John Graves Hester (born September 14, 1983) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He played in

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) for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

and the

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

. On August 28, 2009, on his major league debut, he hit a two-run homer in his first Major League at-bat in a game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Education career

He attended Marist School in Atlanta before attending

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. Hester graduated from Stanford in the spring of 2006.

Major League Career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Hester was selected by 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 the 34th round of the

2005 MLB Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

but did not sign a professional contract. Later he was selected by the

in the 13th round (387th overall) of the 2006 MLB Draft. He was called up to the majors on August 28, 2009, from Triple A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

after

Chris Snyder Christopher Ryan Snyder (born February 12, 1981) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Houston Astros and the Baltimore Ori ...

injured his back and was forced to the disabled list. The same night, Hester hit a two-run homer in first career Major League at-bat in the sixth inning of the game against the

off Astros

Wilton López Wilton López (born July 19, 1983) is a Nicaraguan former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and Colorado Rockies. Professional career López signed with the New York Yankees in 2002 ...

after a 2-2 delivery from López.

Baltimore Orioles

Hester was sent to 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 ...

on April 30, 2011, to complete a previous trade from December 6, 2010, when the ballclub acquired Mark Reynolds.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On April 24, 2012, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim signed Hester and assigned him to the Triple-A

Salt Lake Bees The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. The ballpark op ...

, according to

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

. After playing 39 games for the Angels in 2012, Hester returned to Salt Lake in 2013. He elected free agency in October 2014.

Philadelphia Phillies

On October 22 he signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, which includes an invitation to major league spring training. He was released on June 3, 2015.

References

External links

Stanford Cardinal Baseball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hester, John 1983 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Arizona Diamondbacks players Los Angeles Angels players Stanford Cardinal baseball players Missoula Osprey players Visalia Oaks players Mobile BayBears players Reno Aces players Phoenix Desert Dogs players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Norfolk Tides players Salt Lake Bees players Baseball players from Atlanta Marist School (Georgia) alumni Mat-Su Miners players Peninsula Oilers players