Tommy Hanson ✝

Thomas J. Hanson Jr. (August 28, 1986 – November 9, 2015) was an American professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Hanson made his MLB debut with Atlanta on June 7, 2009 and played with the Braves through 2012. He pitched his final Major League season in 2013 with the Angels, who had acquired him in a trade.\n', ' Hanson was born on August 28, 1986, in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the second child and only son in his family. After moving to California at a very young age, Hanson attended Redlands East Valley High School in Redlands, California, where he played baseball under coach Steve Hernandez. Hanson played catcher as a freshman, and first base the next year. He was placed on the mound in his junior season, and committed to Sacramento State University as a senior. Hanson graduated in June 2004, instead electing to continue his post-secondary education at Riverside Community College, where he was coached by Dennis Rogers. He played for the Corvallis Knights in the West Coast League, an independent summer collegiate baseball league. In 2005, he was selected in the 22nd round (677th overall pick) by the Atlanta Braves as a draft-and-follow pick.\n', ' The following year, in 2006, Hanson began playing for the Danville Braves of the Appalachian League. In Danville, he began the season as the league\'s fourth-best prospect according to Baseball America. That season, Hanson ended up starting Game 2 of the Appalachian League Championship Series, finishing the season 4–1 with 56 strikeouts against nine walks.[self-published source] He also had a 2.09 earned run average (ERA) with a 0.99 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) ratio.\n', '