Chris Hammond
Vestavia Hills Class of 1984
Hammond attended Gulf Coast Community College and UAB before being drafted in the sixth round of the major league baseball draft by the Cincinnati Reds in 1986. Hammond broke into the big leagues on July 16, 1990 with the Reds and went on to play for the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics and San Diego Padres before returning to the Reds and retiring from baseball in 2006.
In 2002, Hammond pitched 76 innings in 63 games while posting an 0.95 ERA for the Braves. Hammond became only the fourth pitcher in baseball history to post an ERA below 1.00 while pitching over a full season with a minimum of 70 innings. In 2003, while pitching for the Yankees, Hammond allowed the lowest percentage of inherited runners to score in the Yankees bullpen while posting a 2.86 ERA.
Hammond pitched in the 2003 World Series, throwing two innings without allowing an earned run. As a pitcher, Hammond was a good lefthanded hitter as shown by his career .202 batting average, .285 on-base percentage, and four career home runs, including one grand slam.