Travis Hafner

season, the Indians signed Hafner to a three-year contract through mlby|2007 with a club option for mlby|2008. [cite web
url = http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050413&content_id=1014238&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Indians sign Hafner to three-year deal
accessdate = 2007-04-05
last = Hill
first = Justice B.
date = April 13, 2005
publisher = MLB.com] He responded by exceeding his impressive 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. [cite web
url = http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050705&content_id=1116990&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Hafner named AL Player of the Month
accessdate = 2007-04-05
last = Hill
first = Justice B.
date = July 5, 2005
publisher = MLB.com] He continued to swing a hot bat the first full week of July when he was named Player of the Week after hitting .480 with 4 home runs and 12 RBI in 8 games. [cite web
url = http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050711&content_id=1127048&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Hafner latest AL Player of the Week
accessdate = 2007-04-05
last = Thesier
first = Kelly
date = July 11, 2005
publisher = MLB.com] 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. [cite news
title = Headache sends Indians' Hafner to DL; Braves' Hampton down with bad back
url = http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2005-07-26-hafner-hampton-injury-rdp_x.htm
work = USA Today
publisher = The Associated Press
date = July 27, 2005
accessdate = 2007-04-05 ] 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. He finished the season with a flurry, hitting home runs in six straight games from September 18–24, the second longest such streak in Cleveland history.cite book
title = Cleveland Indians: Media Guide 2007
url = http://pressbox.mlb.com/pressbox/downloads/y2007/cle/player_bios.pdf
format = PDF
accessdate = 2007-04-05
publisher = MLB Advanced Media
pages = pg. 147 ] After the season, the Cleveland chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) named him Indians Man of the Year [cite news
first = Terry
last = Pluto
authorlink = Terry Pluto
title = Hafner, Boone honored by baseball journalists
publisher = Akron Beacon-Journal
page = C3
date = November 6, 2005 ] and he finished fifth in the AL Most Valuable Player voting. [cite news
url = http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9043364
title = A-Rod edges Ortiz for second AL MVP in three seasons
accessdate = 2007-04-05
date = November 14, 2005
work = CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
publisher = The Associated Press]

2006

The mlby|2006 season saw Hafner firmly establish himself as one of the premier power hitters in the game. For the third straight season, he posted MVP-caliber numbers while anchoring the middle of one of the most potent offenses in baseball. His season was cut short when 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. [cite press release
title=Hafner to miss the rest of the season
publisher=MLB.com
date=September 9, 2006
url=http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060909&content_id=1654131&vkey=pr_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
accessdate=2007-04-07] 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 Progressive Field was officially opened as "Pronkville." [cite web
url=http://www.wkyc.com/sports/sports_article.aspx?storyid=53329
title=Pronkville opens for business]

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 connected off Kris Benson of the Baltimore Orioles. He joined Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks of the mlby|1955 Chicago Cubs, Jim Gentile of the mlby|1961 Orioles and Don Mattingly of the mlby|1987 Yankees as the only players to hit at least five grand slams in a season. [cite web
url = http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2512844
title = Indians DH blasts team record fifth grand slam
accessdate = 2007-04-07
date = July 7, 2006
work = ESPN.com
publisher = The Associated Press] In September 2006, the Seattle Mariners' Richie Sexson also joined the five grand slam club. [cite web
url = http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=webmari08&date=20060908&query=Richie+Sexson+fifth+grand+slam
title = Sexson records 5th grand slam of season in M's 7-2 victory
accessdate = 2007-04-07
date = September 8, 2006
work = The Seattle Times
publisher = The Associated Press]

A little more than a month later, on August 13, Hafner tied Mattingly's single-season record when he cracked his sixth grand slam of the season off Luke Hudson of the Kansas City Royals. [cite web
url = http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060813&content_id=1607848&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Hafner ties Mattingly for slams in season
accessdate = 2007-04-07
last = Hill
first = Justice B.
date = August 13, 2006
publisher = MLB.com] 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. [cite web
url = http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060905&content_id=1647238&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Hafner earns Player of the Month honors
accessdate = 2007-04-07
last = Yanik
first = Kevin
date = September 5, 2006
publisher = MLB.com]

Hafner set the single-season club mark with 39 home runs and 110 RBI as a DH, surpassing Andre Thornton's mlby|1982 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 mlby|1997, mlby|2001 and 2002). His .659 slugging percentage was the sixth highest in team history.

2007

Hafner's 2007 regular season was sub-par, as his numbers dropped from the previous two seasons. He batted .266 for the season, compared to .308 in 2006 and .305 in 2005. He also hit 24 home runs and 100 runs batted in, his 4th straight season of 100+ RBI. [ [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/6980;_ylt=ApB3A0zjEEj9Tq6z2b9jvv2FCLcF Travis Hafner Profile] sports.yahoo.com] Some critics point to Hafner's sub-par performance being due to unfinshed contract negotiations, but Hafner denied this. Despite a lackluster first half, 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. [ [http://www.mlive.com/sportsflash/topstories/index.ssf?/base/sports-19/1184285662205450.xml&storylist= Tribe, Hafner ink $57M, 4 -year extension] mlive.com]

Career Statistics

"Stats as of June 17, 2008"

Trivia

*Hafner is a huge fan of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), especially the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin.
*As of the end of the 2007 season, Hafner ranked first all-time for career home runs by a player born in North Dakota with 142. Darin Erstad was second with 114. (Note: Although Roger Maris was raised in North Dakota, he was born in Hibbing, Minnesota.)
*Hafner was valedictorian of his high school class of a dozen students. [cite web
url = http://weblogs.csmonitor.com/just_fans/2006/08/index.html#entry-12239752
title = Some call him Pronk, but he's really Mr. Grand Slam
accessdate = 2007-04-05
last = Atkin
first = Ross
date = August 22, 2006
publisher = "Christian Science Monitor"]
*Hafner's favorite pastime is playing Xbox and Playstation 2 video games.
*Hafner's favorite road city in baseball is Chicago and his favorite road stadium is Safeco Field.
*Hafner hit his first career home run August 11, 2002 while playing for the Texas 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. The Indians traded for him the following off-season.
*In April 2006, Malley's Chocolates of Cleveland unveiled the 'Pronk Bar', a milk chocolate candy bar named in honor of Hafner. [cite web
url = http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060409&content_id=1391601&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Notes: Sweet start for Hafner
accessdate = 2007-04-08
last = Castrovince
first = Anthony
date = April 9, 2006
publisher = MLB.com]
*In November 2006, Hafner married his sweetheart, Amy Beekman [cite web
url = http://cleveland.indians.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061115&content_id=1741274&vkey=news_cle&fext=.jsp&c_id=cle
title = Notes: Early posting results unhelpful
accessdate = 2007-05-02
last = Castrovince
first = Anthony
date = November 17, 2006
publisher = MLB.com]
*Hafner's new product, "Pronk Beef Jerky" hit shelves in mid-2007. [cite web
url =http://www.plbsports.com/ProductPgs/products_hafner.htm
title = Pronk's Beef Jerky
accessdate = 2007-10-15]

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* Hitting for the cycle
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

References

External links

*baseball-reference|id=h/hafnetr01
* [http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=400098 MLB.com player info page]
* [http://thebaseballcube.com/players/H/Travis-Hafner.shtml The Baseball Cube player page]
* [http://www.armchairgm.com/index.php?title=The_Pronk_Shift The Pronk Shift]