Devern Hansack

Devern Brandon Hansack

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut September 23, 2006
• Final Game September 28, 2008
• Born February 5, 1978 in Pearl Lagoon, Atlantico Sur Nicaragua

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Biographical information

Pitcher Devern Hansack spent parts of three seasons in the majors.

He began his professional baseball career in the Houston Astros chain, going 1-2, 2.67 for Venoco in the 2000 Venezuelan Summer League. The next year, he went 1-1, 2.70 with Venoco. Moving up to the Tri-City Valley Cats in 2002, he had a 3-4, 3.60 campaign. He went 10-6 with a 4.52 ERA for the Lexington Legends in 2003, but the Astros deemed him a non-prospect and let him go after the season. In part, that was because he was one of over 500 players, mostly foreign-born, who were discovered to have an age discrepancy; Hansack's listed birthday of August 5, 1982 was four and a half years later than his actual one (2-5-78), significantly changing the context of his performance in the Low-A South Atlantic League.

He spent the next two years in a Nicaraguan league and worked as a lobsterman to pay the bills. In the 2005 Baseball World Cup, he was 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 15 K in 13 1/3 IP. In 2006, he was signed by the Boston Red Sox and went 8-7, 3.26 for the Portland Sea Dogs. That earned him a late promotion to Boston, where he was 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA for the Red Sox. In the season finale, he threw a five-inning no-hitter cut short by rain. Due to the rules put in place in 1991, this was not considered an official no-hitter.

On June 23, 2007, Hansack pitched a perfect game for 7 innings for the Pawtucket Red Sox before Aaron Herr doubled. He was 10-7 with a 3.61 ERA and 131 K in 139 2/3 IP for Pawtucket that summer. He was 8th in the 2007 IL in ERA (between Phil Dumatrait and Yorman Bazardo), tied for 10th in wins and second in strikeouts (14 behind J.P. Howell). He was 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA in 3 games for Boston. The outcome was worse with Pawtucket in 2008 (6-10, 4.08, 28 K in 139 IP), as he tied for 10th in the 2008 IL in defeats, though he also tied Jeff Niemann for 5th in Ks. With the Red Sox, he was 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA. He allowed one run in one inning for Pawtucket in 2009 to end his career.

Overall, Hansack went 2-2 with a 3.70 ERA in 9 major league games and 40-39 with 5 saves and a 3.80 ERA in 137 minor league games (529 K in 602 1/3 IP).

Sources: Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database, 2003-2004 Baseball Almanacs, Soxprospects.com, Baseball America Age Discrepancies Chart [1], 2005 Baseball World Cup site

Related Sites

• Devern Hansack at the SABR Bio Project