Alexander Edward Hassan (born April 1, 1988) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

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 cat ...

who played for the

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in 2014.

Amateur career

A native of

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Greater Boston, Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 1 ...

, Hassan attended

Boston College High School , motto_translation = ''So they may know You.'' , address = 150 Morrissey Boulevard , city = Boston , state = Massachusetts , zipcode = 02125 , country ...

and

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

. A two-way player in college, he posted a .342

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

with three

home run 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 i ...

s and 39

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

as a junior at Duke in 2009. He also led the team with 56

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, while going 2-2 with a 4.10

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

and a team-leading eight saves in 16

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

. In 2008 and 2009, 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

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

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 one thousan ...

and was named a league all-star in 2009. He was selected by the

in the 20th round of the 2009 draft.

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

Hassan was originally drafted as a pitcher, but impressed enough in the

Cape Cod 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 one thousan ...

in 2009 that the Boston organization decided to switch him to outfield. Being able to play in all three outfield positions, he is best suited at

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. In his first season, he batted a combined .328 average in 34 games with Short Season-A Lowell and Class A Greenville, gaining a promotion to Advanced-A

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...

in 2010. In 2010, he batted .287 in 107 games for Salem and led the team in walks (57) and

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

(.397), before joining Triple-A Pawtucket late in the season for only three games. He opened 2011 with Double A

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, and batted .291 with 13 home runs and 64 RBI in 126 games. He finished 3rd in the Eastern League in on-base percentage (.406), 4th in walks (76), 8th in

On-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

(.902) and 12th in batting, while earning an EL All-Star berth during the midseason. In addition, he led all outfielders with a .995

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

, after committing only one

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

in 210

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

, while his on-base percentage also was the best in the Red Sox minor league system. Hassan was rated by Baseball America as having the best

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's kn ...

judgment in the Red Sox organization entering the 2012 season. He returned to Pawtucket in 2012. Even though he played only 94 games because of assorted injuries, he hit a career-low .256 average, but ranked 2nd in the team in OBP (.377), 3rd in RBI (46), and 8th in runs (39), hits (80) and doubles (12). Hassan got a late start to the 2013 season with Pawtucket after recovering from injuries, being limited to 63 games, but grabbed a firm hold of his spot on the 40-man roster. He finished with a .338 average, which was the best in the organization, driving in 35 runs and scoring 30 times, while collecting a .457 OBP (also a best) and a .471 of slugging. Hassan was called up to Boston from Pawtucket on May 30, 2014, and made his MLB debut on June 1. In his major league debut, he went one for three with a hit in three at-bats with a run scored. He was optioned back to Pawtucket on June 8.

Texas Rangers

On November 17, 2014, Hassan was claimed off waivers by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He was designated for assignment by Oakland, and on November 20, 2014, he was claimed by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. The Orioles designated him for assignment on February 25, 2015, and he was reclaimed by Oakland on February 27. He was designated for assignment by the Athletics on April 8. He was claimed by the Texas Rangers the next day.

Oakland Athletics

After being placed on waivers by the Rangers, Hassan was claimed by the Oakland Athletics and optioned to 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 ...

on May 2, 2015. He was designated for assignment on May 8 and released four days later.

Toronto Blue Jays

On May 20, 2015, Hassan signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. He elected free agency on November 6.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Hassan signed a minor league contract with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in December 2015. He was given a non-roster invitation to Dodgers spring training and was assigned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Bal ...

. He played in 88 games and hit .232. He announced his retirement from baseball on January 19, 2017, via Twitter.

Minnesota Twins

In 2018 Hassan became the Assistant Director of Minor League Operations 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) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Alex 1988 births Living people Sportspeople from Quincy, Massachusetts Baseball players from Massachusetts Major League Baseball outfielders Boston Red Sox players Duke Blue Devils baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Lowell Spinners players Greenville Drive players Salem Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Scottsdale Scorpions players Tigres del Licey players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Nashville Sounds players Dunedin Blue Jays players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Boston College High School alumni