Shane Hogan

Shane Hogan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 154 lb.
• Born July 28, 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales Australia

Biographical Information

Shane Hogan played for the Waverley Reds and Melbourne Reds in the Australian Baseball League in the 1990s.

He hit .148/.179/.185 for Waverly in the 1993-1994 ABL but impressed on defense. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed him but he was let go before playing a game in their system. He produced at a .258/.336/.351 clip for Melbourne in 1995-1996. The Montréal Expos signed him, though he failed a physical and again did not get to break into Organized Baseball.

Hogan batted .236/.345/.361 for Melbourne in 1996-1997. He blossomed in 1997-1998 at .298/.398/.683 with 18 dingers, 42 runs and 49 RBI in 49 games. In a high-offense loop, he did not make the top five in any department (3 homers short, 6 RBI shy). He was the ABL Championship Series Most Valuable Player in 1997-1998. In Game 1 of the finals, he broke a 3-3 tie in the 7th with a solo shot off the Gold Coast Cougars' Bob Nilsson. In the finale, he again had the big homer, breaking a scoreless tie in the 6th by taking Paxton Crawford deep.

He played for the Australian national team in the 1998 Baseball World Cup. He hit .267/.353/.267 with 5 runs and no RBI in 6 games, backing up Mat Buckley at SS (.917) and Andrew Scott and Adam Burton at 2B (1 PO, 3 A, 0 E). He remained big with the Reds in 1998-1999 at .359/.422/.649. He finished third in average (behind Burton and Gary White), second in slugging (.074 behind Burton) and 4th in OBP (between Eric Stuckenschneider and Ronny Johnson). He was named the second-team All-Star DH, after Craig Watts.

His career then fell apart when he had a positive test for anabolic steroids, missing the 2000 Olympics and being suspended for two years; perhaps steroids explained his sudden jump from 1996-1997 to 1997-1998. He returned to action in the 2001 Baseball World Cup, going 1 for 10 with a walk and handling 8 chances error-free, backing up Gavin Fingleson at 2B, Paul Gonzalez in LF and Brett Roneberg in RF.

He hit .289 with 30 home runs and 100 RBI in 163 career ABL games. After the ABL folded, he returned briefly, going 3 for 16 with a run as a bench player when the Victoria Aces won the 2002 Claxton Shield.

Sources: Flintoff & Dunn Australian Baseball Almanacs, Defunct IBAF site