Dave Hansen (baseball)

Hansen was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1986 MLB draft out of John A. Rowland High School in California. He made his Major League debut for the Dodgers on September 16, 1990 against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out as a pinch hitter. His first career hit was in his first career start, in the last game of the season, October 3, against the San Diego Padres. He hit an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth inning off of Padres starter Eric Show. He remained with the Dodgers through the 1996 season, playing third base and first base but mostly appearing as a pinch hitter.

Hansen signed with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent prior to the 1997 season. In 90 games with the Cubs, he hit .311.

On April 10, 1997, he broke up a no-hitter at Wrigley Field that was being thrown by the Florida Marlins' Alex Fernandez with a one-out pinch hit single in the ninth inning. The Chicago Tribune called Hansen's hit a "wicked one-out one-hopper."

Hansen played with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan in 1998.

Hansen re-signed with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1999. In 2000, he set a Major League record with seven pinch-hit home runs.

He signed with the San Diego Padres prior to the 2003 season. After one season with the Padres, where he hit .244 in 110 games, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners (along with Wiki Gonzalez, Kevin Jarvis and minor leaguer Vince Faison) for Jeff Cirillo, Brian Sweeney and cash. He appeared in 57 games with the Mariners, hitting .282 before they traded him back to the Padres on July 30, 2004 for Jon Huber. He was signed by the Cubs as a free agent for 2005 but was released at the end of spring training and returned to the Mariners.

Hansen se retiró al final de la temporada 2005. Le dijo a la revista Baseball Digest que describe el bateo emergente no como una posición, ni como un rol, sino como "un estado mental".

En 2006 , Hansen ocupaba el sexto lugar histórico en hits de emergente en las Grandes Ligas de Béisbol con 138.