California Angels Hancock started playing baseball with Cupertino National Little League in
Cupertino,
California and was drafted by the
California Angels right out of high school but turned it down so he could play both football and baseball for
Brigham Young University (BYU). At BYU, he was a 3rd string quarterback who ended up getting his chance to play after the starter and 2nd string were injuries early on in the season. After he injured his
anterior cruciate ligament in the last game of the regular season, Hancock focused solely on baseball. After his sophomore year, Hancock was drafted by the Angels once again. Hancock played in the Minor leagues until his first Major League game on June 8, 1996. The next day, he became one of two
American League pitchers to get a hit during the 1996 season. The other AL pitcher to get a hit that year was
Roger Clemens on May 23.
San Diego Padres On August 13, 1997, the Angels traded Hancock, Stevenson Agosto, and a
player to be named later to the
San Diego Padres in exchange for
Rickey Henderson. The Padres acquired
George Arias to complete the trade. ==References==