Travis Hafner
Encyclopedia
Travis Lee Hafner is a left-handed
hitting designated hitter
for the Cleveland Indians
of the American League
Central Division. His nickname, "Pronk", was given to him by former teammate Bill Selby
during spring training
of when people sometimes referred to him as "The Project" and other times "Donkey" for the way he looked when running the bases.
in 1977. Hafner attended a small high school in Sykeston, North Dakota
, which did not have a baseball program. Hafner was valedictorian of his high school class of a dozen students. Hafner attended Cowley County Community College
in Arkansas City, Kansas
.
in the 31st round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft
.
Hafner hit his first career home run August 11, 2002 while playing for the Rangers against the Indians. In addition to the home run, he had two doubles and a single in five at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring two. He nearly hit for the cycle in this game, but was thrown out at third base while attempting the triple.
for catcher
Einar Diaz
and right-handed pitcher
Ryan Drese
. Hafner enjoyed moderate success with the Indians in , splitting time between first base and designated hitter
. On August 14, he hit for the cycle in Minnesota
, the first Indian to accomplish the feat since Andre Thornton
in .
In , Hafner had a breakout offensive season. As the primary DH in the Indians line-up, he finished the season in the top ten in the league in on-base percentage (.410, 3rd), slugging percentage (.583, 4th), doubles
(41, 6th), extra base hits (72, 7th), RBI
(109, 9th) and batting average
(.311, 10th). He also hit 28 home run
s (16th in the AL) and scored 96 runs
(20th in the AL). He topped the .300 mark in batting average each month of the season except August–when he hit a respectable .274–and was particularly hot in July, hitting .360 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI. He hit his first career grand slam
in the Indians' home opener on April 12 against Kyle Lohse
of the Minnesota Twins
.
At the beginning of the season, the Indians signed Hafner to a three-year contract through with a club option for .
He responded by exceeding his offensive production of 2004. He was again among the league-leaders in on-base percentage (3rd, .408), slugging percentage (3rd, .595), doubles (5th, 42), walks
(7th, 79), extra base hits (8th, 75), batting average (9th, .305), home runs (9th, 33) and RBI (9th, 108). He also scored 94 runs. The American League named him Player of the Month for June, when he posted a .345 batting average with 10 doubles, 8 home runs, and 29 RBI in 24 games.
In the first full week of July he was named Player of the Week
after hitting .480 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI in 8 games. On July 16, he was hit in the face by a pitch thrown by the Chicago White Sox
's Mark Buehrle
and was placed on the 15-day disabled list
on July 26. After returning from the DL on August 4, he hit .296 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI over the remaining 54 games of the season. To end the season, he hit home runs in six straight games from September 18–24, the second longest such streak in Cleveland history.
After the season, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America
(BBWAA) named him Indians Man of the Year and he finished fifth in the AL Most Valuable Player
voting.
For the third straight season, in , Hafner posted MVP-caliber numbers while anchoring the middle of one of the most potent offenses in baseball. On September 1, he was hit on the hand by Texas Rangers pitcher C.J. Wilson. The Indians placed him on the disabled list for the rest of the season on September 9 after X-rays revealed a broken bone in his right hand.
At the time of the injury, he led the league in slugging percentage (.659) and walks (100); was second in home runs (42), RBI (117), total bases
(299), on-base percentage (.439) and extra-base hits (74); and was third in runs scored (100). He also batted over .300 (.308) for the third consecutive season. He finished 8th in the league MVP voting by the BBWAA.
On June 7, a section in the right field mezzanine at Jacobs Field
was officially opened as "Pronkville." On July 7, Hafner became the first player in Major League history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break and passed Al Rosen
in the team's season record book when he homered off Kris Benson
of the Baltimore Orioles
. He joined Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks
of the Chicago Cubs
, Jim Gentile
of the Orioles and Don Mattingly
of the Yankees as the only players to hit at least five grand slams in a season.
A little more than a month later, on August 13, Hafner tied Mattingly's single-season record when he hit his sixth grand slam of the season off Luke Hudson
of the Kansas City Royals
. His league-leading 13 home runs and 30 RBI combined with his .361 average in the month of August earned him AL Player of the Month—the second time he has been honored as such in his career.
Hafner set the single-season club mark with 39 home runs and 110 RBI as a DH, surpassing Andre Thornton
's totals of 32 home runs and 109 RBI. He became the second Indian ever to record 100 walks, 100 runs and 100 RBI in the same season (Jim Thome
did so in , and 2002). His .659 slugging percentage was the sixth highest in team history.
with 142.
Hafner missed most of the 2008 season due to injuries, appearing in only 57 games with 234 appearances at the plate. When he did play, Hafner's performance was the worst of his career, finishing his abbreviated season with a .628 OPS.
Though he still missed time due to injury in 2009, Hafner appeared in 94 games and hit .272 with 16 home runs and an .826 OPS.
Hafner played 118 games with 462 plate appearances in , hitting .278 with 13 home runs and an .824 OPS.
Hafner is a huge fan of World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE), especially the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin
.
In April 2006, Malley's Chocolates
of Cleveland unveiled the 'Pronk Bar', a milk chocolate candy bar named in honor of Hafner. Hafner's new product, "Pronk Beef Jerky" hit shelves in mid-2007.
Left-handed
Left-handedness is the preference for the left hand over the right for everyday activities such as writing. In ancient times it was seen as a sign of the devil, and was abhorred in many cultures...
hitting designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
Central Division. His nickname, "Pronk", was given to him by former teammate Bill Selby
Bill Selby
William Frank Selby is a former utility player from to with the Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and Cleveland Indians. He also played one season in Japan for the Yokohama BayStars in . Selby played in 198 total MLB games, with a .223 career batting average. Mostly used off the bench, Selby hit...
during spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
of when people sometimes referred to him as "The Project" and other times "Donkey" for the way he looked when running the bases.
Early life and career
Hafner was born in Jamestown, North DakotaJamestown, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 15,527 people, 6,505 households, and 3,798 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,246.7 per square mile . There were 6,970 housing units at an average density of 559.6 per square mile...
in 1977. Hafner attended a small high school in Sykeston, North Dakota
Sykeston, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 153 people, 74 households, and 40 families residing in the city. The population density was 407.8 people per square mile . There were 95 housing units at an average density of 253.2 per square mile...
, which did not have a baseball program. Hafner was valedictorian of his high school class of a dozen students. Hafner attended Cowley County Community College
Cowley County Community College
Cowley College is a two-year college located in Arkansas City, Kansas. It also operates satellite facilities in nearby Winfield, Wellington, Mulvane, and Wichita, and offers distance-learning classes at nine area high schools. Cowley College is accredited by the NCA's Higher Learning Commission.-...
in Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City, Kansas
Arkansas City is a city situated at the confluence of the Arkansas and Walnut rivers in the southwestern part of Cowley County, located in south-central Kansas, in the central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 12,415....
.
Texas Rangers
Hafner was drafted by the Texas RangersTexas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
in the 31st round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft
1996 Major League Baseball Draft
The 1996 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 4 and 5, 1996...
.
Hafner hit his first career home run August 11, 2002 while playing for the Rangers against the Indians. In addition to the home run, he had two doubles and a single in five at-bats, driving in three runs and scoring two. He nearly hit for the cycle in this game, but was thrown out at third base while attempting the triple.
2003-2005
In the winter of 2002, the Rangers traded Hafner to the Indians along with Aaron MyetteAaron Myette
Aaron Kenneth Myette is a former Major League Baseball Canadian right-handed pitcher....
for catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
Einar Diaz
Einar Diaz
Einar Antonio Díaz is a former Major League Baseball catcher.Díaz was called up in by the Cleveland Indians to back up then-starting catcher Sandy Alomar, Jr. He played sparingly from 1996-, and in he got his first starting job with the Indians due to an injury to Alomar...
and right-handed pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Ryan Drese
Ryan Drese
Ryan Thomas Drese is an American professional baseball pitcher currently in the Houston Astros organization. He is a graduate of the University of California Berkeley and Bishop O'Dowd High School in Oakland, California....
. Hafner enjoyed moderate success with the Indians in , splitting time between first base and designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
. On August 14, he hit for the cycle in Minnesota
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, commonly called the Metrodome, is a domed sports stadium in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Opened in 1982, it replaced Metropolitan Stadium, which was on the current site of the Mall of America in Bloomington and Memorial Stadium on the University...
, the first Indian to accomplish the feat since Andre Thornton
Andre Thornton
André Thornton , nicknamed "Thunder," is a former first baseman and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians during a 14-year career...
in .
In , Hafner had a breakout offensive season. As the primary DH in the Indians line-up, he finished the season in the top ten in the league in on-base percentage (.410, 3rd), slugging percentage (.583, 4th), doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(41, 6th), extra base hits (72, 7th), RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...
(109, 9th) and batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
(.311, 10th). He also hit 28 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s (16th in the AL) and scored 96 runs
Run (baseball)
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 are met or assured...
(20th in the AL). He topped the .300 mark in batting average each month of the season except August–when he hit a respectable .274–and was particularly hot in July, hitting .360 with 8 home runs and 28 RBI. He hit his first career grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
in the Indians' home opener on April 12 against Kyle Lohse
Kyle Lohse
Kyle Matthew Lohse is a right-handed starting pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in , Lohse was traded to the Minnesota Twins in in a deal involving Rick Aguilera. Lohse made his MLB debut with the Twins on June 22, .Lohse is a member of the Nomlaki...
of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
.
At the beginning of the season, the Indians signed Hafner to a three-year contract through with a club option for .
He responded by exceeding his offensive production of 2004. He was again among the league-leaders in on-base percentage (3rd, .408), slugging percentage (3rd, .595), doubles (5th, 42), walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
(7th, 79), extra base hits (8th, 75), batting average (9th, .305), home runs (9th, 33) and RBI (9th, 108). He also scored 94 runs. The American League named him Player of the Month for June, when he posted a .345 batting average with 10 doubles, 8 home runs, and 29 RBI in 24 games.
In the first full week of July he was named Player of the Week
Player of the Week
The Player of the Week award is a Major League Baseball award named by each of the American and National Leagues each week of the regular season...
after hitting .480 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI in 8 games. On July 16, he was hit in the face by a pitch thrown by the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
's Mark Buehrle
Mark Buehrle
Mark Alan Buehrle is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He has pitched his entire baseball career for the Chicago White Sox, starting the opening game every season from 2002 to 2006 and again from 2008 to 2011....
and was placed on the 15-day disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
on July 26. After returning from the DL on August 4, he hit .296 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI over the remaining 54 games of the season. To end the season, he hit home runs in six straight games from September 18–24, the second longest such streak in Cleveland history.
After the season, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America
Baseball Writers Association of America
The Baseball Writers' Association of America is a professional association for baseball journalists writing for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying Web sites. The BBWAA was founded on October 14, 1908, to improve working conditions for sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century...
(BBWAA) named him Indians Man of the Year and he finished fifth in the AL Most Valuable Player
Most Valuable Player
In sports, a Most Valuable Player award is an honor typically bestowed upon the best performing player or players on a specific team, in an entire league, or for a particular contest or series of contests...
voting.
2006
At the time of the injury, he led the league in slugging percentage (.659) and walks (100); was second in home runs (42), RBI (117), total bases
Total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....
(299), on-base percentage (.439) and extra-base hits (74); and was third in runs scored (100). He also batted over .300 (.308) for the third consecutive season. He finished 8th in the league MVP voting by the BBWAA.
On June 7, a section in the right field mezzanine at Jacobs Field
Jacobs Field
Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball and the American League. Along with Quicken Loans Arena, it is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex...
was officially opened as "Pronkville." On July 7, Hafner became the first player in Major League history to hit five grand slams before the All-Star break and passed Al Rosen
Al Rosen
Albert Leonard Rosen , nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball player who was a third baseman and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.He played his entire 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians in...
in the team's season record book when he homered off Kris Benson
Kris Benson
Kristin James Benson is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Benson pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from to , New York Mets from to , Baltimore Orioles in to , Texas Rangers in , and Arizona Diamondbacks in ....
of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. He joined Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks
Ernie Banks
Ernest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...
of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, Jim Gentile
Jim Gentile
James Edward Gentile , also nicknamed "Diamond Jim", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left-handed batter who played with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers ; Baltimore Orioles , Kansas City Athletics , Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians .A powerful slugger listed at 6' 4",...
of the Orioles and Don Mattingly
Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees...
of the Yankees as the only players to hit at least five grand slams in a season.
A little more than a month later, on August 13, Hafner tied Mattingly's single-season record when he hit his sixth grand slam of the season off Luke Hudson
Luke Hudson
Luke Stephen Hudson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee....
of the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...
. His league-leading 13 home runs and 30 RBI combined with his .361 average in the month of August earned him AL Player of the Month—the second time he has been honored as such in his career.
| MLB-record six Grand Slams in one season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Date | Against | Pitcher | Venue | Score |
| 1 | May 1 | White Sox Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans... |
Brandon McCarthy Brandon McCarthy Brandon Patrick McCarthy is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Oakland Athletics.-Early life:He graduated from Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 2001.... |
Jacobs Field Jacobs Field Progressive Field is a ballpark located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, and is the home of the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball and the American League. Along with Quicken Loans Arena, it is part of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex... |
L 8-6 |
| 2 | May 17 | Royals Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium... |
Jeremy Affeldt Jeremy Affeldt Jeremy David Affeldt is an American baseball professional pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He throws and bats left-handed. Previously, he has played for the Kansas City Royals, the Colorado Rockies, and the Cincinnati Reds.... |
Jacobs Field (2) | W 5-1 |
| 3 | June 3 | Angels Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles... |
Brendan Donnelly Brendan Donnelly Brendan Kevin Donnelly is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He bats and throws right-handed.-Career:Donnelly was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 27th round of the 1992 amateur draft... |
Jacobs Field (3) | W 14-2 |
| 4 | July 1 | Reds Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890.... |
Joe Mays Joe Mays Joeseph Emerson Mays is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher.Mays is a 1994 graduate of Southeast High School in Bradenton, Florida. He also attended Manatee Community College in Bradenton. He and his wife, Melinda , have two children.Mays began his major league career with the... |
Great American Ball Park Great American Ball Park The Great American Ball Park is a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the home of the National League's Cincinnati Reds. It opened in 2003, replacing the Reds' former home, Cinergy Field, which was known as Riverfront Stadium from its opening in June 1970 until the 1996... |
W 12-7 |
| 5 | July 7 | Orioles Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league... |
Kris Benson Kris Benson Kristin James Benson is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Benson pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from to , New York Mets from to , Baltimore Orioles in to , Texas Rangers in , and Arizona Diamondbacks in .... |
Jacobs Field (4) | W 9-0 |
| 6 | August 13 | Royals (2) | Luke Hudson Luke Hudson Luke Stephen Hudson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an alumnus of the University of Tennessee.... |
Jacobs Field (5) | W 13-0 |
Hafner set the single-season club mark with 39 home runs and 110 RBI as a DH, surpassing Andre Thornton
Andre Thornton
André Thornton , nicknamed "Thunder," is a former first baseman and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians during a 14-year career...
's totals of 32 home runs and 109 RBI. He became the second Indian ever to record 100 walks, 100 runs and 100 RBI in the same season (Jim Thome
Jim Thome
James Howard "Jim" Thome is a Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the eighth player to hit 600 home runs in the major leagues. He is widely considered a future Hall of Famer.-Cleveland Indians :...
did so in , and 2002). His .659 slugging percentage was the sixth highest in team history.
2007-2010
In , he batted .266 for the season, compared to .308 in 2006 and .305 in 2005. He hit 24 home runs and 100 runs batted in, his 4th straight season of 100+ RBI. Some critics point to Hafner's disappointing performance being due to unfinished contract negotiations, but Hafner denied this. The Indians signed Hafner to a four-year, $57 million contract extension during the All-Star break, keeping him in Cleveland through the 2012 season. As of the end of the 2007 season, Hafner ranked first all-time for career home runs by a player born in North DakotaNorth Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
with 142.
Hafner missed most of the 2008 season due to injuries, appearing in only 57 games with 234 appearances at the plate. When he did play, Hafner's performance was the worst of his career, finishing his abbreviated season with a .628 OPS.
Though he still missed time due to injury in 2009, Hafner appeared in 94 games and hit .272 with 16 home runs and an .826 OPS.
Hafner played 118 games with 462 plate appearances in , hitting .278 with 13 home runs and an .824 OPS.
Personal
In November 2006, Hafner married Amy Beekman.Hafner is a huge fan of World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWE), especially the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin , better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American film and television actor and retired professional wrestler...
.
In April 2006, Malley's Chocolates
Malley's Chocolates
Malley's Chocolates is a chain of 18 candy stores in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Four of the stores include ice cream parlors year-round, with one location offering ice cream seasonally....
of Cleveland unveiled the 'Pronk Bar', a milk chocolate candy bar named in honor of Hafner. Hafner's new product, "Pronk Beef Jerky" hit shelves in mid-2007.