Klaus Hopfensperger

From BR Bullpen

Klaus Hopfensperger

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 6' 0", Weight 225 lb.

Klaus Hopfensperger has been an outfielder for the German national team in several events. He has led Bundesliga-1's southern division in each of the Triple Crown categories.

Hopfensperger hit .276/.323/.483 for Germany in the 1997 European Junior Championship. In the same event in '98, he batted .429/.538/1.00 with 10 RBI in 5 games. In 1999, he was 1 for 8 with 3 walks in the European Junior Championship. Through 2008, Klaus ranked first all-time in German junior team history with 3 home runs, 15 RBI and a .621 slugging percentage.

Hopfensperger batted .436 in the Bundesliga in 2000. In 2001, he hit .396/.513/.747 to finish in the top 10 in the southern Bundesliga-1 in each of the three major offensive categories. He made his debut for the senior German national team in the 2001 European Championship, hitting .361/.395/.444 with 7 RBI in 8 contests.

Hopfensperger hit .407/.491/.681 for the 2002 Regensburg Legionäre. He was 4th in the southern Bundesliga-1 in hits (37), 5th in doubles (9), tied for 3rd in triples (2), tied for 4th in home runs (4), second in RBI (31), 4th in slugging and 9th in average. The Regensburg native faded to .303/.397/.409 in 2003 and did not have any hit longer than a double. He also struggled in the 2003 European Championship, going 3 for 16 with two walks.

In 2004, the 23-year-old right fielder slipped further, only batting .238/.308/.429. During the 2005 campaign, Hopfensperger hit .349/.421/.547 and was among the leaders in hits (37, 6th), home runs (5, tied for 4th), average (8th) and slugging (8th). He batted .161/.229/.258 with 6 RBI in 9 games in the 2005 European Championship.

Hopfensperger continued his resurgence in 2006, hitting .422/.474/.706 and finishing among the league leaders in runs (27, tied for 7th), hits (43, tied for 2nd, one behind leader Simon Gühring), doubles (14, tied with two others for 1st), home runs (5, tied for 4th), RBI (43, the most), average (2nd), slugging (3rd), OBP (8th) and OPS (3rd).

In 2007, Klaus hit .456/.536/.765 for Regensburg and was among the leaders in runs (25, tied for 6th), homers (3, tied for 7th), RBI (21, tied for 9th), average (3rd behind Ben Hines and Gühring), slugging (4th), OBP (4th) and OPS (3rd). He also made no errors in the outfield.

Hopfensperger hit .250/.478/.500 for Germany as they finished 4th in the 2007 European Championship. In the 2007 Baseball World Cup, he was 2 for 16 with a walk. He was 1 for 8 with a walk in the 2008 Final Olympic Qualification Tournament.

In the 2008 Bundesliga season, Klaus posted a batting line of .430/.550/.650 and again played error-free defense. He edged Gühring by .001 for the batting title, led in home runs (6), tied for 7th in RBI (21), was 4th in hits (43), 3rd in walks (21), second in slugging behind Ryan Lilly, first in OBP (.015 over Lilly) and 2nd in OPS. He helped lead Regensburg to its first Bundesliga title ever. In the 2008 European Cup hosted by his hometown, Hopfensperger hit .235/.409/.353.

Hopfensperger had an off-year in 2009 at .266/.327/.383, tying for 8th in the league with 19 RBI. He hit .333/.333/.667 in the 2009 European Cup in Nettuno and Anzio, leading with four doubles. In 2010, he rebounded to .432/.518/.750 but was limited to 17 games, presumably due to injury. For the fourth year in a row, he played error-free ball in the outfield. Had he qualified, he would have ranked second to Petr Cech in average and led in slugging and OPS. Despite missing significant time, he tied for 4th in the loop with four homers. He then excelled in the postseason, winning MVP of the finals as Regensburg won its second title. In the finale, he had a 3-run homer and 2-run double. In the 2010 European Championship, he helped Germany win its first medal in over 30 years as they got the Bronze; he was 3 for 15 with a double, walk, run and 3 RBI as a part-time DH.

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