Career
After graduating from Vestavia Hills High School in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, Hancock was selected in the fourth round of the 1996 amateur draft by the Milwaukee Brewers, but did not sign. An Alabama fan, he instead attended college at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama because the Tigers offered him a better scholarship. He was taken by the Boston Red Sox in the fifth round of the 1998 amateur draft and signed with the Red Sox, making his major-league debut on September 10, 2002. In December 2002 he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Jeremy Giambi. On July 30, 2004, he was traded along with Andy Machado to the Cincinnati Reds for Todd Jones and Brad Correll. The next day, Hancock was the winning pitcher for the Reds in a game against the Houston Astros, a suspended game that began the day before while Hancock was still with the Phillies.
On the first day of Spring Training 2006 Hancock was released by the Reds for being 17 pounds overweight, violating a clause in his contract. He promptly signed with the St. Louis Cardinals and had his best season, pitching 77 innings, compiling a 4.09 ERA, and appearing in the 2006 postseason with the Cardinals. He performed in a variety of roles for the Cardinals' bullpen, from short term relief appearances to less desirable roles when the game was out of hand.
Hancock was on the Cardinal roster for the 2006 World Series but did not pitch. St. Louis won the Series in five games over Detroit.
Before coming to the Cardinals, he had a penchant for giving up home runs. He gave up 17 homers over 68 innings pitched in 2005. He improved in 2006, giving up only nine over 77 innings. In 2007, Hancock had pitched 8 games with an 0-1 record and a 3.55 ERA.
Read more about this topic: Josh Hancock
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