Top 50 All-Time Greatest Jays: #35 Eric Hinske
by Tom Dakers
on Dec 21, 2008 4:37 PM EST
in Top 50 All Time Jays
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Eric Scott Hinske|3B, 1B,OF|2002-2006
Notable Accomplishments: Rookie of the Year Award 2002
Yeah, I know, how can Hinske rate above Molitor? Well, Molitor was only with the Jays three seasons, two of which were strike shortened and his last season with us wasn't very good. Add in that Molitor didn't play a defensive position and well.....it was still a close call.
Eric Hinske was born August 5th, 1977 in Menasha, Wisconsin. Hinske was drafted in the 17th round of the 1998 amateur draft by the Chicago Cubs, from the University of Arkansas. Ty Wigginton was also chosen in that round of that year. So at the moment he's the second best third basemen/utility player of that round. JJ Putz and BJ Ryan were also picked in that round. That was a very productive 17th round.
In March of 2001 he was traded to the A's for Miguel Cairo and in December of that year he was traded with Justin Miller to the Jays for Billy Koch. It is safe to say we won that one.
2002 was Eric's Rookie of the Year season, he was terrific. 99 runs scored, 84 RBI, 24 homers, 77 walks, even 13 steals only being caught once: all career highs to this point. Most of those numbers set team rookie records, excepting the stolen bases. He hit .279/.365/.481 for an OPS+ of 119 also a career high. The only downside was his defense, he didn't show much range at third and made 20 errors for a .946 fielding average. His first game in the majors he had a 2 run single against Pedro Martinez. It looked like we had our third basemen for the next 10 years.
After the season JP signed Eric to a $14.75 million contract, 5 year contract, buying out his arbitration years. It seemed like a good idea at the time. In 2003 he hit only .243/.329/.437 for an OPS+ of 97 with 12 homers. He did get 45 doubles in 124 games and 12 steals in 14 attempts. His defense didn't improve either making 22 errors for a .930 fielding average. He missed a month of the season with a broken bone in his hand, which at the time was used to explain his lower offensive numbers.
Eric's 2004 season was, well, terrible. He hit just .246/.312/.375 in 155 games for a miserable OPS+ of 76, though he did have a 16 game hitting streak at one point. The lone bright spot was he cut down on his errors only making 8 errors for a .978 fielding average the lead the AL. After the season the Jays picked up Corey Koskie and Shea Hillenbrand to play third and moved Hinske to first base.
Hinske improved in 2005 hitting .262/.333/.430 with 15 home runs. But an OPS+ of 100 isn't enough for a first baseman/DH and after the season JP picked up Lyle Overbay to play first and Troy Glaus to play third.
To start the 2006 season Hinske was moved into a platoon in RF with Alex Rios, but Rios is good and won the job outright in April. In June Rios went on the DL with a staph infection in his leg so Eric filled in while he was out and then Hillenbrand had a tantrum and was quickly traded opening a hole at DH for Eric.
Hinske was having a pretty good season for the Jays hitting .264/.353/.513 with 12 homers in 78 games, his best numbers since his rookie season when on August 17th he was traded to the Red Sox for cash.
In 2007 Eric won a World Series ring with the Red Sox and then in 2008 he was on the losing side at the World Series, making the last out for the Rays on a strikeout in only his second at bat of the playoffs. The other at bat was much more successful, hitting a home run in a game 4 loss.
As power hitting lefty, who can play a number of positions, HInske will likely find employment in the Majors for a few more years. He is married and has a daughter. He is a fan of have metal music and the Green Bay Packers. He is also, perhaps unfairly, immortalized on this site by having the Jay Suckage player of the Game award named after him. Sorry Eric.
Eric Hinske's place among Jay batting leaders:
Batting Average (>2000 PA) 20th .259
On Base % (>2000 PA) 12th .337
Slugging % (>2000 PA) 14th .437
OPS (>2000 PA) 15th .774
Games 26th 655
At Bats 25th 2259
Runs 23rd 353
Hits 26th 584
Doubles 20th 146
Home Runs 18th 78
RBI 20th 313
Walks 17th 263
Strikeouts 12th 521
Runs Created 23rd 342
Offensive Win % 1st .624 (yeah I don't get it either)
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Bold prediction
and then in 2009 he was on the losing side at the World Series, making the last out for the Rays on a strikeout in only his second at bat of the playoffs.
Two years in a row eh? Man…that’s quite the call. Considering the Ray’s will have to make the world series again, Hinskie will still have to be playing for them, and be up to bat for the last out. Wonder if it’s ever happened?
I’ll give you 8,456,005-1 odds.
by rabbit on
Dec 21, 2008 5:29 PM EST
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Hinske v. Sprague
Hinske and Sprague have similar beginnings, starting 3Bmen who won accolades early on. Sprague won 2 College WS with Stanford before being drafted in the 1st round and 2 more with the Jay’s ‘92-’93 teams. Hinske won ROY in ’02 and tasted WS action in ’09 with the Rays. Do you think sprague ranks higher in the Jays list?
Speaking of Sprague, I interviewed him last Monday on my website. Please check it out at http://www.jimmyscottshighandtight.com/node/419.
by Jimmy Scott on
Dec 21, 2008 9:32 PM EST
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man,,this has sunk low,,
i respect the jays franchise is still pretty new compared to most other MLB teams,,,but hinske,,ugh,,seriously,,, i respect the time and work and your knowledge etc,,,,but come on,,,he had a good debut year,,,then JP did the rookie GM move and give the rookie a FAT 5 yr deal,,and yes i do mean fat.
Eric shows up to ST in 03 40ibs heavier. anway,,he had a year and was bounced from 3B to 1B to DH / OF for a reason,,he stunk,,
he waa sold not traded,,the lowest of the low,,yeah he got ring inb-town as the 25th guy,,great.
in 08 he was a NR player he was close to getting released a couple times,,but TB injuries saved him and was kept ,,,FYI,,,,he was left off the post season roster with TB up until the WS (again an injury ) and was inserted in. Please let him go,,,,what next Jacob Brumfield,,,,,,
by pascualperezfan on
Dec 22, 2008 1:24 PM EST
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Well...
You do have to remember we aren’t the Yankees with 100 years of glorious history, we have 30 years and many of those years have been awful. I went in with the idea that a player would have to play 3 seasons to get on the list, but then Molitor played one full season and 2 strike shortened seasons. I gave in on him and one other later. But we don’t have 50 hall of fame types. People complained about Timlin too but till we get to the top 20 or so there are a bunch of part timers and guys that had one or two good seasons. Hinske isn’t a fan favorite but come up with 50 guys that did more. 12th in team history in on base % and 14th in slugging, 17th in homers. You think the guy that’s 17th in homers for the Yankees isn’t one of their Top 50 players?
by Tom Dakers on
Dec 22, 2008 3:43 PM EST
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as it happens
Paul O’Neill is 17th all-time for the Yankees in home runs.
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
by hugo on
Dec 22, 2008 4:29 PM EST
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Yeah we have different history's don't we.
The Angels page is doing a top 100 players, but then they have 15 more years of players to choose from. The fun of the Jays is that this list will change a fair bit each season. There are a handful of current Jay players that are just off the list and the ones that are on the list could move up a lot with a good season.
I know the bottom half of the list there are a lot of players that really aren’t very good. I doubt Alfredo Griffin could crack a major league line up today. Otto Velez was a pretty marginal player. Molitor gets on the list for having one really good full season, one good part season and one pretty average part season. And a few of the others were just major leaguers because we were an expansion team.
by Tom Dakers on
Dec 22, 2008 5:27 PM EST
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you know
in my family we’re not very good at singing, but we like to. That we’ve had relatively few good singers over the years as compared to other families doesn’t stop us from talking about who has been the best (and the worst, haha). It’s our family and we like music so it matters to us even though we’ve got people in our top 5 who would be lucky to make a high school glee club. .
"Let us go forth awhile, and get better air in our lungs. Let us leave our closed rooms... The game of ball is glorious." - Walt Whitman
by hugo on
Dec 22, 2008 5:49 PM EST
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Oh hell....I sing great....
Whoops…that wasn’t the point was it?
by Tom Dakers on
Dec 22, 2008 6:54 PM EST
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i would say the fifth best singer in our family
would only be able to make an high school glee club if he was lucky enough that they didn’t exclude anyone.
"The NY Mets are my favorite squadron" -- Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
by jessef on
Dec 22, 2008 11:34 PM EST
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