Corey Hart

[Michael Trzinski]

Jon Corey Hart was born in March 1982 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. After starring in both basketball and baseball at Greenwood High School, Hart signed a letter of intent to attend Western Kentucky University. A month later he was picked by the Brewers in the 11^th round of the 2000 MLB Amateur Draft. He elected to sign with the Brewers and began his pro career at Ogden (Utah) in the rookie Pioneer League. He moved steadily up the ladder the next five years, including playing in the Futures Game in 2002 at Miller Park.

The lanky (6-foot-6) Hart made his major league debut on May 25, 2004, and almost homered in his first trip to the plate, but his long drive to left field hooked foul into the second deck at Miller Park. He eventually struck out and was sent down after the game to make room for pitcher Chris Capuano.

Hart spent most of the 2004 and ’05 seasons at Triple-A before getting another sip of Starbucks in 2005, spending the last six weeks of the season in Milwaukee, including getting his first big league hit, a three-run homer in an 8-3 win over Cincinnati on August 14.

He played four games to start the season in Milwaukee in 2006, then was sent down for a month before being recalled to Milwaukee, where he finished the season. In 87 games, he slashed .283/.328/.468 over 237 at-bats.

Hart spent the next six years as a regular for the Brewers, playing mostly in right field before moving to first base in 2012 after Prince Fielder signed with the Detroit Tigers as a free agent before the season. Hart was an NL All-Star in 2008 and ’10 and earned down-ballot MVP votes in the latter season. He set career highs with 157 games, 164 hits, 45 doubles, and 23 steals in 2008. The following season, Hart missed all of August and one week in September due to an appendectomy.

He rebounded well in 2010, setting career highs with 91 runs scored (later tied in 2012), 31 home runs, and 102 RBI. Hart also posted a 130 OPS+, which he bested the following year with a 133 OPS+.

Hart missed the entire 2013 season after undergoing surgery on his right knee to repair a torn meniscus and other damage. After the season, the Brewers and Hart were unable to come to an agreement on a contract, and he instead signed a one-year deal with the Seattle Mariners. Hart started out slowly, batting only .209/.295/.353 in mid-May when he went on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He struggled upon his return and went on the disabled list in early August with a bruised right knee. He played sparingly in September and was DFA’d by Seattle after the season.

Just before Christmas 2014, the Pittsburgh Pirates signed Hart as a free agent. He went on the disabled list in late June with shoulder and knee problems. In his last two games in the majors Hart went 4-for-7 with a home run.   

He announced his retirement in 2017 and was honored by the Brewers, earning a plaque on Miller Park’s Wall of Honor.

Hart finished his nine-year Brewer career with 154 home runs, currently ranking 11^th on the Brewers all-time list. He is also ninth with 211 doubles and tied for sixth with 33 triples on the all-time Brewers list. Including two years with Seattle and Pittsburgh, Hart banged out 1,009 base hits, 221 doubles, and 162 home runs.

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