Kevin Hart

Kevin Richard Hart (born December 29, 1982) is a former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs and Pittsburgh Pirates. As of , he is a Major League Professional Scout for the New York Yankees. Career Hart attended Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas and played collegiately at the University of Maryland before being selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round (319th pick) in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. On December 7, 2006, Hart was acquired by the Chicago Cubs as the player to be named later in a trade that had sent Freddie Bynum to the Orioles a day earlier. When rosters expanded, he made his major league debut on September 4, , after being called up from the Double-A Tennessee Smokies that same day. Hart's debut came under difficult circumstances, as he was summoned to relieve Will Ohman in the 8th inning of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers with the bases loaded and nobody out. After walking the first batter (former Cub Ramón Martínez) on 4 pitches to force in a run, Hart struck out Mark Sweeney, and Rafael Furcal hit into an inning-ending double play. Hart gave up one hit in his second inning of work while also striking out Jeff Kent and Andre Ethier, for a total of three strikeouts, one hit, and no runs in his two-inning Major League debut. Despite his inexperience, manager Lou Piniella showed a willingness to use Hart as the Cubs progressed through the stretch run of a pennant race, and he appeared in several close games in September. He was impressive enough during his limited time to be chosen as one of the 11 pitchers on the team's playoff roster. Hart made 8 appearances in September's stretch playoff run. He held a 0.82 ERA with 11 innings pitched, 13 strikeouts, and held batters to a .189 batting average.