Kevin Hooper

Kevin James Hooper

• Bats: Right, Throws: Right
• Height: 5' 10", Weight: 160 lb.
• School: Wichita State University
• High School Lawrence (KS) High School
• Debut July 9, 2005
• Final Game September 24, 2006
• Born: December 7, 1976 in Lawrence, KS USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Kevin Hooper is a utility player who played briefly in the majors. He is one of four, and the most recently drafted (through 2008), player to have graduated from Lawrence High School, in Lawrence, Kansas. The other three were (in order they were drafted) Lee Stevens, Brad Harker and Curtis Ledbetter.

College Years

Hooper hit .321/?/.389 as a freshman at Wichita State in 1996. The next season, he improved to .348/?/.421 with 18 stolen bases. He batted .375 for the Liberal Bee Jays to lead the Jayhawk League in the summer of 1997. He was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference team at second base in 1998, hitting .358/?/.550 and stealing 21 bases. He scored 101 runs, fourth in NCAA Division I but only third on his team. He was drafted in the 49th round of the 1998 amateur draft by the Cleveland Indians; he did not sign. Returning for his senior year, he led Wichita State in batting at .402 and slugged .593. He tied for the MVC lead in triples (7) and in steals (26) and was second in batting average. He made the All-Conference team at shortstop.

Minor Leagues

Florida Marlins

He was then drafted in the 8th round of the 1999 amateur draft by the Florida Marlins. He signed with the Marlins on June 3, 1999. In 1999 he played in A Short-Season ball with the Utica Blue Sox of the New York-Penn League, hitting .280/~.366/.384. He led New York-Penn League second basemen in assists (215), double plays (50) and fielding percentage (.989).

In 2000, he moved up to full-season A ball, playing for the Kane County Cougars. He led Midwest League second sackers in putouts (234), double plays (78) and fielding percentage (.978). He batted .249/.359/.350 but stole 17 bases in 19 tries. His 73 walks led the club.

After 17 games with 2001 Kane County (.292/.390/.323), he was moved to the AA Portland Sea Dogs. He fielded a fine .986 and hit .308/.392/.387. He led the Marlins' minor leaguers with 163 hits, was 5th in the Eastern League in average and led EL second baseman in fielding percentage.

In 2002, he made the move to AAA Calgary Cannons and batted .288/.341/.361 but was caught 10 times in 27 steal attempts. He split his time between shortstop and second base. At one point, he had a 31-game hitting streak; only Corey Myers (33 games) had a longer hitting streak in the affiliated minor leagues. In 2003, he stayed in AAA, but this time with the Albuquerque Isotopes. He hit .266/.325/.306 for Albuquerque and stole 25 bases in 34 attempts. Kevin started 2004 with a .277/.323/.335 line in 35 games then was claimed off of waivers by the New York Yankees.

New York Yankees

The Yankees claimed him off waivers from Florida on May 26, 2004. He played for the Columbus Clippers, the Triple-A team for the Yankees at the time and batted only .195/.207/.239 in 28 games. The Yankees released him on August 6, 2004.

Kansas City Royals

The Royals signed him as a free agent on August 13, 2004. He played for Triple-A Omaha Royals for the remainder of the season, hitting only .163/.185/.245 in 27 contests. He was granted free agency on October 15, 2004.

Detroit Tigers

The Tigers signed him as a free agent in the 2005 offseason. He has played for the Detroit Tigers and Toledo Mud Hens since being signed, including two Governors' Cup Championships with Toledo in 2005 and 2006. During a home game of the 2005 Governors' Cup series against the Indianapolis Indians, Kevin Hooper played one inning in every position of the game, including a successful inning pitching. Overall, he hit .240/.291/.304 for Toledo in 2005 and stole 16 bases in 20 attempts. He made his major league debut in July, playing six games for the 2005 Tigers. He played in five as a defensive substitute (one of which he pinch-ran in) and got a start at second base. He was 1 for 5 with Detroit.

Hooper batted .276/.309/.327 for Toledo in 2006 with 24 steals in 66 tries. He led the International League with 15 sacrifice hits. On September 2, 2006 his contract was purchased by the Tigers. He went 0 for 3 for the 2006 Tigers, being used solely off of the bench. On October 11, 2006, he was designated for assignment and refused, becoming a free agent. On November 17, 2006, Hooper was re-signed to a minor league deal by Detroit and invited to spring training in Lakeland, FL. He spent all year with Toledo, hitting .301/.348/.358 in 60 games, primarily at second base.

Houston Astros

Hooper was offered a non-roster invite to Spring Training for the Houston Astros prior to the 2008 Season. Hooper did not make the 40 man roster and was cut from the Astros organization

Independent Leagues

Kevin Hooper started the 2008 season playing shortstop for the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. After the season, he was named the team's manager for 2009, replacing Kash Beauchamp.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2009	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	58-38	1st	Independent Leagues	Lost in 1st round
2010	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	50-46	4th	Independent Leagues
2011	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	55-45	4th	Independent Leagues	Lost in 1st round
2012	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	59-41	2nd	Independent Leagues	League Champs
2013	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	68-32	1st	Independent Leagues	Lost League Finals
2014	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	73-27	1st	Independent Leagues	League Champs
2015	Wichita Wingnuts	American Association	59-41	3rd	Independent Leagues	Lost in 1st round

Sources

• Include MLB.com, 1999-2007 Baseball Almanacs