Sample Player Profile Page

HYZDU, ADAM


Nickname:	N/A	Position:	RF
Home:	Mesa, Arizona	Team:	Retired
Height:	6' 2"	Bats:	R
Weight:	220	Throws:	R
DOB:	12/6/1971	Agent:	Joe Bick
Birth City:	Cincinnati, Ohio	Draft:	Giants #1 - 1990 - Out of Moeller H.S. (Cincinnati)
Uniform #:	N/A		Giants #1 - 1990 - Out of Moeller H.S. (Cincinnati)

YR	LEA	TEAM	SAL(K)	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	OBP	SLG	AVG
1990	NWL	EVERETT			253	31	62	16	1	6	34	2		28	78			.245
1991	MWL	CLINTON		124	410	47	96	13	5	5	50	4		64	131			.234
1992	CAL	SAN JOSE			457	60	127	25	5	9	60	10		55	134			.278
1993	CAL	SAN JOSE		44	165	35	48	11	3	13	38	1		29	53			.291
1993	TL	SHREVEPORT		86	302	30	61	17	0	6	25	0		20	82			.202
1994	SL	CHATTANOOGA			133	17	35	10	0	3	9	0		8	21			.263
1994	CAR	WINSTON-SALEM			210	30	58	11	1	15	39	1		18	33			.276
1994	AA	INDIANAPOLIS			25	3	3	2	0	0	3	0		1	5			.120
1995	SL	CHATTANOOGA			312	55	82	14	1	13	48	3		45	56			.263
1996	EL	TRENTON			374	71	126	24	3	25	80	1		56	75			.337
1997	IL	PAWTUCKET			413	77	114	21	1	23	84	10		72	113			.276
1998	MEX	Monterrey
1998	PCL	TUCSON			100	21	34	7	1	4	14	0		15	23			.340
1999	IL	PAWTUCKET			35	4	8	0	0	1	6	0		4	13			.229
1999	EL	ALTOONA		91	345	64	109	26	2	24	78	8		40	62			.316
1999	PCL	NASHVILLE		14	44	6	11	1	0	5	13	0		4	11			.250
2000	EL	ALTOONA		142	514	96	149	39	2	31	106	3		94	102			.290
2000	NL	PIRATES		12	18	2	7	2	0	1	4	0	0	0	4	.389	.667	.389
2001	PCL	NASHVILLE		69	261	38	76	17	2	11	39	1		17	68			.291
2001	NL	PIRATES		51	72	7	15	1	0	5	9	0	1	4	18	.260	.431	.208
2002	PCL	NASHVILLE		65	243	33	59	17	0	10	50	1		29	59			.243
2002	NL	PIRATES		59	155	24	36	6	0	11	34	0	0	21	44	.324	.484	.232
2003	PCL	NASHVILLE		40	135	22	38	10	1	6	18	2		18	28			.281
2003	NL	PIRATES		51	63	16	13	5	0	1	8	0	0	10	21	.320	.333	.206
2004	IL	PAWTUCKET		129	465	92	140	33	2	29	79	8		84	106			.301
2004	AL	RED SOX		17	10	3	3	2	0	1	2	0	0	1	2	.364	.800	.300
2005	PCL	PORTLAND		62	207	38	57	9	1	11	32	2		47	61			.275
2005	IL	PAWTUCKET		31	118	17	30	7	0	4	25	0		16	32			.254
2005	AL	PADRES	$375.00	17	20	1	3	1	0	0	4	1	0	3	4	.250	.200	.150
2005	AL	RED SOX		12	16	1	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	.333	.313	.250
2006	PCL	OKLAHOMA		128	439	64	119	25	4	19	80	7	4	74	102		.476	.271
2006	AL	RANGERS		2	4	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	.250	.250	.250

Adam, a Cincinnati native, once played on a baseball team sponsored by Marge Schott when he was a teenager.

MOELLER HIGH SCHOOL

Hyzdu and David Bell (now with the Phillies) grew up together in Cincinnati. "We used to bet on everything, and Bell would always lose," said Hyzdu. "He put me through high school. Whenever I needed a new bat or something, I'd challenge him to a game of HORSE. The only thing consistent with our wagering was that I won."

While attending Moeller High School in Cincinnati -- also the alma matter of Ken Griffey Jr. -- Bell and Hyzdu bet on everything from video golf and baseball to ping pong. Hyzdu concedes that Bell was the better shooter on the court, except when money was on the line."It became a mental thing with him. The minute a ten-dollar bill came out, he'd find a way to miss," Hyzdu said.
Hyzdu broke Ken Griffey, Jr.'s Moeller High School home run record and ex-Dodger Len Matuszek's RBI record.

He also was a blue-chip quarterback, leading Moeller to state runner-up in Division I playoffs, throwing for over 1,500 yards and 18 TD's.
He was hotly pursued by the University of Michigan and West Virginia University.
In 1995, Adam had been one of former Reds owner Marge Schott's favorites until he defied her wishes and elected not to be a replacement player.
During the winter before 1999 spring training, Hyzdu sold mobile homes in Mexa, Arizona.
Adam is a leader-by-example. In the clubhouse, he is outstanding the way he works with the younger players.
He and wife Julie have 3 children. "She's a gem. She makes this a lot easier to do," Hyzdu said of his minor lg. career. "Every year it gets harder. You start adding children, children get into school and they have sports. You have to deal with one more thing every year."
On September 4, 2000, Adam's Altoona Curve (EL-Pirates) uniform #16 was retired by the team.
On July 4, 2001, Hyzdu played in his hometown Cincinnati in front of many family and friends. ''When I swung at the first pitch, I felt my legs actually shaking,'' Hyzdu said. ''I probably shouldn't admit that. There was more emotion than I thought there would be - hearing my name introduced at Cinergy for the first time.'' Hyzdu played at the stadium - then known as Riverfront - when he was at Moeller High School, where he broke Ken Griffey Jr.'s home run record. He was one of former owner Marge Schott's favorite players. He played on the Little League team sponsored by her car dealership, and she kept a photograph of the team in her office.
Hyzdu is a very good chess player. One of his nicknames is "Deep Blue," an indication of his skills at that cerebral game.

BIG BIBLE FAN
Hyzdu says that his belief in God helped sustain him through 11 years in the minors until making his debut in September 2000 with the Pirates. "All things work together for the good of those who love God," Hyzdu said, citing Romans 8:28. "You have to take the good with the bad."

Adam has faced long odds against playing in the Major Leagues many times. He can quote philosophy and the Bible verbatim to explain the inner peace he has in troubled times.
In 2003 spring training, Hyzdu quoted the Book of James: "'The man that perseveres under the many trials will receive the crown in the end.' A trial is something you don't anticipate. It's something where you have something you don't really want to do, yet you have to do it anyway. We also have to rejoice in our suffering, because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. You have to be faithful through it all. Many are the plans of a man's heart, but the Lord's purpose always prevails.

"I'm going to come to the ballpark every day with a smile. If they ask me to play, I'm going to play. If they want me to sit, I'll sit. If there's a ball I can dive for, I'm going to dive for it. If I hit a ground ball, I'm going to run as hard as I can to first base. You have to be a steward of the talents you're given. And that's what I'm going to do," Hyzdu said. "It does me no good to say 'woe is me.' If I don't fit here, there's 29 other teams in the United States and Canada, there's options overseas, there are different things that can happen. So if you turn into a dead weight because your one situation is bad, then you're going to affect your next situation. You have to stop the snowball somewhere. It's a pebble at the top of the mountain right now."
In March 2005, Adam was hitting so well for the Red Sox in spring training, it again looked like he might make the Opening Day roster. But he and wife Julie weren't looking for real estate in Boston.

"There's no question that she struggles with some of the things -- the uncertainty more than anything and not knowing where we're going to be,'' he said. "We've made 54 moves as a married couple and she's had to do the brunt of the work. It's why we home-school (children Zack, 10; Alexa, 8; and Luke, 4), so we can stay together . . . but I commend her for enduring so much of the crap.''
As of the start of the 2005 season, Hyzdu had played 1,482 games in the minors, compared to only 190 in the Majors. Hyzdu has hit at least 23 homers in five minor league seasons and earned Player of the Year honors at Triple-A Pawtucket in 2004 by hitting .301 with 29 homers and 79 RBI in 129 games.

"The Reds thought I could only hit fastballs, but the Pirates thought I could only hit off-speed stuff,'' he said. "The year after I hit .337 with 25 homers (for Trenton in 1996), somebody (in the Sox organization) said they weren't sure I could consistently handle a good major league fastball, so it's been one excuse after another. I try to stay as grounded as possible and as much as it's a cliche that you hear so much that it makes you want to puke, I truly take it one day at a time,'' Hyzdu said. "So much of it is out of my control, so I try to just have fun and enjoy it. Hopefully, some of the things that I do both on and off the field will be appreciated enough for me to be part of the club.'' (Jeff Horrigan-3/18/05)

TRANSACTION REPORT
December 1993: The Reds picked Adam in the Rule 5 Draft, out of the Giants' organization. When the Reds didn't keep Adam on their Major League roster out of 1994 spring training, they worked out a trade, sending pitchers Chris Hook and Scott Robinson to the Giants to keep Hyzdu.
Hyzdu signed with the Red Sox organization in January 1996 and again in January 1999. They released him after the first month of the 1999 season, but he soon signed with the Pirates' system.
November 2003: Hyzdu signed with the Red Sox organization again, starting his third tour of duty with them.

March 22, 2005: The Padres sent P Blaine Neal to the Red Sox to acquire Hyzdu.
July 19, 2005: The Red Sox sent P Scott Cassidy to the Padres, re-acquiring Cassidy.
January 2006: Hyzdu signed with the Rangers organization.

PERSONAL:

Hyzdu is pronounced: HIGHS-doo

Of his not getting much of a chance for a Major League career, Hyzdu said, "I'm kind of a 'well' guy. That means when groups of people and scouts get in a room and decide my fate, there's always a 'Well, he doesn't do this well' or 'Well, he could do that better.'"
Adam is a fine power hitter with good discipline at the plate. His bat is his best tool.
In 1994, the Reds acquired Hyzdu, thinking that he regressed after the Giants opened up his stance and tried to convince him to hit the ball to right field more often. And Hyzdu improved with Cincinnati's farm teams the two years he was there. "I've kind of picked my areas of the plate where I can handle the ball, and I kind of wait for the ball to come into that area," Hyzdu said during the 1995 campaign. "If it doesn't come into that area, I don't swing at it."
He hit well in the Red Sox and D'Backs' organizations and then with the Pirates' system he really exploded. That led to his September 2000 call-up to see what the Majors are like.
In 2002, Hyzdu had a fine spring training with the Pirates, hitting .308 with four homers and 10 RBIs in 39 at bats. But he was sent to Triple-A Nashville 2 days before the season opened.

HITTING STREAKS
Adam had a 26-game hitting streak for the Nashville Sounds (PCL-Pirates) that ran from May 17-June 27, 2001.
Adam had a real strong hitting streak in July 2002 for the Pirates. The magnitude of his hot bat didn't really hit the journeyman outfielder until his 5-year-old daughter, Alexa, looked up at him and asked, "Daddy, when did you get good?"

When Adam falls into a slump, it is never a mechanical thing. "My mechanics are fine. I have never had a mechanical problem. When I struggle it's usually with my mental approach."
Explaining the way he approaches hitting, Hyzdu said, "First of all, you know what your strengths are. Ideally, you work with those. You dictate the at-bats versus what the pitcher is going to do , and as soon as you switch it back to the pitcher, your head starts going in circles. You stay within your routine, you know where you want the pitch and don't change. Have a plan and just stick to it. For me, I have to do that."
"Always remember, pride will bring a man low, but a humble spirit brings a man honor. That applies to hitting, too," Adam said.
Hyzdu entered the 2006 season with a career batting average of .227 and 19 home runs, with 61 RBI in 353 at-bats.

BATTING:

Adam's arm is only fair in the outfield. But he gets a good jump on the ball.
Hyzdu can also play some first base and even third base.

FIELDING:

He has only average speed.

RUNNING:

May 12, 2003: Hyzdu sprained his left knee when he collided with Memphis Redbirds' outfielder Kerry Robinson on the base-paths.

CAREER INJURY REPORT: