Eric Hosmer
Eric John Hosmer is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago Cubs. Internationally, Hosmer represents the United States. In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, he helped win Team USA's first gold medal in a WBC tournament and was named to the All-World Baseball Classic Team.
A highly touted prospect coming out of American Heritage High School in Florida, Hosmer was described as a "left-handed hitter with raw power" by scouts. The Royals selected him with third overall pick in the 2008 MLB draft, and he received a $6 million signing bonus. He advanced in Minor League Baseball before debuting in MLB during the 2011 season. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year balloting after the 2011 season after hitting.293 with 19 home runs in 128 games. Hosmer won consecutive Gold Glove Awards from 2013 through 2015 and again in 2017, when he also won the Silver Slugger Award. He was the MVP of the 2016 MLB All-Star Game, and was a member of the 2015 World Series champion Royals.
After the 2017 season, Hosmer became a free agent, and signed an eight-year contract with the Padres. During the 2022 season, the Padres traded him to the Red Sox. The Red Sox released him after the season, and he signed a one-year contract with the Cubs.
Early life
Hosmer's father, Mike, is a retired firefighter, and his mother, Ileana, is a nurse. His mother was born in Cuba and came to the United States at the age of seven with her family to escape Fidel Castro's regime, growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents met in 1979 when Mike was assigned to duty at Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida, where Ileana worked. They married four years later. Their first son, Mike Jr., was born in 1985, and Eric was born four years later in Miami.Growing up in Cooper City, Hosmer credited his family for helping him succeed as a baseball player. He began playing baseball at an early age, using a Tony Gwynn teeball hitter to take practice swings. His father volunteered to work 48-hour shifts in a firehouse in Liberty City to focus on his son's baseball games, which he usually coached. The Hosmers traveled all over the state, and as far as Cooperstown, New York, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame, to play in baseball tournaments. At home, Hosmer watched Florida Marlins games to study the hitting techniques of the team's players in order to improve his skills. His father helped him with batting practice after finishing long shifts at work, while his mother helped with his homework and recorded every baseball game to evaluate Hosmer's baseball ability and further hone his skills. By the time Hosmer reached high school, he worked out "close to seven hours a day" and mainly ate protein, which helped form his muscular build. Hosmer's family hired Bladimir Marrero, a highly regarded hitting instructor, to help with their son's skills.
Hosmer grew up a New York Yankees fan.
High school career
By the time Hosmer was a teenager, he was a member of several Little League baseball squads that won a couple of state championships. He attended American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida. His parents selected American Heritage because of its rich baseball program, which was considered to be one of the best in the United States, despite the expensive tuition. By Hosmer's sophomore year, he grew eight inches in size, becoming a powerful prep prospect. In his senior year, Hosmer hit.470 with 11 home runs, as the team was in the top 10 in USA Todays Super 25 rankings for most of the year and won a state championship. He attracted twenty or more MLB and college scouts who evaluated Hosmer's every move. Several of his amateur home runs had popularity in YouTube, which caught the attention of sports agent Scott Boras. He received many achievements while in high school including being named as Florida's Baseball Player of the Year twice by the Miami Herald, a member of the Rawlings High School Gold Glove team and the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack MVP award. Hosmer was offered a baseball scholarship to Arizona State University. Hosmer planned to attend Arizona State if negotiations with an MLB team did not go through.He was named as one of the top five prep baseball players in the country by several scouting agencies by the time he graduated in 2008, including number two by Rivals.com and third by both RISE Magazine and Sports Illustrated. As "one of high school baseball top power hitters" by scouts, and a consensus top 10 pick, Hosmer was chosen by the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the 2008 MLB draft. Hosmer remained unsigned for most of the summer while the Royals general manager Dayton Moore and Boras, operating as Hosmer's agent, negotiated a deal. During negotiations, Hosmer helped lead his team, based in Cincinnati, to a second-place finish at the American Amateur Baseball Congress Connie Mack World Series. The two sides agreed to a contract ten minutes before the signing deadline for drafted players on August 15, 2008. Hosmer received a $6 million signing bonus, the largest given to a draft pick in Royals history.
Professional career
Minor leagues (2008–2011)
Soon after signing his contract, the Royals assigned Hosmer to Minor League Baseball with the Idaho Falls Chukars of the rookie level Pioneer League. Before reporting to the Chukars, Royals general manager Moore told reporters that Hosmer would not be "rushed" to reach the Majors, stating that he needed to advance though the Minor League hierarchy in his "own natural pace". Hosmer played a handful of games with the Chukars before a contract dispute with another Boras client, Pittsburgh Pirates second overall pick Pedro Álvarez, delayed Hosmer from playing with the team. Boras had claimed that Álvarez signed his contract after the August 15 deadline had passed; thus, he would not report to the Pirates. The Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance stating that Hosmer's contract was also signed past the deadline and that Major League Baseball extended the August 15 deadline without the association's permission. Both sides settled the claim a month later, allowing Hosmer and Álvarez to join their respective teams. Hosmer never disputed his original contract. Instead of heading back to the Chukars, Hosmer was sent to the Arizona Fall League to train.In Hosmer's first full season in the minor leagues, he was assigned to the Burlington Bees in the Class A Midwest League. At Burlington, Hosmer struggled at the plate. By June 1, he had hit only one home run in 31 games while leading the team in strikeouts. He missed some time with a left pinkie finger injury. At the end of the season, Hosmer hit.241 with six home runs. He later referred to the 2009 season as "a tough year". In 2010, Hosmer was named the seventh best first base prospect by Scout.com. He started the season with the Royals' Class A-Advanced affiliate, the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League. where his struggles continued. He was soon diagnosed with astigmatism, an eye condition, and had laser surgery to correct the problem. Hosmer returned to the Blue Rocks a week later; with the eye issue addressed, his hitting immediately improved. By May 23 he was hitting.388 with a.571 slugging percentage. He played in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game, and had four hits and two RBI in a 9–1 victory. For his efforts, Hosmer was promoted to the Northwest Arkansas Naturals of the Class AA Texas League on July 17, where he homered in his first at-bat. During the playoffs Hosmer hit six home runs, the second highest total by a player in a single Texas League playoff series. The team went on to win the Texas League championship.
The Royals' farm system was ranked number one in baseball entering the 2011 season, led by Hosmer and another top prospect, third baseman Mike Moustakas. Most baseball critics agreed that the Royals, a team known for mediocrity the past two decades, would be a contender within a couple of years; they had nine prospects in Baseball Americas top 100, a record for the publication. Hosmer was ranked as the best prospect among first baseman in Major League Baseball prior to the 2011 season. He was also rated the eighth best overall prospect by Baseball America, and the top Royals prospect overall. With the Royals receiving attention for their bright future, the team's general manager Dayton Moore traded their best player, Cy Young Award winner Zack Greinke, to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for four top prospects, putting even more emphasis on the team's future. Hosmer began the season with the Royals Class AAA affiliate, the Omaha Storm Chasers of the Pacific Coast League. When the Royals purchased Hosmer's contract on May 5, 2011, he was leading the minor leagues with a.439 batting average, and the PCL with 43 hits and a.525 on-base percentage.
Kansas City Royals (2011–2017)
2011
The Royals recalled Hosmer on May 5, 2011. Veteran catcher Jason Kendall was moved to the 60-day disabled list to make space for Hosmer on the 40-man roster. He made his MLB debut at first base the following day against Oakland Athletics starter Gio González, replacing Kila Ka'aihue. Prior to his debut, Hosmer was being touted by journalists as a "super-prospect" and the "most-hyped" rookie to debut for the Royals since Bo Jackson. The Royals promoted Hosmer before a mid-June deadline in which the Royals could have avoided salary arbitration for an extra year. Hosmer went hitless in two at-bats, striking out twice. He also walked twice and stole a base in a 3–2 loss as the Royals had the second biggest crowd of the season.File:Andy Fletcher, Vladimir Guerrero, Eric Hosmer.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Hosmer playing in position with Vladimir Guerrero on first during a game against the Baltimore Orioles
On May 11 at Yankee Stadium, Hosmer started as the cleanup hitter for the Royals; he hit his first MLB home run off Yankees pitcher A. J. Burnett. In his first month with the Royals, he hit.283 with five home runs, and was named the Royals Player of the Month. His batting average fell 14 points by the end of June, with manager Ned Yost citing "impatience at the plate". He hit a game-winning two-run home run against closer Matt Capps of the Minnesota Twins on July 16. The home run led the Twins to replace Capps with Joe Nathan as its closer the next day. In the month of July, Hosmer was named the American League Rookie of the Month. He had five hits, including a three-run home run against Brad Penny in a 10–2 win against the Detroit Tigers on September 20. The next day, sportswriter Ian Casselberry of MLive.com called Hosmer a "Tiger killer" because of his statistics against the Tigers, which included a.346 batting average with four home runs that season. He led all rookies in most major batting categories for September, earning him a second Rookie of the Month award.
Hosmer finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Mark Trumbo of the Los Angeles Angels and winner Jeremy Hellickson of the Tampa Bay Rays. He hit.293 with 19 home runs and 78 runs batted in in 128 games. Yost praised Hosmer, and another rookie, catcher Salvador Pérez, calling them "future perennial All-Star players".