John Hester

On August 28, 2009, John Hester made his major-league debut in a way kids can only dream of, hitting a home run in his first major-league at-bat. Hester became, according to MLB.com, the 102nd player to start his batting career that way.1 But despite the dreamlike quality of his debut, his first home run was a culmination of years of hard work and dedication to a game he loved. His first at-bat was only part of a 10-year baseball odyssey that had it shares of ups and downs but which, Hester said, left him with no regrets, winding up, in his view, “exactly the way it was supposed to.”2

John Graves Hester was born on September 14, 1983, in Atlanta, the son of John Hester, a salesman, and Jo Hester, a schoolteacher who later became a photographer. He had two older sisters.3 Hester attended Marist School, a private Catholic high school where he starred in football and baseball. While there was some interest from college football recruiters, baseball was his true love.4

Hester began playing baseball when he was seven years old. Originally a first baseman, he volunteered to be the catcher on a day when the team’s regular catcher did not show up, and he found that he loved it. He “loved being involved” and he “loved getting dirty.” While there was a little back and forth between first base and catching, for all intents and purposes by the end of that season he was a catcher, and he would be one until the end of this professional career. As the catcher at Marist, he earned all-state honors in 2002, after a season in which the right-handed-hitting backstop hit .400 with 8 home runs and 50 runs batted in. He then headed to Stanford University in California, where he continued his baseball career while pursuing a degree in economics.5 

At Stanford, Hester played sparingly in his freshman and sophomore seasons, although he did have the unwanted distinction as a freshman of grounding to third for the final out as Rice defeated Stanford to win the College World Series in June 2003.6 But for the most part, Hester rode the bench his first two years at Stanford. He watched and learned while Donny Lucy, who later played in parts of three seasons for the Chicago White Sox, handled most of the Cardinals’ catching chores.7 However, in 2005 Hester assumed the role of starting catcher when Lucy, who subsequently graduated, left school after being drafted by the White Sox, starting and playing every inning in 58 of the team’s 59 games on a Stanford team that included future major leaguers Jed Lowrie and Greg Reynolds.8 As a junior Hester hit .282 with a .358 on-base percentage and a .414 slugging average. He hit five home runs and had 41 RBIs. He also distinguished himself behind the plate with a .991 fielding average, while allowing only four passed balls, tied for the fewest among those who qualified in the Pac-10. He threw out just under 29 percent of would-be basestealers. In the postseason, Hester hit .278 with a stolen base in the NCAA Waco Regional and earned All-Regional honors. At season’s end he was named the co-winner of Stanford’s Most Improved Player Award and was an honorable mention All-Pac-10. He was also an honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic choice, validating his belief that Stanford offered him the best combination of athletics and academics.9  

At the end of his junior year at Stanford, Hester was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 33rd round of the 2005 amateur draft. But after heading off to Alaska to play summer ball, he never heard from the Red Sox.10 Their reaction made Hester realize that for all his years in the game and the dreams he had long harbored, the “best thing for [him] was to play as a senior and then graduate.”11 And that he did. While working toward his degree in economics, he turned in another stellar performance behind the plate for the Cardinals. While his offensive numbers dropped off a little from the previous season, he remained a central cog on a Stanford team that exceeded expectations by defeating Texas in the Austin Regional.12 Indeed, Hester’s grand slam in the second game of the tourney was a key to the victory. While the team’s season ended with losses to Oregon State, Hester had a memorable season and collegiate career, one that was capped by his selection by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 13th round of the 2006 draft.13  

With his Stanford degree in hand, Hester began his professional career after signing a contract with Arizona on June 15, 2006. Assigned to Missoula (Montana), the Diamondbacks’ entry in the Rookie-level Pioneer League, the young catcher hit .271 in 56 games. He had 41 RBIs and scored 36 runs; 26 of his 52 hits went for extra bases. He boasted a .997 fielding average, had seven passed balls, and threw out 22 percent of the runners who attempted to steal on him.  

Hester spent the 2007 season with the Visalia (California) Rawhide of the Class-A California League. The 6-foot-4 backstop batted .263 in 79 games with 43 RBIs. His fielding average dropped slightly, as he committed a career high 10 errors while allowing nine passed balls. He threw out 35 percent of those who attempted to steal.

In 2008, Hester was promoted to the Mobile (Alabama) BayBears of the Double-A Southern League. As the team’s primary catcher, he played in 92 games, hitting .268 with 49 RBIs and 11 home runs. He continued to develop his skills behind the plate, raising his fielding average and reducing the number of passed balls, while throwing out 30 percent of would-be basestealers. After a short stint with the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League, Hester started the 2009 season on the Triple-A Reno Aces.  

With the majors within reach, Hester turned in a fine performance with the Aces, hitting .328 with 66 RBIs and 61 runs scored in 92 games. His effort earned him an unexpectedly early promotion when on August 27 he was called up by the Diamondbacks.14 Accompanied by his girlfriend (later his wife), Kristina, he headed to Phoenix.15

Arriving in time for the Friday, August 28, game against the Houston Astros, Hester was told he would start behind the plate in Sunday’s game, but that he would get a chance to pinch-hit that night. With the team tired from the road trip that ended with a night game, which did not allow for their customary early morning return to Arizona, manager A.J. Hinch told Hester he planned to have him pinch-hit for starting pitcher Max Scherzer when the hard-throwing right-hander reached his pitch limit.16 Hester’s moment came in the bottom of the sixth. 

With the Diamondbacks leading 11-6 and Scherzer having given up five earned runs while throwing 107 pitches, Hester got the nod from the skipper. Before he got his chance, the Diamondbacks scored another run when Miguel Montero hit a home run off Wilton López, a rookie who was also making his major-league debut. After Montero’s homer, López  got Gerardo Parra to fly to center walked Brandon Allen, and struck out Álex Romero. That brought Hester, hitting for Scherzer, to the plate with two outs.

In the matchup of two players both making their major-league debuts, Hester came out ahead. He hit López’s 2-and-2 delivery 420 feet over the center-field wall to become the 101st player to homer in his first major-league at-bat. For Hester it was a dream come true. Looking back, he said, “[A]s soon as I hit it I knew it was going to go out.” His first reaction was “no way.” It was, he recalled, “so surreal … you work your entire life for this moment and it happens.” He added there were “no words to describe it,” and it was “such a fun moment.” Contributing to the fun were his teammates’ excited reactions. They enthusiastically applauded their new teammate and encouraged him to take a curtain call before the cheering crowd. Hester’s good fortune on that memorable night also included his mother arriving in Phoenix in time to witness the big event, and the home-run ball caroming back onto the field and subsequently being given to the excited rookie who hit it.17

Hester unsurprisingly was thrilled with the way his debut went, commenting, “To have a start like this, it’s something I could only have wished for, and it came true.”18 But his first major-league at-bat was only the beginning. He played in 14 more games over the rest of the 2009 season. He finished with a batting average of .250. His first-at-bat home run was his only homer that year, but he drove in two more runs and also counted two doubles among his seven hits. While almost half of his game appearances were as a pinch-hitter, Hester caught in eight games, six of which he started. Despite the small sample size, by throwing out two of the eight runners who attempted to steal, and allowing no passed balls, the 25-year-old Hester gave every indication he could be a big-league catcher.

Diamondbacks manager Hinch offered early praise, observing that Hester was “very solid behind the plate, a very bright guy who knows how to call games. He’s handled the role which is a difficult role pretty well. … I think he handles the staff well.”19 For Hester it was a big learning experience, and he said he tried to absorb as much as he could “from pretty much whoever’s willing to give it to [him].”20

Having gotten a taste of the big leagues, Hester was ready for more when he reported to spring training in February 2010. His performance during his late-season call-up was cause for optimism, but when the Diamondbacks broke from spring training, Hester was sent back to Reno. The team decided to go with Montero, who had been the primary backstop in 2009, and Chris Snyder, who was eventually sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trading deadline. Hester was not that surprised and he used his playing time with the Aces to further hone his skills. He ended up playing in 37 games. He hit .370 with 51 hits, 23 of them for extra bases. He drove in 29 runs and did a solid job behind the plate.

Before long Hester got a second shot at the big leagues when he was called up by the Diamondbacks in April, making his first appearance on April 11. He ultimately played in 38 games for a team that finished 65-97, having fired Hinch in midseason before turning to Kirk Gibson with little discernible change. Hester’s season in some respects mirrored the team’s. Hitting .211, he had 20 hits, adding two home runs to the auspicious debut blast. 

Seeking to catch on with the Diamondbacks for good, over the winter of 2010-2011, Hester played in 10 games for the Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Republic Winter League. He hit .265, but his nine hits were matched by nine strikeouts. The start of the 2011 season saw Hester again in Reno. He hit .263 in 10 games before becoming the “player to be named later” in a trade the Diamondbacks had made with the Baltimore Orioles before the season.

That transaction represented another chapter in the continuing education the Stanford-educated Hester received in professional baseball. In looking back, he recalled how the call-ups and resulting spring hopes translated to only another season in Triple A. He “recognize[d] how easy it was to view players as assets.” He came to understand the precarious nature of his own baseball situation. Years later, he recalled that when he was traded to the Orioles, he saw it as a “new start,” but while he was excited about the opportunity, it was still “jarring.” 

Hester continued working to establish himself as solid backup major-league catcher, but after his career was over, he thought back to the time he was the proverbial “player who was named later.” He ruefully observed that with the deal he “had checked almost every box on the transaction sheet.” But he also acknowledged that he still got to “experience it all.” 

The Orioles sent Hester to the Norfolk Tides of the Triple-A International League. He played in 82 games for Norfolk, batting .251, but unlike the previous two years, when September rolled around, there was no call-up to the majors.   

Hester started the 2012 season back with the Tides, but on April 12 he was released. He was not unemployed for long. While driving from Norfolk back home to Phoenix, he got a call from the Los Angeles Angels. Looking for catching insurance, the Angels signed him on April 22.21 Going to the Angels was, Hester said, a very “lucky” move. His experience with the Angels “was great” from the outset, as they “made [him] feel a part of the organization.” 

The Angels assigned Hester to the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees, where he played in 26 games and hit .217. But as the Angels’ need for catching depth became evident, Hester was called up. The move proved to be fortuitous, for not long after, starting catcher Chris Iannetta broke his wrist. Hester helped fill the gap, appearing in 39 games, 27 of which he started. He hit only .212, however, as the Angels finished the season with a record of 89-73.

Reflective of the roller-coaster his baseball life had become, Hester began the 2013 season back in Salt Lake City. While he got another late-season call-up after hitting .237 for the Bees, September 16, 2013, marked his final major-league appearance. He pinch-hit in the eighth inning of an Angels’ 12-1 blowout of the Oakland A’s and drew a walk. He caught the bottom of the ninth for his last major-league stint behind the plate.

The 2014 season saw Hester again with the Salt Lake Bees. He appeared in 71 games, starting in 65, and batted .261, his best minor-league season average since his effort with Reno in 2009. But unlike the season preceding his magical first-at-bat homer, when the 2014 minor-league season ended, Hester was not recalled by the Angels. On September 30 the 31-year-old catcher was released.

Again he was not without a team for long. The Philadelphia Phillies, looking for depth at catcher, signed Hester to a minor-league deal with a spring-training invitation.22 

Unhappily for Hester, while in spring training he tore the medial meniscus in his left knee, and the required surgery left him sidelined for a crucial six weeks.23 While, in his own words, he “bounced back quickly” from the surgery, he missed most of spring training, losing the opportunity to truly compete for a roster spot. Instead, after appearing in nine games with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and a single appearance with Double-A Reading, on June 3, 2015, John Hester was released by the Phillies.

Notwithstanding the Phillies’ decision, Hester recovered from the injury and still had the option of trying to sign with another team. He would most likely return to the minors and have to work his way back to the big leagues. Adding to his decision-making process was that his wife, Kristina, whom Hester married in 2013, and was 8½ months pregnant with their first child. Although it was a challenging time, he said his decision was not all that hard to make. The situation was very different from when he was released by the Orioles and signed by the Angels. That time, he recalled, he “was not ready for my career to end, I was not ready to stop playing.” But after that first experience, he had come to accept that it was all “part of the game,” and he was “not going to play forever.” Hester had “scratched the itch” and had the satisfaction of achieving his dream of being a big-league baseball player. He walked away from the game he loved after playing professional baseball for 10 seasons. Hester said he “did not regret a thing,” and he believed that it all went “exactly the way it was supposed to.” Looking back, he said, “I did not want to bounce around or play Triple A just to have a job.”

But with a baby on the way, he did not rule out being involved in baseball in another capacity. After talking with veterans and front-office types who cautioned that it could be hard to reconnect with the game after being away, Hester took a job as a scout for the Seattle Mariners.24 At the same time, he also looked ahead and earned his license as an investment adviser.25 After three years as a baseball scout, a job that often kept him on the road and away from his growing family (a second daughter was born in 2017), Hester left baseball behind – at least directly. He joined Pacific Capital Resource Group in Scottsdale, Arizona, as a financial adviser.26 

John worked for Pacific Capital until the fall of 2021, when he joined the Baseball Division of BIP Wealth, one of the Southeast’s leading wealth-management firms, of which he was a one-time client. Based in Scottsdale, Hester as of 2024 worked with draft-eligible, current, and retired baseball players and their families. BIP’s Baseball Division includes other former players who, like Hester, can bring their own experience to the process.27 Hester said that “as a former player I have walked in their shoes and that helps build trust.” Some of the agents he deals with are people he knows from his playing days, so his baseball background complements his financial expertise and experience.28

Meanwhile, although he no longer has to endure the travel burdens of professional baseball, Hester stayed involved with sports and fatherhood. His older girls are involved in swimming and volleyball. A third daughter was born in December 2023.29

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Baseball-Almanac.com.

Photo credit: John Hester, Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 Ed Eagle, “Players with Home Run in First At Bat,” MLB.com, https://www.mlb.com/news/home-run-in-first-at-bat-c265623820.

2 Author telephone interview with John Hester, March 7, 2024. Unless otherwise indicated, all direct

quotations attributed to Hester come from this interview.

3 Hester interview.

4 Hester interview.

5 John Hester, 2005 Baseball Roster, Stanford University Athletics, https://gostanford.com/sports/baseball/roster/john-hester/7329.

6 Pat Borzi, “With First Trophy in Hand, Rice Starts Quest for More,” New York Times, June 25, 2003.

7 Hester interview.

8 DBacksEurope, “Your Random D-Back: John Hester,” AZ Snake Pit, May 18, 2023, https://www.azsnakepit.com/2023/5/18/23727508/your-random-d-back-john-hester.

9 Hester, 2005 Baseball Roster.

10 Mark Whicker, “Hester Ends Up Being Angels’ Catch of the Day,” Orange County Register (Orange, California), May 12, 2012, https://www.ocregister.com/2012/05/12/hester-ends-up-being-angels-catch-of-the-day/.

11 Whicker.

12 DBacksEurope, “Your Random D-Back: John Hester.”

13 Associated Press, “Hester’s Grand Slam Gives Stanford Edge Over Texas,” ESPN, June 4, 2006, https://www.espn.com/college-sports/news/story?id=2469723.

14 Hester interview.

15 Hester interview.

16 Hester interview.

17 “Your Random D-Back: John Hester; Hester interview; Bob McManaman, “View from the Press Box,” Arizona Republic (Phoenix), August 29, 2009.

18 Bob McManaman, “D-Backs bust out bats, rout Astros,” Arizona Republic, August 29, 2009. ester Homers in First MLB At-Bat as D-Backs Roll.”

19 Jim Gintonio, “Hester Feeling ‘More Comfortable,” Arizona Republic, September 9, 2009.

20 Gintonio.

21 Whicker.

22 “Report: Phillies to Sign Catcher John Hester,” Sports Talk Philly, October 23, 2014, https://www.sportstalkphilly.com/news/report-phillies-to-sign-catcher-john-hester.

23 Shawn Krest, “Phillies’ John Hester Out Six Weeks After Knee Surgery,” CBS Sports, March 10, 2015, https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/phillies-john-hester-out-six-weeks-after-knee-surgery/.

24 Hester interview.

25 DBacksEurope, “Your Random D-Back: John Hester.”

26 Hester interview; “John Hester Joins BIP Wealth’s Baseball Division,” PR Newswire, October 12, 2021, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/john-hester-joins-bip-wealths-baseball-division-301397245.html.

27 “John Hester Joins BIP Wealth’s Baseball Division.”

28 Hester interview.

29 Hester interview; “John Hester, CFP,” BIP Wealth, https://bipwealth.com/team/john-hester-cfp/.