Travis Hafner | |||
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Hafner with the New York Yankees
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Designated hitter / First baseman | |||
Born: Jamestown, North Dakota |
June 3, 1977 |||
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MLB debut | |||
August 6, 2002, for the Texas Rangers | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 29, 2013, for the New York Yankees | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .273 | ||
Home runs | 213 | ||
Runs batted in | 731 | ||
Teams | |||
Travis Lee Hafner (/ˈhæfnər/; born June 3, 1977) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter and first baseman. A left-handed hitter, Hafner played for the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. His nickname, "Pronk", was given to him by former teammate Bill Selby during spring training of 2001 when people sometimes referred to him as "The Project" and other times "Donkey" for the way he looked when running the bases. He has the most home runs for a player born in North Dakota, and tied the MLB-record for grand slams in one season with 6.
Hafner was born in Jamestown, North Dakota in 1977 and attended a small high school in Sykeston, North Dakota, which did not have a baseball program. He was valedictorian of his high school class of eight students. Hafner attended Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Hafner was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 31st round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. He hit his first career home run August 11, 2002 while playing for the Rangers against the Indians. In addition to the home run, he had two doubles and a single in five at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring two. He nearly hit for the cycle in this game, but was thrown out at third base while attempting the triple.[1]