Hyun Choi "Hank" Conger (born January 29, 1988) is a Korean American

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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. He is the first base and catching coach 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 ...

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). Conger was selected in the first round, with the 25th overall selection, of the 2006 MLB draft. He played in MLB for 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 ...

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 ...

, and the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

from 2010 to 2016. Conger coached for the

Lotte Giants The Lotte Giants ( ko, 롯데 자이언츠) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Busan. They are a member of the KBO League. The Lotte Giants are owned by Lotte Corporation, which also owns the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Pro ...

of the

KBO League The KBO League (), officially the Shinhan Bank SOL KBO League, is the highest level league of baseball in South Korea. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers ar ...

from 2020 to 2021 before joining the Twins as a coach in 2022.

Early life

Conger was born in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Fe ...

, but was raised in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

. Conger's mother, Eun, immigrated from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in 1986 and his father, Yun, was adopted from Korea by a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

petty officer and raised in the United States. Conger originally played

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

due to his size, but began playing

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

at the age of eight and turned his focus there instead. Conger graduated from

Huntington Beach High School Huntington Beach High School (HBHS) is a public high school in Huntington Beach, California. Built in 1906, it is part of the Huntington Beach Union High School District. HBHS is a California Distinguished School. Huntington Beach High School is ...

in 2006, where he was a second team All-American and Gatorade Player of the Year. Conger had planned to attend the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

if he had not been drafted in the first round.

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The

selected Conger in the first round, with the 25th overall selection, of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He was selected to represent the United States in the 2010

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

. He hit a three-run home run, earning him MVP honors. He was promoted to the major leagues as part of September call-ups on September 7, 2010. He made his major league debut on September 11, 2010, as a pinch hitter for

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed "Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Matsui pl ...

. His first hit in the major leagues came off of

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 ...

pitcher

Jeanmar Gómez Jeanmar Alejandro Gómez (born February 10, 1988) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, and Tex ...

on September 15, 2010. His first home run came off of

Jeff Niemann Jeffrey Warren Niemann (born February 28, 1983) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays from 2008 to 2012. High school Niemann attended Lamar High School. C ...

on April 5, 2011. On July 19, 2011, Conger was

optioned In the film industry, an option is a contractual agreement pertaining to film rights between a potential film producer (such as a movie studio, a production company, or an individual) and the author of source material, such as a book, play, or s ...

to the

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 ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) to make room on the Angels' active roster for

Tyler Chatwood Tyler Cole Chatwood (born December 16, 1989), nicknamed Chatty, is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels, Colorado Rockies, Chicag ...

. At the time, Conger was hitting .194 and opponents had been successful at stealing bases 48 out of 56 attempts against him. On August 18, 2011, the Angels recalled Conger.

Houston Astros

On November 5, 2014, the Angels traded Conger to the

in exchange for

Nick Tropeano Nicholas Paul Tropeano (born August 27, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsbu ...

and Carlos Perez. Despite hitting 11 homers in a part time role for the Astros, Conger did not control the running game.

Tampa Bay Rays

On December 2, 2015, the

acquired Conger for cash considerations. Conger opened the 2016 season in a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

with

Curt Casali Curtis Michael Casali (born November 9, 1988), is an American professional baseball catcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Vanderbilt University, and was selected in the 10th round of the 201 ...

. Conger hit .194 before being optioned to the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

on July 11, 2016.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Conger signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

in February 2017. He played in 58 games for the

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. ...

of the PCL, and batted .238. The Diamondbacks released Conger in July 2017.

Pericos de Puebla

On May 4, 2018, Conger signed with the

Pericos de Puebla The Pericos de Puebla (English: "Puebla Parrots") are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Puebla, Mexico. History The state of Puebla came upon baseball in the early 1920s when returning Poblanos that had come from militar ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on July 11, 2018.

Post-playing career

Lotte Giants

On December 24, 2019, Conger joined the coaching staff of the

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

as the new catching coach.

Minnesota Twins

On December 10, 2021, the

hired Conger as the first base and catching coach.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conger, Hank 1988 births Living people American baseball players of Korean descent American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of North Korean descent Arizona League Angels players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Washington (state) Cedar Rapids Kernels players Durham Bulls players Houston Astros players Los Angeles Angels players Lotte Giants coaches Major League Baseball catchers Mesa Solar Sox players Mexican League baseball catchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Federal Way, Washington Pericos de Puebla players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Reno Aces players Salt Lake Bees players Scottsdale Scorpions players Tampa Bay Rays players American expatriate baseball people in South Korea

Early life

Professional career

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Houston Astros

Tampa Bay Rays

Arizona Diamondbacks

Pericos de Puebla

Post-playing career

Lotte Giants

Minnesota Twins

See also

References

External links