Hyun Choi "Hank" Conger (born January 29, 1988) 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 ...

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 ...

and current coach who serves as the assistant bench coach and catching coach for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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). Conger was selected in the first round, with the 25th overall selection, of the 2006 MLB draft. He played in MLB for the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Houston 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 ...

, and

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

from 2010 to 2016. Conger coached for the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants () are a South Korean professional baseball, professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation. From 1982 through 1985, they played at Gudeok Baseball ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

from 2020 to 2021 before joining the Twins as a coach in 2022.

Early life

Conger was born in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States and part of the Seattle metropolitan area. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Feder ...

, but was raised in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

. Conger's mother, Eun, immigrated from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in 1986 and his father, Yun, was adopted from Korea by a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

petty officer and raised in the United States. Conger originally played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

due to his size, but began playing

at the age of eight and turned his focus there instead. Conger graduated from Huntington Beach High School in 2006, where he was a second team All-American and Gatorade Player of the Year. Conger had planned to attend the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

if he had not been drafted in the first round.

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The

selected Conger in the first round, with the 25th overall selection, of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected to represent the United States in the 2010

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. He hit a three-run home run, earning him MVP honors. He was promoted to the major leagues as part of September call-ups on September 7, 2010. He made his major league debut on September 11, 2010, as a pinch hitter for

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Tampa Bay Rays, and in Nipp ...

. His first hit in the major leagues came off of

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

pitcher Jeanmar Gómez on September 15, 2010. His first home run came off of Jeff Niemann on April 5, 2011. On July 19, 2011, Conger was optioned to the

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team that plays in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. Based in South Jordan, Utah, the team plays its home games at The Ballpark at Am ...

of 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). ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) to make room on the Angels' active roster for Tyler Chatwood. At the time, Conger was hitting .194 and opponents had been successful at stealing bases 48 out of 56 attempts against him. On August 18, 2011, the Angels recalled Conger.

Houston Astros

On November 5, 2014, the Angels traded Conger to the

in exchange for Nick Tropeano and Carlos Perez. Conger connected for his first career grand slam on August 1 off Jeremy Hellickson in the fourth inning versus

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

. He also had homered earlier in the second inning for his first career multi-home run game to lead a 9–2 win. Despite hitting 11 homers in a part time role for the Astros, Conger did not control the running game.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 2, 2015, the

acquired Conger for cash considerations. Conger opened the 2016 season in a

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

with Curt Casali. Conger hit .194 before being optioned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

on July 11, 2016.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Conger signed a minor league contract with the

on February 9, 2017. He played in 58 games for the Triple–A Reno Aces, batting .239/.316/.394 with six home runs and 40 RBI. Conger was released by the Diamondbacks organization on July 28.

Pericos de Puebla

On May 4, 2018, Conger signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released on July 11.

Post-playing career

Lotte Giants

On December 24, 2019, Conger joined the coaching staff of the

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ) is the Sport governing body, governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League () and KBO Futures League ( (F ...

as the new catching coach.

Minnesota Twins

On December 10, 2021, the

hired Conger as the first base and catching coach.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conger, Hank 1988 births Living people American baseball players of Korean descent American expatriate baseball people in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American people of North Korean descent Arizona League Angels players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Huntington Beach, California Baseball players from King County, Washington Cedar Rapids Kernels players Durham Bulls players Houston Astros players Huntington Beach High School alumni Los Angeles Angels players Lotte Giants coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball first base coaches Mesa Solar Sox players Mexican League baseball catchers Minnesota Twins coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players Pericos de Puebla players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Reno Aces players Salt Lake Bees players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from Federal Way, Washington Tampa Bay Rays players

Early life

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Houston Astros

Tampa Bay Rays

Arizona Diamondbacks

Pericos de Puebla

Post-playing career

Lotte Giants

Minnesota Twins

See also

References

External links