Adam Davis Hyzdu (; born December 6, 1971) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) and

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB). He batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. In Major League Baseball, he played for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

(),

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

( and ),

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

(2005), and Texas Rangers ().

Biography

Hyzdu attended Moeller High School in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

, where he broke Ken Griffey Jr.'s

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

record (22) and led his team to win the state championship in 1989. Hyzdu was drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

in the first round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft, but never reached the major leagues as a Giant. Hyzdu is well known for his accomplishments in the minor leagues. During his two seasons with the Altoona Curve, he broke many franchise records, many of which still stand today. He was an Eastern League All-Star both seasons and had his number 16 retired by the club. Hyzdu was named " NL Player of the Week" the Week for July 15–21, 2002 while playing outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted .588 with three homers and a league-leading 11 RBI. In fives games during the week, Hyzdu was 10-for-17, scored six runs, and compiled a slugging percentage of 1.118 and an on-base percentage of .611. On July 19 versus St. Louis, he hit his first career grand slam. The following day, Hyzdu established career-highs with four hits, including a pair of three-run homers, and seven runs batted in. In a seven-season major league career, Hyzdu was a .229 hitter with 19 home runs and 61 RBI in 221 games. With the Red Sox in 2004, Hyzdu batted .300 (3 for 10) with a home run, two RBI, and 2 doubles in 17 games. In 129 games with Pawtucket, he batted .301 with 29 home runs, 79 RBI, and led the team in walks with 84. After the 2006 season, he joined the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese Pacific League with a one-year contract. He batted .272 with 7 home runs in 47 games. After one season in Japan, he failed to get a contract extension and left the Hawks to be a free agent.

Personal life

Hyzdu is married with three children and an active member in his local Christian church, Red Mountain Community Church. His brother Mike Hyzdu played football for Miami University of Ohio from 1985 to 1989 and his brother Marshall Hyzdu played football for

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

from 1996 to 1999.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyzdu, Adam 1971 births Living people Baseball players from San Jose, California Major League Baseball outfielders Pittsburgh Pirates players Boston Red Sox players San Diego Padres players Texas Rangers players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks players San Jose Giants players Shreveport Captains players Chattanooga Lookouts players Indianapolis Indians players Trenton Thunder players Pawtucket Red Sox players Tucson Sidewinders players Altoona Curve players Nashville Sounds players Portland Beavers players Oklahoma RedHawks players Baseball players from Cincinnati Moeller High School alumni