John Hattig

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John Duane Hattig Jr.

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Biographical Information[edit]

John Hattig, the first major leaguer from Guam, hit .333 in 13 games in the majors in 2006.

John was picked by the Boston Red Sox in the 25th round of the 1998 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Wally Komatsubara and began his professional career the next year with the GCL Red Sox, batting .270/~.335/.368 while starting at third base. In 2000, John hit .289/.342/.331 with the Lowell Spinners. The next season, Hattig had a .285/.371/.363 campaign for the Augusta GreenJackets while moving primarily to first base. He also was only 5 for 45 in a return to Lowell.

2002 marked some improvement as John had a .282/.377/.401 line for Augusta while starting at third base there. He also put up a .247/.301/.318 line in 24 games with the Sarasota Red Sox. Hattig hit .295/.385/.423 for Sarasota in 2003 and .219/.265/.281 in his first games at AA with the Portland Sea Dogs. He finished fifth in the Florida State League in batting average.

In 2004, the 24-year-old infielder had a fine .295/.411/.519 season for Portland. Boston traded Hattig to the Toronto Blue Jays for Terry Adams and he hit .296/.352/.556 in 40 games for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats for a composite .296/.391/.532 line with 22 HR. In game three of the Eastern League playoffs, he drove in all the runs in the clincher for the Fisher Cats, thanks to a two-run homer.

Due to bone spurs in his right elbow, Hattig started the 2005 season late. He hit .316/.387/.421 in 26 games for the Syracuse SkyChiefs and .386/.417/.455 in 11 games with the Dunedin Blue Jays in an injury-riddled season. Picked to play in the 2005 Futures Game, he missed it due to a pulled left hamstring.

Batting .276/.341/.394 for Syracuse in 2006, Hattig was called up to Toronto in mid-August. He went 8 for 24 with a double for Toronto in his only taste of the major leagues. In 2008 he played for the independent Reno Silver Sox.

His uncle Keith Hattig had been the only other minor leaguer from Guam. His father John Hattig Sr. and another uncle, Herbie Hattig, were on the Guam national team.

Hattig was arrested in 2021 after police discovered he had drugs in a bag along with a gun that he was illegally in possession of.

Sources include 2000-2006 Baseball Almanacs

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