# Denny Hocking > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Denny_Hocking > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Denny_Hocking.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Hocking > Source revision: 1335134742 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Dennis Lee "Denny" Hocking** (born April 2, 1970) is an American professional [baseball](/source/Baseball) [manager](/source/Manager_(baseball)) and former [utility player](/source/Utility_player_(baseball)). Hocking played for the [Minnesota Twins](/source/Minnesota_Twins) (1993–2003), [Colorado Rockies](/source/Colorado_Rockies) (2004), and [Kansas City Royals](/source/Kansas_City_Royals) (2005). He was a utility player for his entire career, playing every position except [pitcher](/source/Pitcher) and [catcher](/source/Catcher). Hocking's best year was when he had a .298 [batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball)) with 4 [home runs](/source/Home_run) and 47 [RBI](/source/Run_batted_in), a year where he also played in 10 or more games at 7 different positions. Hocking was never a regular starter at any one position, but played over 100 games at [shortstop](/source/Shortstop), [second base](/source/Second_base), [third base](/source/Third_base), and [right field](/source/Right_field). ## Professional career After playing at [El Camino College](/source/El_Camino_College) in [California](/source/California), he was drafted in the 52nd round of the [1989 Major League Baseball draft](/source/1989_Major_League_Baseball_draft) by the [Minnesota Twins](/source/Minnesota_Twins) and made his major league debut in . He played with the Minnesota Twins until when he went to the [Colorado Rockies](/source/Colorado_Rockies) as a [free agent](/source/Free_agent). When the Twins clinched the [2002 American League Division Series](/source/2002_American_League_Division_Series) against the heavily-favored [Oakland Athletics](/source/Oakland_Athletics), Hocking broke his hand in the ensuing celebration. Hocking caught the final out of Game 5 and players piled on top of him. A player he believed to be teammate [Jacque Jones](/source/Jacque_Jones) stepped on the middle finger of his right hand and split the nail in two places.[1] This injury forced Hocking to miss the entire [2002 American League Championship Series](/source/2002_American_League_Championship_Series). ## Managerial career In January 2010, Hocking was named hitting coach of the single-A [Frederick Keys](/source/Frederick_Keys), a [Baltimore Orioles](/source/Baltimore_Orioles) affiliate.[2] He was promoted to the AA [Bowie Baysox](/source/Bowie_Baysox) in 2012 as hitting coach. In December 2013, the [Los Angeles Angels](/source/Los_Angeles_Angels) announced that Hocking would be the manager of the [Inland Empire 66ers](/source/Inland_Empire_66ers) for the 2014 season.[3] The Inland Empire 66ers were the Class A – Advanced affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.[4] In 2016, Denny Hocking was working as the [Los Angeles Angels](/source/Los_Angeles_Angels) minor league infield coordinator.[5] In 2017, Hocking joined the [Seattle Mariners](/source/Seattle_Mariners) organization and worked as an outfield and baserunning coach with the Triple-A [Tacoma Rainiers](/source/Tacoma_Rainiers). Hocking was named the 56th manager for the [Clinton LumberKings](/source/Clinton_LumberKings) for the 2018 season[6] and managed the [West Virginia Power](/source/West_Virginia_Power) in 2019. In 2021, he was the manager for 2021 with the [Modesto Nuts](/source/Modesto_Nuts). In January 2022, Hocking was named as the manager of the 18U [United States national baseball team](/source/United_States_national_baseball_team).[7] ## Broadcast career Hocking served as an analyst and reporter for [MLB.com](/source/MLB.com) and teamed with [Rob Dibble](/source/Rob_Dibble) on [Fox Sports Radio](/source/Fox_Sports_Radio).[8] in 2008. He co-hosted with [Derrick Deese](/source/Derrick_Deese) on Saturdays from 5pm to 8pm Pacific Time. ## Personal life In February 1987, Hocking hit a full-court shot right before halftime in a basketball game for West Torrance High, his hometown team.[citation needed] In 2000, Hocking's wife Venetta gave birth to [fraternal twins](/source/Twin), Iliana and [Penelope](/source/Penelope_Hocking), making him the first player in Twins franchise history to become the father of a set of twins.[9] In 2023, the twins were the first sisters both selected in a [National Women's Soccer League draft](/source/NWSL_Draft).[10] ## References 1. ["Twins' infielder Hocking out of ALCS"](https://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/twins-infielder-hocking-out-of-alcs-1.329153). *CBC.sports*. 2002-10-08. Retrieved 2008-11-18. 1. Len Berman (February 1987). [*Spanning the World*](https://web.archive.org/web/20160429102605/https://www.youtube.com/v/zhXDdMt9Igg%26color1=0xb1b1b1%26color2=0xcfcfcf%26hl=en%26feature=player_embedded%26fs=1). Archived from [the original](https://www.youtube.com/v/zhXDdMt9Igg%26color1%3D0xb1b1b1%26color2%3D0xcfcfcf%26hl%3Den%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded%26fs%3D1) on 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-11-25. 1. ["Angels Announce 2014 66ers Coaching Staff"](https://www.milb.com/news/gcs-66089358). Retrieved 2013-12-19. 1. ["2014 Inland Empire 66ers Baseball Reference Page"](https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=a315714e). Retrieved 2014-07-25. 1. Moura, Pedro (March 2, 2016). ["The shine may be off Cuban defector Roberto Baldoquin after a rough 2015, but Angels still believe in him"](https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/la-sp-angels-20160302-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved April 15, 2023. 1. ["HOME"](https://web.archive.org/web/20180202071604/https://www.milb.com/lumberkings/news/lumberkings-2018-coaching-staff/c-264577982). Archived from [the original](https://www.milb.com/lumberkings/news/lumberkings-2018-coaching-staff/c-264577982) on February 2, 2018. 1. ["Denny Hocking Named 2022 18U National Team Manager"](https://www.usabaseball.com/news/topic/general/denny-hocking-named-2022-18u-national-team-manager). USA Baseball. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 21 March 2022. 1. ["Sports Radio 910 schedule"](https://web.archive.org/web/20120218212751/http://www.sportsradio910.com/pages/weekend.html). Archived from [the original](http://www.sportsradio910.com/pages/weekend.html) on February 18, 2012. Retrieved 2008-11-18. 1. Henderson, Martin (June 27, 2000). ["Hocking's Versatility Has Led to Longevity"](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jun-27-sp-45464-story.html). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved April 15, 2023. 1. Stewart, Scott (January 26, 2023). ["Hocking Sisters Make NWSL Draft History"](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/hocking-sisters-make-nwsl-draft-history). [National Women's Soccer League](/source/National_Women's_Soccer_League). Retrieved April 15, 2023. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Denny Hocking](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Hocking) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denny_Hocking?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.