Gary Hymel is a former

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the

LSU Tigers baseball The LSU Tigers baseball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I college baseball. The team participates in of the Southeastern Conference. The Tigers play home games on LSU's campus at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field, ...

team. He was a member of the LSU team that won the 1991 College World Series. He was voted to the 1991 CWS All-Star Tournament Team and was named the 1991 CWS Most Outstanding Player. After his college baseball career, he played from 1991-1997 for various

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

teams.

Amateur career

Prior to playing professionally, he attended

Belaire High School Belaire High School (usually abbreviated as "Belaire" or BHS) is a public school in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The school is a part of the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools. Communities served Belai ...

. In 1989, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. He was drafted twice - the first time by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

in the 8th round of the 1987 amateur draft; the second time, he was drafted by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

in the 8th round of the 1991 amateur draft.

Professional career

Hymel played professionally from 1991 to 1997. He began his career with the

Sumter Flyers Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumt ...

, hitting .298 in 116 at-bats in 1991. in 1992, he played for the

Albany Polecats The Albany Polecats were a minor league baseball team in Albany, Georgia. They were a low-A-class team that played in the South Atlantic League and were a farm team affiliated with both the Montreal Expos and the Baltimore Orioles during the fr ...

, hitting .289 in 286 at-bats. He split the 1993 season with three teams - the

West Palm Beach Expos The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team which existed from 1969 through the 1997 season in West Palm Beach, Florida. History The West Palm Beach Expos were a Class A affiliate of the Montreal Expos and pla ...

, the AAA

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

and the

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

. He hit a combined .266 with 24 home runs and 51 RBI in 297 at-bats, he struck out 93 times but he walked only 10 times. He played the final two seasons of his career with the Harrisburg Senators and Ottawa Lynx. In 1994, he hit .249 with 12 home runs and only nine walks in 233 at-bats. In 1995, he hit .289 with 11 home runs in 302 at-bats. Overall, Hymel hit .320 with 63 home runs and 300 strikeouts in 1234 minor league at-bats. He walked only 77 times.

References

LSU Tigers baseball players Falmouth Commodores players College World Series Most Outstanding Player Award winners Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-baseball-catcher-stub