Eric Hinske RULES

Note: This is the cover story for this week's Score Atlanta. Go pick it up or at least go to www.scoreatl.com to give it a click. Thanks

Before a recent game against the division-rival New York Mets, Braves super-utility man Eric Hinske had a different New York ballclub on his mind as he watched highlights in the Braves clubhouse. “Check it out, Rivera gave up a grand slam,” said Hinske of his former teammate to no current teammate in particular. Hinske has been a bit of a floater around major league baseball in recent years, playing for his sixth team since the start of the 2006 season. Hinske has gone from team to team and in the process collecting a pair of World Series rings, one from Boston in 2007 and one from the Yankees in 2009 with a trip to the World Series in 2008 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Before this season Hinske was brought into Atlanta to provide a spark off of the bench as well as a lockerroom presence that the team did not have over the last few seasons. Hinske though over the last few weeks has been more than just a force off of the bench. Hinske was inserted into the outfield with the injury to Matt Diaz and the left-handed hitter has put up huge numbers. Since May 11, Hinske has seen his average rise from .314 to .368 and might have earned National League player of the week his first week in left if not for a monster week from Martin Prado. Hinske has provided four home runs in the last two weeks and his RBI totals have climbed to third highest on the team, despite far fewer at-bats than the two ahead of him.

But does Hinske mind only now getting his due and seemingly a full-time gig for the Braves? Hinske is so laid back that he doesn’t seem to mind where he plays. “Whereever I can get some playing time. I can play all four corners.” This season in addition to the role of pinch hitter, Hinske has appeared as a leftfielder as well as first base and third base. “I do whatever I can do to help the team whenever I’m on the lineup card.”

Hinske broke into the major leagues as a third baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays, belting 24 home runs and capturing Rookie of the Year honors. Towards the end of his tenure in Toronto, Hinske started moving around, playing some as DH, some at first, a few games at third and some in the outfield. Said Hinske of his time in Toronto, “It is a great city. I loved playing in Canada,” though he did hint at the possibility that Toronto is more of a hockey city. “They’re just a little more wrapped up in the Maple Leafs than the Blue Jays.” His next stop was certainly not a hockey town. Hinske was acquired by the Boston Red Sox for his versatility as the saber-metric loving Sox organization loved that Hinske was an on-base machine that could play anyone of five positions in the American League. Hinske appeared in each round of Boston’s run to the World Series title in 2007. Rather than re-up with the defending champs, the 30-year-old Hinske signed with AL East rival Tampa Bay. Hinske enjoyed his second-most offensively productive season with the Rays as Tampa went all the way to the World Series before losing to Philadelphia.
After earning two straight pennants in the American League, Hinske ventured over to the senior circuit for the first time in his career. Despite being an AL East guy for his entire career, Hinske said that the leagues aren’t that much different. “The pitcher hits over here (in the National League). That’s the only difference.” Hinske called Pittsburgh home for most of the season but at the trading deadline, the AL East beckoned again, and this time New York was the destination. The Yankees acquired Hinske to play some rightfield and to spell A-Rod at third, and once again Hinske found himself in a lockerroom celebrating an AL Pennant. For the second time in three years Hinske also got to celebrate a world championship as the Yankees knocked out the Phillies for the franchise’s 27th World Series Championship.

Now Hinske is back in the National League with Atlanta and it doesn’t appear to be any different than last year when he was in Pittsburgh. “It’s a little more of an off-speed league over in the American League. They (AL pitchers) throw a lot more off speed pitches in hitters’ counts, but they do that here too.” If there was any adjustment period for Hinske, it certainly hasn’t been a problem recently. Hinske has slugged at a .706 clip this year but .857 in the month of May. Hinske’s on-base percentage has also climbed to over .458 this month, .421 for the year.

To call Hinske a professional hitter wouldn’t be appropriate, despite the fact that he can flat out rake. He homered twice off of his former club the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Braves recent trip up to PNC Park, but Hinske’s locker has the various gloves of positions he can play. If you show up early, Hinske can very well be taking fielding practice at either first, third or either of the two corner outfield spots. Going on fielding statistics, Hinske has been perfect in the outfield as well as at third base and has made just one error at first in 41 innings over eight games at first.

If Hinske keeps hitting and fielding as well as he has been since moving into the lineup on a full-time basis, the Braves playoff chances might just keep improving. Since Hinske entered the lineup on May 10, the Braves have gone 10-3 and are 5-1 on the road. It may just be a coincidence but it is hard to believe that it hasn’t been in large part because of Hinske that Atlanta has taken off. Hinske may be retired from getting tattoos, “I’m sick of getting tattoos,” but hopefully Hinske isn’t sick of playoff baseball. He could be the catalyst that gets the Braves back to the postseason, a place he has certainly been familiar with the last few years.