Hansen

PAWTUCKET — Craig Hansen’s career has been anything but normal.

The 24-year-old hard-throwing right-hander, and first-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2005, just began his fourth professional season. Despite spending the majority of it in the minors, the once-promising career appears to have been reborn this season.

Hansen impressed Red Sox management during spring training to a point where Terry Francona called him this year’s Manny Delcarmen. Hansen was sharp during his two scoreless innings of work with one walk and three strikeouts against the Indianapolis Indians Thursday night at McCoy, which Johnson believes was a true sign of things to come for Hansen this season.

“Craig Hansen is in the natural progression of development,” said PawSox manager Ron Johnson before last night’s game with Indianapolis was postponed. “If you look back to late last year, he’s been throwing the ball well. He’s getting more and more consistent every time he goes out and takes the mound.

“I like the way he’s talking about his outing during and afterwards,” added Johnson. “Everything is going in the right direction. It’s maturity. It’s development. This young man is getting put in a good situation where he’s getting an opportunity to develop in the proper way.”

That’s not exactly how his professional career began.

The 6-foot-6, 230-pound New York native was drafted out of St. John’s and became the first player in Red Sox history to reach the majors in his first pro season. There was so much hype and anticipation surrounding his career as he was expected to be the closer of the future for the Red Sox. Fortunately for the club, that role is now taken by Jonathan Papelbon.

Papelbon’s success has allowed Hansen to take a more normal progression with his development. It appears his on the brink to success.

There were some questions surrounding his future the last couple of summers. It’s clear he has the ability with a 95-mph fastball and a sometimes nasty slider. It was just a matter of him maturing on and off the field.

Hansen believes the offseason surgery he had to repair a deviated septum has allowed him to get a decent night’s sleep. He said he was always tired and waking up late in previous seasons, which would make his workouts arduous.

“I feel a huge difference,” he said. “My body’s able to recover a lot quicker and I’m able to work out without my legs feeling heavy. It’s not something I want to use as an excuse. I don’t want that to be the reason why I wasn’t doing well. The reason I wasn’t doing well is because my mechanics were changed.”

Hansen said his mechanics during his first three pro seasons were different than what he was used to during his successful collegiate career. Until recently, he hadn’t been comfortable on the mound since turning pro following his junior year at St. John’s. He decided to go back to what made him successful.

“I’m just going to go back to how I know how to pitch,” he said. “If I fail, I fail. At least I can say I failed on my own terms as opposed to taking a little something from this person, a bit from this person, putting it all in a pot and mixing it together.”

It came to a point where his college coach called and asked Hansen why he was throwing differently. But because he was a rookie, Hansen thought it best to keep his mouth shut and just do what he was told.

The people he questioned are no longer in the organization, so he feels like he’s beginning with a new slate. During this past spring training he said he’s watched a ton of video and looked at a bunch of pictures from his college days in order to bring his confidence and ability.

His repertoire includes a plus-fastball, slider and changeup, which were working to perfection Thursday night at McCoy Stadium.

Last season when both Hansen and Delcarmen were struggling Johnson called both into his office and reprimanded them for issues on and off the field.

Prior to the PawSox last game in September he was told he wouldn’t receive a call-up to the majors. Hansen then gave away almost everything in his locker at McCoy Stadium to fans hanging over the railing about the PawSox dugout as a goodwill gesture.

He says he’s a changed man this season and the Red Sox believe it.

jmcdonald@projo.com