acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates with cash for minor leaguers Eric Fryer and Casey Erickson, the 31-year-old has already endeared himself with the Yankee faithful.

Hinske, a player familiar to Toronto fans, has played on five teams in the past four seasons. How did he go from Toronto’s every day third baseman and 2002 American League ROY to hitting a home run as a spare outfielder for the Yankees? It has been interesting to say the least.

Eric Hinske was drafted in the 17th round of the 1998 Amateur Draft by the Chicago Cubs. From there he was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Miguel Cairo. Then, in one of his first moves as GM of the Blue Jays, J.P. Riccardi traded former fire-balling closer Billy Koch to the Athletics for Justin Miller and Hinske.

Early in 2002, Hinske became the Blue Jays starting third baseman. At age 24 and hitting from the two spot in the lineup, Hinske produced what is to this day still his best season. Named Rookie of the Year, Hinske hit .279 with 24 home runs and 84 RBIs. He also struck out 138 times in 566 plate appearances and committed a league-high 22 errors for third basemen.

Riccardi, much to the surprise of baseball fans and analysts at the time, responded to Hinske’s sole good season by signing him to a five-year, $14.8 million contract. With that kind of money on a medium market team, Hinske was expected to put up numbers at least as good as his rookie season. Unfortunately the sophomore slump hit the prospect hard and he slid to a .243 average with 12 home runs, 63 RBI and a hand injury.

It was never the same for Hinske in Toronto after his awful 2003 campaign. Fans and media were relentlessly tough on him, as they are all athletes, and he never again hit more than 15 home runs as a Blue Jay. As time went on, the Blue Jays began to lose faith in Hinske and acquired third basemen Corey Koskie, Shea Hillenbrand and Troy Glaus over 2004 and 2005. The strike out-prone reserve saw his playing time diminish as he legged out his contract, especially at third base, and in 2006 as a part-time OF/1B/DH, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later and cash.

One would suspect that Hinske enjoyed his time in Boston. Not only did he finish the 2006 season with a 10-game hitting streak, but he also got a chance to taste the post-season, with a single at-bat in the 2007 World Series. While he came off the bench over his year and a half in Boston, he was a valuable utility man who turned his game around defensively, making one very notable diving catch on May 17, 2007 that made highlight reels around North America.

After his contract ran out Hinske left Boston and signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008. While most fans and experts wrote the Rays off, the team enjoyed its best season ever and a World Series appearance. In his best season since 2002, Hinske hit 20 home runs in 381 at-bats, driving in 60 as a utility outfielder. Once again Hinske tasted the World Series.

While the Cinderella-story Rays lost the championship, Hinske did hit his first and only post-season home run off Phillies starter Joe Blanton. Eventually he struck out swinging for the final out of the World Series, victim to Brad Lidge’s slider.

Hinske did not find a place with the Rays in 2009 and instead moved for the first time to the National League to play with the Pirates. In 54 games and 106 at-bats, Hinske hit .255 with one measly home run and nearly 30 strikeouts. A vision of inconsistency, he blamed his power outage on his dissatisfaction with the National League and politely asked his team for a trade. On June 30, 2009, the trade was completed that landed Hinske in New York City.

Eric Hinske has not, and is not likely to reach the success he enjoyed in 2002, but he has, however, been a good-luck-charm for American League East teams in the last couple of years and a solid bat off the bench. If history repeats, he will join the New York Yankees in the World Series this year. In that case, his career can be remembered fondly as he fades into obscurity.