University of Minnesota Athletics
HANNAHAN DRAFTED 87TH OVERALL BY DETROIT TIGERS
6/5/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
| Junior Jack Hannahan was selected as the team's most valuable player for the second straight season.</ center> |
Junior third baseman Jack Hannahan was selected in the third round of the Major League Baseball amateur draft Tuesday afternoon by the Detroit Tigers. Chosen 87th overall, Hannahan was the first player picked from the Big Ten Conference, and the sixth third baseman overall.
"I am very excited," Hannahan said. "I was thinking I would go somewhere in the third through fifth rounds, so when I went 11th in the third round to Detroit, I was extremely happy. I'm just glad that this is all over, and I am anxious to move on."
Hannahan led the Conference in hits (43), runs scored (31), home runs (9), total bases (82) and slugging percentage (.766) in League play. The junior third baseman from St. Paul, Minn., also tied for second in Big Ten competition with a .402 batting average, and tied for fifth with 24 runs batted in.
"I always felt that Jack had the physical tools to become a big-league ball player," Golden Gopher Head Coach John Anderson mentioned, "but he is the reason he had such a successful season. He proved himself as a person on and off the field, and I believe that is what has made him such a solid, all-around baseball player. He centered himself as a person and as a role model."
Hannahan is the highest Golden Gopher drafted since Jeff Schmidt was selected by the Angels in 1992 as a sandwich pick between the first and second round.
"I would not be here without the help of my coaches," Hannahan added, "especially coach (John) Anderson and coach (Rob) Fornasiere. They helped me get to where I am today by bringing out the best in me. They had faith that I could reach these heights if I did what I needed to do, and they pushed me to reach those goals. They were a huge inspiration to me, and I am thankful to them."
