By Brian Kopycinski
In baseball, most journeymen are forgotten. Some, however, become legends in their own right. While Adam Hyzdu never fully lived up to the expectations that come with being a first-round pick, he still carved out an accomplished career at both the major and minor league levels. Best remembered for his time with the Altoona Curve, Hyzdu played nearly two decades of professional baseball, spending parts of seven seasons in the majors. Along the way, he earned Eastern League MVP honors, was named National League Player of the Week with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and won a World Series ring with the Boston Red Sox.
Hyzdu first made a name for himself at Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School, where he set records in both baseball and football, many of which still stand. Most notably, he hit 22 home runs, breaking a school record previously held by Ken Griffey Jr. He was also a standout quarterback and heavily recruited on the football field. While he initially committed to Mississippi State to play baseball, he instead turned professional after being selected by the San Francisco Giants in the first round, 15th overall, of the 1990 MLB Draft. He debuted that same year at age 18 with the Everett Giants in the Northwest League.
He reached the Giants’ Texas League affiliate in Shreveport in 1993, hitting 19 home runs between A+ and Double-A. After four years in the organization, Hyzdu was claimed by his hometown Cincinnati Reds in the 1993 Rule 5 Draft. He spent two seasons in the Reds’ system, playing well for Chattanooga in 1995 before being released ahead of the 1996 season. He then signed with Boston and delivered a breakout campaign with the Double-A Trenton Thunder, batting .337 with 25 home runs and 80 RBIs while leading the club in most offensive categories. He was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket in 1997 and posted another strong 20-plus home run season before electing free agency.
In 1998, Hyzdu appeared in 34 games for the Tucson Sidewinders in the Diamondbacks’ system, hitting .340 before being loaned to the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. After his time in Mexico, he returned briefly to Pawtucket in 1999, appearing in just a dozen games before once again entering free agency. Soon after, he joined the Pittsburgh Pirates organization after being recruited by GM Cam Bonifay to help anchor the club’s newly established Altoona Curve affiliate in the Eastern League.
In the franchise’s earliest days, Hyzdu quickly became its defining player. In his first season with the Curve, he hit .316 with 24 home runs, 76 RBIs, and a 1.006 OPS. Altoona finished 67–73 under manager Marty Brown in its inaugural season, but Hyzdu gave the young franchise an identity from the start. His performance earned a late-season promotion to Triple-A Nashville, where he hit five home runs in just 14 games.
To the surprise of many, Hyzdu returned to Altoona to open the 2000 season, and his production only climbed. He launched 31 home runs, drove in 106 runs, and hit .290 while leading the Curve to a 74–68 record. For the second straight year, he was named team MVP and also earned Eastern League MVP honors. His impact was so significant that Altoona retired his No. 16 jersey during a fireworks ceremony following the final game of the season on September 4.
After Altoona’s season ended, Hyzdu bypassed Triple-A entirely and was promoted directly to the majors, making his debut in Pittsburgh that September. He collected a hit in his first big league at-bat on the 8th against Cincinnati and soon after delivered his first home run, a pinch-hit, go-ahead blast in extra innings over Philadelphia on the 20th.
His major league career followed a familiar pattern: brief call-ups, strong flashes, and extended stretches in a limited role. While his 2001 season with Pittsburgh was quiet, he broke through in the summer of 2002.
Over an eight-game stretch in July, he went 15-for-30 with four home runs and 12 RBIs. On July 19, he hit his first career grand slam off Bud Smith while collecting three hits. The next day, he produced arguably the best game of his career, two three-run homers and two singles in a 15–6 Pirates win, driving in seven runs.
The surge earned him National League Player of the Week honors for July 15–21. He added another grand slam on August 23 at Miller Park as Pittsburgh defeated Milwaukee 6–3. In total, he appeared in 59 games in 2002, hitting 11 home runs with 34 RBIs while batting .234 with an .808 OPS.
The 2003 season proved difficult. Hyzdu opened the year with the Pirates but struggled in a part-time role, batting .206 with one home run in 76 plate appearances before being demoted to Nashville in August. Although he finished the year strongly in Triple-A, it marked the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh.
He returned to Boston in 2004 via Pawtucket and hit .301 with 29 home runs and 79 RBIs before a September call-up as the Red Sox chased the AL East title. He appeared in 17 games and hit .300, though he was left off the postseason roster. Still, he was part of the championship team that broke the Curse of the Bambino and won the World Series.
Hyzdu was traded to San Diego in March 2005 and later returned to Boston midseason. He again earned a late call-up as the Red Sox secured a Wild Card berth, though they were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the postseason. He was released soon after.
In 2006, he joined the Texas Rangers organization, spending most of the year in Triple-A Oklahoma City. He concluded his professional career in 2007 with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Japan, who advanced to the Pacific League Semifinals.
Across seven major league seasons, Hyzdu appeared in 221 games. His big league numbers may not stand out at first glance, but they only tell part of the story. In the minors, particularly in Altoona, he was one of the most productive hitters of his era, finishing with 1,642 hits, 273 home runs, and 1,010 RBIs across 1,703 games while batting .276.
More than two decades after his final season in Altoona, Hyzdu remains the standard by which every Curve player is measured. His popularity has endured long after his playing days ended, and both the city and organization have welcomed him back on multiple occasions. Today, he runs his late father-in-law’s RV dealership, RVAZ Corral, in Mesa, Arizona. He and his wife, Julie, together since their teenage years, have three children: Zac, Alexa, and Luke. Both sons went on to play baseball at the collegiate level.