Walt Hriniak
| Walt Hriniak | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Catcher, utilityman | |||
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Born: May 22, 1943 Natick, Massachusetts |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 10, 1968, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 30, 1969, for the San Diego Padres | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Hits | 25 | ||
| Run batted in | 4 | ||
| Runs scored | 4 | ||
| Teams | |||
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Walter John Hriniak (born May 22, 1943, at Natick, Massachusetts) is a former catcher in American Major League Baseball who—despite a very brief MLB playing career and a batting average of only .253—became one of the most prominent batting coaches in the game during the last two decades of the 20th century. As a player, he stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall, weighed 178 pounds (81 kg), batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Hriniak was a three-sport star at Natick High School where he was a first-team All-State selection in all three sports: as quarterback in football, center in hockey, and shortstop in baseball. He was also voted the outstanding hockey player in eastern Massachusetts and some speculated that he could have pursued a career in professional hockey. Instead, he chose baseball and signed a $75,000 bonus contract with the Milwaukee Braves in 1961.
Initially a shortstop in the pros, Hriniak batted over .300 in each of his first two professional seasons, but in 1964, while playing for the Austin Senators in the Double-A Texas League, he was seriously injured in a car accident that took the life of a teammate (pitcher Jerry Hummitzsch) and was on the disabled list for nearly three months.
It would take Hriniak almost four seasons to regain his batting stroke. By then, 1968, he had become a catcher and utilityman, and was no longer a top prospect. But during that season, with the Shreveport Braves of the Texas League, Hriniak was managed by Charlie Lau, who soon would become the most celebrated batting instructor in Major League Baseball during the 1970s. Hriniak hit .313 and was promoted to the MLB Braves that September; more important, he adopted Lau's theories about hitting and would use them as the basis for his instruction after his playing career had ended. He also became Lau's close friend.
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