Jon Corey Hart (born March 24, 1982) 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 ...

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

. He 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) for the

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

from 2004 through 2013, the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

in 2014 and 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 ...

in 2015. Hart was a two-time

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

, and also participated in the MLB Home Run Derby.

High school career

Prior to being drafted in the 11th round of the 2000 MLB Draft, Hart played for the Greenwood High School Gators in

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a city in Warren County, Kentucky, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 72,294 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Kentucky, third-most populous city in the stat ...

. Hart also played basketball for four years for the Gators for Coach Jason Couch. On the diamond, he played nearly every position, routinely in the middle

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the baseball field, diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, ...

and even pitching in relief for Coach Chris Decker. Hart's jersey is retired by Greenwood and hangs from the rafters in the school's gymnasium. Hart played

American Legion Baseball American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by 13-to-19-year-olds in fifty states in the U.S. and Canada. More than 3,500 teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1 ...

and was named the program's Graduate of the Year for 2011.

Minor league career

Hart started his career in 2000 with the Rookie League

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitch ...

, primarily playing at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He moved up to the Single-A

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight d ...

and then the Double-A

Huntsville Stars The Huntsville Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Huntsville, Alabama, from 1985 to 2014. They competed in the Southern League as the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics from 1985 to 1998 and Milw ...

by the season; defensive problems caused Hart to be moved to the outfield. Playing there, he moved up to the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

by 2004. In 2005, Hart batted .308 with 17 home runs and 69 RBIs in 113 games for the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. While there, Hart played alongside future major league teammates

Prince Fielder Prince Semien Fielder (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He was selected in ...

and

J. J. Hardy James Jerry Hardy (born August 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. Hardy attended Sabino High School in T ...

. He also had 31

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s, a relatively unusual feat for a player as tall as the Hart. Hart continued to play in both the minor and major leagues through 2006, and was regarded as one of Milwaukee's top prospects.

Major league career

Milwaukee Brewers

Hart made his

MLB 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 ...

debut with the Brewers on May 25, 2004. Hart's next appearance in the majors was Sunday, August 14, 2005, when he hit his first career MLB home run, a three-run blast against the

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

into the Upper Deck at

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewe ...

. Hart played 87 games for the major league club in 2006 and was with the Brewers for the entire 2007 season, mainly seeing action in right-field. Hart also led off for the Brewers for almost half of the 2007 season when second baseman

Rickie Weeks Rickie Darnell Weeks Jr. (born September 13, 1982) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who is the associate manager for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2003 and 2017, he played in MLB for the B ...

was on the disabled list. May 29, 2010 Hart hit his first major league grand slam. In that game against the Mets he had two home runs. During spring training prior to the 2007 season, Hart, who stands at , recorded the fastest 60 yard dash of any player on the Brewers roster. During the 2007 season, Hart had a 22-game hitting streak which was finally snapped in a July 7 game against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, as Hart went 0–4 with a walk. In 2007, Hart became the first Brewer since 2003 to steal 20 bases and hit 20 home runs in a single season. As of September 2011, he and

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right fielder, right ...

were the only two Brewers to have two 20-steals/20-homers seasons in their careers. In 2008, Hart was selected as an outfielder to the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

team at the

2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 79th midseason exhibition between the all-stars of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL), the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was played at Yankee Stad ...

, which took place on July 15 at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

. He was voted in by the fans as a final vote in which he beat out

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Mets. Chosen by the Mets in the 2001 Major League Baseball dr ...

of the

Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They are one of two major l ...

as well as

Pat Burrell Patrick Brian Burrell (born October 10, 1976), nicknamed "Pat the Bat", is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philad ...

of the

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

Aaron Rowand Aaron Ryan Rowand (born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball center fielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and the San Francisco Giants and won two World Series cham ...

of the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

, and

Carlos Lee Carlos Noriel Lee (born June 20, 1976), nicknamed "El Caballo", is a Panamanian former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2012 with the Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

of the

Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(a former Brewer himself). On August 30, 2008, against the

, Hart became the first player in Brewers history to have back to back 20–20 seasons. Hart reached base on an error 14 times in 2008, more than any other batter in the NL. In July 2010, Hart was voted by his peers to not only play in the

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, but also was selected by MLB officials to participate in the

Home Run Derby The Home Run Derby is an annual home run hitting competition in Major League Baseball (MLB) customarily held the day before the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, MLB All-Star Game, which places the contest on a Monday in July. In the context ...

. Hart had a breakout season in 2010 statistically. As the regular Brewers right fielder, he posted a career best 31 home runs, 102 RBIs, and a .283 batting average. Along with

, and

Casey McGehee Casey Michael McGehee (born October 12, 1982) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Miami Marlins, San Fran ...

, the Brewers had one of the best top five slots in MLB. On May 23, 2011, Hart tied the Brewers records for home runs in a game with three and RBIs with seven. Hart had another productive regular season with the Brewers in 2011, posting 26 home runs, and 63 RBIs with a .285 batting average, .386 OBP, and .866 OPS. Hart's drop in home runs and RBIs is a result of missing the first month of the season with an injury, and being moved to bat first in the order in July, limiting the number of RBI chances he had. Hart remained first in the batting order in the playoffs due to his success in the slot during the regular season. Hart started the 2012 season as the Brewers regular right fielder, but injuries to Brewers first basemen

Mat Gamel Mathew Lawrence Gamel (born July 26, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers across the 2008 through 2012 seasons. Once considered among the best prospect (spor ...

and

Travis Ishikawa Travis Takashi Ishikawa (born September 24, 1983) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and current minor league coach. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Pitts ...

resulted in Hart becoming the Brewers regular first baseman, where he ended up having a successful season, recording a .995 fielding percentage playing in over 100 games at first base. He had a productive offensive season with the Brewers in 2012, batting .270 with 30 home runs and 83 RBIs. Hart had surgery on his left knee in January 2013, and missed the entire 2013 season.

Seattle Mariners

On December 11, 2013, Hart agreed to a one-year, $6 million contract with the

. The deal contained up to $7 million in incentives. He was designated for assignment on September 29, 2014.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The

signed Hart to a one-year, $2.5 million contract on December 19, 2014. Hart finished his professional baseball career in 2015.

Retirement with the Milwaukee Brewers

On June 27, 2017, it was announced that Hart would officially retire from Major League Baseball as a Milwaukee Brewer after being honored at Miller Park on June 30 with a plaque on the park's Wall of Honor. A two-time All-Star, Hart spent nine of his 11 Major League seasons with the Brewers, batting .276 with 154 home runs, 508 RBI and 83 stolen bases in 945 games. He had five 20-home-run seasons in Milwaukee, tied with four others for third-most in franchise history. Among the 38 players who have collected at least 2,000 plate appearances in a Brewers uniform, his .491 slugging percentage ranks sixth all-time.

Career statistics

In 1048 games over 11 seasons, Hart compiled a .271

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(1009-for-3729) with 549 runs, 221 doubles, 33

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, 162

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

, 538 RBI, 85

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

, 286 walks, .329

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and .478

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. Defensively, he recorded a .988

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

playing all three outfield positions and first base. In the postseason, in 14 playoff games, Hart batted .241 (13-for-54) with 6 runs, 2 home runs and 5 RBI.

Personal life

Hart returns home to Bowling Green whenever possible and is active with local charities. Corey is the son of Johnnie and the late Donna Hart and has two sisters, Tabitha (older) and Ali (younger). He has said that he would be either a teacher or coach if he were not a baseball player. Hart is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Corey 1982 births Living people Milwaukee Brewers players Seattle Mariners players Pittsburgh Pirates players Huntsville Stars players Ogden Raptors players High Desert Mavericks players Indianapolis Indians players Nashville Sounds players Tacoma Rainiers players Baseball players from Kentucky Sportspeople from Bowling Green, Kentucky Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders National League All-Stars Peoria Javelinas players