The uncommonly tall (6'3") shortstop missed the 1957 season with a slipped disc,
and went 0-for-19 in his 1958 Orioles debut. He returned to Baltimore in 1960, and
his career-high 22 HR and 86 RBI won him AL Rookie of the Year honors. He led AL
shortstops in double plays in 1961, spent six months of 1962 in the Marines due to
the Cuban Missile Crisis, re-injured his back, and was traded to the White Sox in
a January 1963 deal for
Luis Aparicio. Hansen led the league twice more in double
plays and four times in assists. On August 29, 1965 he tied an AL record with 18
chances in the first game of a doubleheader, and added 10 more in the second for
a total of 28, setting another record. Out again with back problems in 1966, he was
swapped to the Senators in a 1968 deal for
Tim Cullen. Hansen turned the majors'
first unassisted triple play in 41 years on July 30, 1968 against the Indians. He
was then shipped back to the White Sox for Cullen, making them the only two players
to be traded for one another twice in the same season. Hansen finished his career
as a utility man, and became a coach and minor league manager.
(MC)
Ron Hansen
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