Craig Robert Hansen...Is a 2002 graduate of Glen Cove (NY) High School, where he did not allow an earned run in 69.0 innings
as a senior while also going 8-0 with three saves to earn conference MVP honors...Was an All-County selection as a junior and senior...Also played four
years of basketball in high school, where he earned All-Conference distinction as a junior and senior...Pitched three seasons (2003-05) at St. Johns
University, where he was named the 2005 Big East Pitcher-of-the-Year after going 3-2 with a school record 14 saves and a 1.68 ERA in 31 appearances
(all but one in relief) for the Red Storm...Was honored as a First-Team All Big East selection and Third-Team Louisville Slugger All-American...Led the
Big East with a team-best 31 appearances and ranked second in the conference with 10 saves as a sophomore in 2004.
2009
Began season on Pittsburgh's Opening Day roster...Pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in season debut on 4/7 at St. Louis...Made
four straight scoreless appearances to start the season before giving up four runs in 1.0ip on 4/19 vs. Atlanta...Was placed on 15-day disabled list on
4/25 (retro to 4/20) due to neck spasms...Threw on the side in Bradenton, FL, and experienced more neck pain...Tests on his neck on 5/28 revealed
inflammation of the nerve that controls the trapezius muscle and he did not pitch again during the season...Was assigned outright to Indianapolis on 10/20.
2008
Went 2-7 with three saves and a 6.22 ERA in 48 games between Boston (32 games) and Pittsburgh
(16 games)...Held opposing hitters to a .200 batting average (11-for-55) while pitching with the Pirates, but issued 20 walks in
his 15.2 innings of work (nine of those 20 players who walked eventually scored)...Began season with Pawtucket (Red Sox' AAA).
...Was charged with an earned run in just one of his 11 appearances with Pawtucket while also holding opposing batters to a
.107 batting average (6-for-56)...Picked up lone win with 2.0 scoreless innings on 4/9 vs. Lehigh Valley...Was scored upon in one
of his final nine Triple-A appearances (12.2ip)...Was recalled by Boston on 4/23; suffered the loss that night vs. Los Angeles Angels
of Anaheim after allowing one run in 1.2 innings of relief and was optioned back to Pawtucket...Made three more appearances
at Triple-A level before being recalled by Boston a second and final time on 5/5...Was scored upon in five of his nine games in
May...Was charged with three unearned runs and a blown save, but picked up first win in second game of a doubleheader on
5/17 vs. Milwaukee...Posted a 2.92 ERA (12.1ip/4er) in 13 appearances during the month of June...Did not retire any of the
three batters he faced and lost his third game on 7/2 at Tampa Bay...Was scored upon once in final seven games with Boston...Was
acquired by Pittsburgh on 7/31 as part of a three-team trade between Pittsburgh, Boston and the Los Angeles Dodgers...Suffered
loss in first appearance with Pirates on 8/3 at Chicago (NL) - tossed a scoreless inning, but issued two-out walk the following
inning with the score tied 5-5 and that runner scored on a two-run homer hit by Reed Johnson...Earned first save with Pittsburgh
on 8/8 at Philadelphia...Made four straight scoreless outings from 8/8-17 (4.0ip), dropping ERA with Pirates to 2.70...Walked
three batters, allowed one hit and four runs without retiring a batter on 8/26 vs. Chicago (NL)...Was optioned to Indianapolis
on 8/27...Made two appearances with Indians before being recalled by Pittsburgh on 9/2...Gave up three runs while retiring
one batter on 9/4 at Cincinnati and suffered second blown save...Made five straight scoreless appearances (5.0ip) and allowed
two hits from 9/7-14...Picked up lone victory in 7-6, 12-inning Bucco win vs. St. Louis on 9/13...Walked three batters and
recorded one out while losing a 4-3 decision in 12 innings vs. Los Angeles Dodgers on 9/18 - his final appearance...Was scored
upon once in his last six outings (5.1ip/1er/6bb/4so)...Went 1-for-3 in save situations with the Pirates and allowed one of his
two inherited runners to score.
2007
Ranked 5th on his Pawtucket club with 40 relief appearances despite not pitching
from August 2-23 with a right forearm contusion (Placed on disabled list on August 6 and activated
on August 22)...Went 3-1 with 3 saves and a 3.86 ERA, striking out 48 in 51.1 innings of
work...Did not allow an earned run in his final 9 appearances, a span of 15.1 innings, to lower his
ERA from 5.50 to 3.86...Made 5 appearances for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League,
going 0-1 with one save and a 5.40 ERA.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Had a 5.46 ERA (19 ER/31.1 IP) in 27 games before the All-Star break, but
rebounded to post a 1.35 ERA (3 ER/20.0 IP) in 13 appearances after the break...Held righthanders
to a .223 (23-103) batting average, but allowed a .324 (35-108) average to lefties...Worked at
least 1.0 inning in 35 of his 40 appearances, including 2.0 innings or more 9 times (threw seasonhigh
3.0 innings on July 21 vs. Louisville)...Had 23 strikeouts in his final 18.2 innings beginning
July 15, an average of 11.1 K's per 9 innings in that period...Had an 8.0-inning scoreless streak
from May 8-24...Struck out 5 batters in an outing twice, both in a span of 4 appearances, July 21
and July 30...Gave up only 2 homers all season, both coming on June 21 at Indianapolis (1.0 IP).
MORE 2007 HIGHLIGHTS: Suffered his lone loss in his 3rd appearance of the season, April 12 at
Durham...Earned the win in back-to-back outings at Toledo, July 24 and 27...Allowed just one
run in his first 5 outings of the season from April 6-21, a span of 8.1 innings...Ended that streak
by allowing 7 runs (3 earned) without recording an out on April 23 at Buffalo...Was the first of
6 appearances on the season in which he gave up 2 earned runs or more. Had surgery to correct
sleep apnea in November 2007.
2006
Had three stints with Boston in 2006 (June 6-9; June 20-Aug. 21; Sept. 5-end of
season), going 2-2 with eight holds and a 6.63 ERA (28 ER/38.0 IP) in 38 relief appearances...allowed only 16.7 percent (3 of 18) of his inherited runners to score, tied with Jonathan Papelbon (4 of 24) for the best percentage on the team...in the Minors, was 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in five games at
Double-A Portland and 1-2 with a 2.75 ERA in 14 games (4 starts) at Triple-A Pawtucket...at the
Major League level, had no record and a 13.50 ERA (1 ER/0.2 IP) in one appearance in his first
stint; was 1-1 with a 6.44 ERA (21 ER/29.1 IP) in 27 appearances in his second stint; and 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA (6 ER/8.0 IP) in 10 appearances in his third stint...had his roughest stretch of the season leading up to his second option to Pawtucket, posting an 11.32 ERA (13 ER/10.1 IP) in 10 games from July 29-Aug. 20 before being sent to Triple-A on Aug. 21...pitched scoreless ball in three straight outings (all 1.0-inning appearances) on three occasions with Boston: June 30-July 5, July 23-26 and Sept. 6-10.
WITH PAWTUCKET: Spent three portions of the season in Pawtucket (April 27-June 5; June 10-19;
Aug. 22-Sept. 4), going a combined 1-2 with a 2.75 ERA (11 ER/36.0 IP) in 14 games (4
starts)...did not allow a home run in 36.0 Triple-A innings...limited the opposition to a .238 batting average, including a .200 (13-for-65) mark by righties...struck out 26 and walked 19 in 36.0 innings, an average of 6.5 K's and 4.7 walks per 9 innings...all 4 of his starts came from May 15-June 2 leading up to his first big league call-up...went 0-2 despite a 2.30 ERA (4 ER/15.2 IP) in his four starting assignments.
WITH PORTLAND: Started the season in Portland, going 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA (1 ER/11.0 IP) in five relief appearances...began the year by pitching 10.0 scoreless innings for the Sea Dogs before allowing his first run on April 24...that was the first run he had surrendered in his Minor League career, a span of 22.2 innings over two seasons...also set a Sea Dogs franchise record with 20.1 consecutive
scoreless innings with the club dating to the 2005 season...worked at least 2.0 innings in each of his five outings with Portland, including 3.0 innings in his final appearance on April 24 at Altoona.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: At the Major League level, had an 8.69 ERA (19 ER/19.2 IP) in 21 outings
at Fenway Park and a 4.42 ERA (9 ER/18.1 IP) in 17 road games...had his most success when pitchingon back-to-back days, posting a 3.68 ERA (3 ER/7.1 IP) in the back end of those contests (7 games)...Major Leaguers hit Hansen at a .305 (46-for-151) clip, including a .344 (22-for-64) mark by lefties...did not allow a hit in five at-bats with the bases loaded, but opponents hit .333 (15-for-45) with men in scoring position and .318 (7-for-22) in those situations with two outs...30 of his 38 big-league games were of 1.0 inning or less...went 0-for-2 in save opportunities.
MORE 2006 HIGHLIGHTS: Earned his first career Major League win on June 26 vs. Philadelphia,
working 0.2 scoreless innings in Boston's 8-7 win...picked up his second victory on Sept. 12
at Baltimore (1 ER/0.2 IP)...suffered his first two Major League losses on Aug. 20 vs. New York (3 ER/1.0 IP) and Sept. 20 vs. Minnesota (4 ER/0.0 IP)...worked a season-high 2.0 innings in his second Major League game of the season on June 20 vs. Washington...struck out the side in the 8th inning in Boston's 5-2 loss on July 5 at Tampa Bay...the three strikeouts in the outing were a season high....gave up two homers in his final game before his second option to Pawtucket on Aug. 20 vs. New York (Jason Giambi and Jorge Posada)...allowed a season-high four runs without recording an out on Sept. 20 vs. Minnesota.
2005
Boston's 2nd pick in the first round (26th overall) in the 2005 draft, Hansen signed a major league contract and reached the big leagues in his first pro season...made 2 appearances for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast Red Sox before pitching 10 times in the regular season and 3 times in the Eastern League playoffs for
Double-A Portland...including his post-season outings, did not allow a run in the 15 minor league games (15.2 IP)...was recalled by Boston September 19 and recorded no record and a 6.00 ERA in 4 relief games, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and a walk in 3.0 innings...fanned 3.
ON THE FAST TRACK: The first player in Red Sox history to reach the majors the year he was drafted, he became the 3rd member of the 2005 draft class to reach the big leagues, following Braves righthander Joey Devine and
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.
FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING: Made his major league debut the night of his September
19 recall...entered the game at Tampa Bay in the bottom of the 5th, with the Red Sox
trailing 5-4...worked a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Toby Hall, the first batter he faced in the
majors...induced Damon Hollins to pop to shortstop before striking out Julio Lugo...in his
2nd outing, September 24 at Baltimore, allowed 4 hits, including a Melvin Mora 2-run homer in 0.2 innings...rebounded to not allow a run in 1.1 innings over his final 2 outings.
2005 IN THE MINORS: Held opponents to a .229 average (11-for-48) with one walk and
14 K's in 12.2 shutout regular season innings in the minors...made his professional debut
August 4 for the Gulf Coast Red Sox and earned a win against the Reds with a perfect
inning that featured 2 K's...after allowing 2 hits and fanning 2 in a 2.0-inning start 4 days
later, was promoted to Portland...with the North Division champion Sea Dogs, allowed 9
hits and no runs with a walk and 10 punchouts in 9.2 innings over 8 regular season relief
appearances before hurling 3.0 scoreless innings over 3 appearances in the
postseason...picked up his first professional save in his August 11 Double-A debut vs.
Norwich...allowed one hit and struck out one in 1.0 inning...worked more than an inning in
3 of his 8 Portland outings, including a 2.0-inning stint in game 2 of an August 16
doubleheader vs. Binghamton...after blanking New Hampshire for 1.1 innings August 26,
was shut down with mild arm fatigue...did not pitch again until September 11, when he
made the first of 3 scoreless post-season appearances...threw 2.0 innings over 2 appearances in the North Division playoffs against Trenton and 1.0 inning in Game 3 of the Eastern League Championship Series at Akron prior to his recall by the Red Sox.
