Carl Hanselman, Good Athlete - 2540

Carl Hanselman was his high school team's ace. And as such, was given all the tough games, his coach Gerald Hodgin told The Orlando Sentinel in May 1988.

Hanselman responded by throwing five no-hitters over his high school career.

"He has all the tools to be one of the best pitchers ever to come out of this area," Hodgin, the head coach at Florida's Merritt Island High School, told The Sentinel. "He's a good athlete with a super arm and he is a competitor that wants to win.''

Hanselman soon went directly from Merritt Island to the pros. He ultimately played professionally for eight seasons. He made AAA, but he never made the majors.

Hanselman's career began that June, taken by the Giants in the fourth round of the draft out of Merritt.

Hanselman started with the Giants at rookie Pocatello. In 12 outings, 11 starts, Hanselman went 1-8, with a 8.34 ERA.

His season got off to a poor start after a blister formed in his first game and gave up several runs on eight hits in his second, The Sentinel wrote.

''I was throwing the ball really good and really hard, but it's one of those things," Hanselman told The Sentinel. "They hit a lot of base hits to the right side and only three were hit hard, but they were all falling.''

Hanselman started 1989 at single-A Clinton, moving to short-season Everett mid-year. He had a 4.86 ERA on the year and a 3-15 record.

He returned to Clinton for 1990, improving his record to 9-10, with a 3.23 mark. His best years record-wise came in 1991 and 1992. He went 13-7 at high-A San Jose in 1991, then 14-9 between San Jose and AA Shreveport in 1992.

Hanselman made AAA Phoenix in 1993. In 21 outings, 13 starts, he went 2-6, with a 5.98 ERA. It was his final season in the Giants system.

For 1994, Hanselman moved to independent ball and Beaumont. He got 31 outings mostly in relief, iwth a 4.22 ERA. He also returned to affiliated ball for one more season, with the Phillies at AA Reading, ending his career.

• Orlando Sentinel, May 3, 1988: Merritt Island Pitcher's 5th No-hitter Worth Athlete Of The Week Honors
• Orlando Sentinel, July 6, 1988: Ex-Mustang Star Hanselman Will Have To Ride It Out in Pocatello For A While

1990 Minor League Tally
Players/Coaches Featured:1,904
Made the Majors: 877 - 46.1%
Never Made Majors: 1,027-53.9%-X
5+ Seasons in the Majors: 374
10+ Seasons in the Minors:218