Kevin James Hooper (born December 7, 1976) is an American former professional baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

who played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

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). He was also the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 seas ...

of the independent

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

Career

Amateur career

Hooper attended Wichita State University and was named to the All- Missouri Valley Conference team in 1999, and led Wichita State in batting average at .402. He was originally drafted in the 49th round of the

1998 Major League Baseball draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

, by the

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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

, but did not sign.

Florida Marlins

He was then drafted in 1999, this time in the 8th round, by the Florida Marlins. He signed with the Marlins on June 3, 1999. In 1999, he played with the Low-A

Utica Blue Sox The Utica Blue Sox was the name of two minor league baseball teams based in Utica, New York. In the 2010s, the ''Utica Blue Sox'' is the name of a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) based in N ...

of the New York–Penn League. In 2000, he moved up to Single-A playing for the

Kane County Cougars The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their ho ...

, for 2000 and only part of 2001, after 17 games he was moved to Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

. In 2002 he made the move to Triple-A

Calgary Cannons The Calgary Cannons were a minor league baseball team located in Calgary, Alberta, for 18 seasons, from 1985 until 2002. They were a member of the AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) and played at Foothills Stadium. The Cannons displaced the Calgary ...

. In 2003 he stayed in Triple-A, but this time with the Albuquerque Isotopes, where he remained until he was claimed off waivers by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

New York Yankees

The Yankees claimed him off waivers from Florida on May 26, 2004, where he played for the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

the Triple-A team for the Yankees, at the time. He played there until the Yankees released him on August 6, 2004.

Kansas City Royals

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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

signed him as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on August 13, 2004. He played for Triple-A Omaha Royals for the remainder of the season. He was granted free agency on October 15, 2004.

Detroit Tigers

The

signed him as a free agent in the 2005 offseason. He played for the Detroit Tigers and

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

after being signed and gained two Governors' Cup Championships with Toledo in 2005 and 2006. During a home game, the last of the season against the Indianapolis Indians, Kevin Hooper played one inning in every position of the game, including a successful inning pitching. On September 2, 2006, his contract was purchased by the Tigers. On October 11, 2006, he was designated for assignment and refused, becoming a free agent. On November 17, 2006, Hooper was re-signed by the Tigers and invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is the most populous city in Polk County, Florida, part of the Tampa Bay Area, located along Interstate 4 east of Tampa. According to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau release, the city had a population of 112,641. Lakeland is a principal c ...

. He became a free agent after the 2007 season in which he spent the whole season in Triple-A

Houston Astros

On November 28, 2007, Hooper signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Houston Astros.

Wichita Wingnuts

Before the 2008 season started, Hooper signed with the Wichita Wingnuts, where he was the starting

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

. He hit .373, winning the American Association batting title, and was successful in 34 of 35

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

attempts. At the end of the season, he was named the Wingnuts MVP. On November 6, 2008, Hooper was named the manager of the Wingnuts. Hooper left Wichita prior to the 2016 season to coach in the San Diego Padres farm system. The Wingnuts replaced him with

Pete Rose Jr. Peter Edward "PJ" Rose Jr. (born November 16, 1969) is a former professional baseball player and manager. The son of Major League Baseball's all-time Hit (baseball), hits leader Pete Rose, Pete Rose Sr., Rose Jr. played in the Minor League Baseba ...

as their new manager.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Kevin 1976 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American Association of Professional Baseball managers American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Kansas Calgary Cannons players Columbus Clippers players Detroit Tigers players Kane County Cougars players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Omaha Royals players Portland Sea Dogs players Sportspeople from Lawrence, Kansas Toledo Mud Hens players Utica Blue Sox players Wichita State Shockers baseball players Wichita Wingnuts players