Nicholas John Hundley (born September 8, 1983) is an American 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 ...

and current front office executive. He is currently a special assistant to the general manager for the Texas Rangers. 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

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

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 ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, and

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 drafted in 2005 by the Padres in the second round, and made his major-league debut in 2008.

Early life

Hundley was born in

Corvallis, Oregon Corvallis ( ) is a city and the county seat of Benton County in central western Oregon, United States. It is the principal city of the Corvallis, Oregon Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Benton County. As of the 2020 United ...

, to Pam and Tim Hundley. He grew up with his brother, Jake, and they would play catch with their father when he came home from his job as an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

assistant coach with

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

. When their father was late, Hundley would pressure his mom to fill in. Hundley attended

Eastside Catholic High School Eastside Catholic School is a private Roman Catholic secondary school located in Sammamish, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle within the Archdiocese of Seattle. It has a faith-based educational program for students in grades 6 through 12. D ...

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. It may refer to: Placenames Australia * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Glebe, an historic house in Sydney, New South Wales Canada ...

briefly, and played baseball for

Lake Washington High School Lake Washington High School is a four-year public high school in Kirkland, Washington, a suburb east of Seattle. It is one of four main high schools in the Lake Washington School District, with an enrollment capacity of approximately 1,500 student ...

, and was drafted in the fifth round of the 2002

Major League Baseball draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

but opted to attend college instead.

College career

Hundley played three seasons with the University of

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

, and was named by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' to the second

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

team in 2005. In 2003, 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 ...

in 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 ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Professional career

Hundley was drafted in 2005 by the

in the second round.

Minor leagues

Hundley began 2006 with the Class-A

Fort Wayne Wizards A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and was promoted in July to the High-A

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park se ...

. He was Player of the Week June 18, 2006.Nick Hundley Stats, Highlights, Bio , MiLB.com Stats , The Official Site of Minor League Baseball
/ref> He played all of 2007 with the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

, batting .247/.324/.475 with 20 home runs (tied with

Chase Headley Chase Jordan Headley (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. A switch-hitter, Headley made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the San Diego Padres in 2007, and also played for the New York Yankees. H ...

for 4th in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

) and 72 RBIs (tied with

Colby Rasmus Colby Ryan Rasmus (born August 11, 1986) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles. He h ...

for 9th). He was named a Texas League post-season All Star. He began 2008 with the Triple-A

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

where he batted .189 through May, but raised his average to .232 before his call-up on July 3. He also threw out 38% of base stealers in his 57 games.

San Diego Padres

2008

Hundley was called up to the majors for the first time on July 3, 2008, when Michael Barrett suffered a season-ending injury. Hundley moved into the role of primary catcher, backed up by

Josh Bard Joshua David Bard (born March 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He is the bullpen coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as a catcher for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red ...

and Luke Carlin. On July 26, he hit his first career

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 ...

against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. He batted .237 for the season.Nick Hundley Minor & Fall Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref>

2009

Based on his performance in 60 games in 2008, Hundley went 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 ...

in 2009 as the Padres starting catcher. During the season, he was mentored by back-up

Henry Blanco Henry Ramón Blanco (born August 29, 1971) is a Venezuelan professional baseball coach and former player. He is currently the catching and strategy coach for the Washington Nationals. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1997 to ...

, but he missed approximately 50 games from late June to early August due to a wrist injury. He batted .238 for the season.

2010

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, Hundley shared catching duties with

Yorvit Torrealba Yorvit Adolfo Torrealba (; born July 19, 1978) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers, Tor ...

, appearing in 85 games and batting .249/.308/.418 with eight home runs and 43 RBIs in 273 at bats.

2011

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, Hundley was the Padres’ primary catcher, but he lost significant playing time to an

oblique Oblique may refer to: * an alternative name for the character usually called a slash (punctuation) ( / ) * Oblique angle, in geometry *Oblique triangle, in geometry *Oblique lattice, in geometry * Oblique leaf base, a characteristic shape of the b ...

injury and elbow surgery. Against the

on August 21, he hit his fifth

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

of the season, tying the Padres’ single-season record for triples by a catcher set by

Benito Santiago Benito Santiago Rivera (born March 9, 1965), is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2005, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres, with whom he was a fou ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

. It was also Hundley's fourth triple in six games. He was named NL Player of the Week August 22. Hundley finished the season with a .288/.347/.477 batting line and 9 home runs in 281 at bats, career highs in all categories at the time. Behind the plate, he threw out 36% of runners trying to steal.

2012

On March 20, 2012, Hundley signed a long-term contract with the Padres that would keep him in San Diego through 2014 with a club option for 2015, which was the first year Hundley would be eligible for free agency. After a prolonged slump at the start of the 2012 season, Hundley was optioned to Triple-A

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

on June 30, and catcher

Yasmani Grandal Yasmani Grandal (born November 8, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball catcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Bre ...

was recalled. At the time, Hundley was hitting only .166 with three home runs, 22 RBIs, and 50 strikeouts in 55 games with San Diego. Hundley batted .190 in 13 games in Triple-A and spent time on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a strained hamstring before returning to the Padres on August 9. He played in only three more games before a torn

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...

in his right knee forced him to the disabled list and eventually required surgery, ending his season. Hundley said that he had injured the knee in a game in April when he was trying to recover a pitch in the dirt and got tangled with the umpire. Manager

Bud Black Harry Ralston "Bud" Black (born June 30, 1957) is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Colorado Rockies. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher from 1981 through 1995, most notably ...

believed the injury contributed to Hundley's poor season at the plate. He ended the season batting .157/.219/.245 with three home runs and 22 RBIs in 204 at bats.

2013

Hundley opened

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

as the Padres’ primary catcher as Grandal was serving a 50-game suspension for using

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

. Hundley stirred up some controversy in May when he made remarks about Grandal's steroid use in an interview, but the two reportedly settled the issue. Hundley and Grandal briefly shared catching duties until Grandal suffered a season-ending injury on July 6. Hundley returned to the primary catching role and finished the season with a career-high 102 starts behind the plate. He also set career highs in at bats (373), hits (87), doubles (19), and home runs (13). He put up a .233/.290/.389 batting line with 44 RBIs, and threw out 26% of base stealers.

2014

Hundley began

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

losing playing time to Grandal and

René Rivera René Rivera (born July 31, 1983) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Met ...

, and he became expendable as the team developed a need for pitching after multiple injuries to its pitching staff. Before he was traded, in 59 at bats he hit .271/.271/.373 with one home run and three RBIs.

Baltimore Orioles

2014

On May 24, 2014, the Padres traded Hundley and cash to the

in exchange for

Troy Patton Troy Jamieson Patton (born September 3, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres. Patton attended Tomball High School in Tom ...

. On August 19, Hundley hit his 50th career home run, off of

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

pitcher Daniel Webb in the 7th inning of a 5-1 victory for the Orioles. For the season, in 159 at bats with the Orioles he hit .233/.273/.352 with five home runs and 19 RBIs. He threw out 19 per cent of attempted basestealers.

Colorado Rockies

2015

On January 5, 2015, Hundley signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the

. Hundley batted a career-high .301 in 103 games in 366 at bats for the Rockies in his first season. He scored a career-high 45 runs, hit 10 home runs, drove in 43 runs, and tied a previous career high by stealing 5 bases on the season. He threw out 34 per cent of attempted basestealers.

2016

Hundley appeared in 83 games for the Rockies in 2016, and in 289 at bats hit .260/.320/.439 with 10 home runs and 48 RBIs (a career high). He threw out 14 per cent of attempted basestealers.

San Francisco Giants

On January 24, 2017, Hundley signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the

. On September 29, he was named the recipient of the 2017

Willie Mac Award The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980 to the most inspirational player on the San Francisco Giants, as voted upon by Giants players, coaches, training staff, and more recently, Giants ...

. In 287 at bats with the Giants in 2017 he batted .244/.272/.418 with 9 home runs and 35 RBIs. He threw out 29 per cent of attempted basestealers. On December 19, 2017, Hundley signed a one-year contract with the Giants. On August 14, Hundley got into an altercation with Yasiel Puig at

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

. After Puig fouled off a pitch, in frustration, Puig threw his bat up and snatched it out of the air feeling like he had a good pitch to hit. Hundley took exception to Puig and the two had words. Puig shoved Hundley, causing a bench-clearing brawl. Both were ejected. In 282 at bats with the Giants in 2018, he batted .241/.298/.408 with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs. He threw out 21 percent of attempted basestealers.

Oakland Athletics

On February 11, 2019, Hundley signed a minor-league contract with the

that included an invitation to spring training. On March 19, Hundley's contract was purchased by the Athletics and he was added to their active roster before their season opener in Japan. Hundley was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on July 25, 2019, after being activated from the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He was released on July 27. In 70 at bats with Oakland in 2019, he batted .200/.233/.357 with two home runs and five RBIs. He threw out 22 percent of attempted basestealers.

Philadelphia Phillies

On August 13, 2019, Hundley signed a minor-league deal with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. He was released on August 30, 2019.

Post playing career

On February 6, 2020, Hundley retired to take on a new post in the baseball operations department for MLB. On February 7, 2022, Hundley was hired by the Texas Rangers as a special assistant to the general manager, Chris Young.

Personal life

Hundley's father, Tim, is an assistant

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

coach and is currently the

safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating t ...

coach for the

UNLV Rebels football The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The team is a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) conferenc ...

team in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Hundley's wife Amy gave birth to their first child, a daughter, on August 15, 2013.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hundley, Nick 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Corvallis, Oregon Baseball players from Oregon Major League Baseball catchers San Diego Padres players Baltimore Orioles players Colorado Rockies players San Francisco Giants players Oakland Athletics players Arizona Wildcats baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne Wizards players Lake Elsinore Storm players San Antonio Missions players Peoria Saguaros players Portland Beavers players Tucson Padres players Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona League Athletics players Stockton Ports players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Texas Rangers executives