J. J. Hardy

James Jerry Hardy (born August 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball shortstop.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles.

Hardy suffered a dislocated shoulder and a torn labrum in 2004 in the minor leagues and sat out the year.

Although he got off to a very slow start, Hardy finished strong and ended the year with a .247 batting average, 9 home runs and 50 RBIs.

Hardy committed only 10 errors in the field, but also had the lowest range factor of all major league shortstops (3.76).

On July 18, the Brewers announced that Hardy would have season-ending surgery on his ankle, performed by team physician Dr. William Raasch.

He was selected to play as a reserve in the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held in San Francisco.

He had a 16-game hitting streak, which was broken on July 5 with a sacrifice bunt in order to aid the Brewers in defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates.

On November 6, 2009, Hardy was traded from the Brewers to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for outfielder Carlos Gómez.

On December 9, 2010, Hardy was traded to the Baltimore Orioles from the Twins, along with utility infielder Brendan Harris and $500,000, for minor league pitchers Brett Jacobson and Jim Hoey.

Hardy won his first Gold Glove in 2012 finishing with a .992 fielding percentage, 68 RBIs, 22 home runs, and a .238 batting average.

His teammates, third baseman Manny Machado and center fielder Adam Jones, also won 2013 Gold Glove Awards.

On April 12, Hardy homered twice in one game and drove in five runs in a 9–5 victory over the Boston Red Sox, which helped the Orioles improve to a franchise-best 7-0 record at the time.

He went 0-for-4 in a Wild Card Game loss to the AL East rival Toronto Blue Jays.

On April 12, he surpassed former teammate Matt Wieters on the Orioles all-time hit list and moved into 40th place.

On June 18, Hardy was struck on the wrist by a 94 mph fastball from Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn.

He assumed the role of bench player after the emergence of Tim Beckham, who the Orioles had traded for earlier in the season.

He won three Gold Glove awards, earned a Silver Slugger and made an All-Star Game appearance as a starter in 2013.

Hardy's brother, Logan, was with the U.S. Army's 75th Field Artillery Brigade, a unit among the first to Baghdad in March 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Hardy during his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2008.
J.J. Hardy batting for the Orioles
JJ Hardy rounds third base after hitting a solo home run in Game 1 of the 2014 American League Division Series .