BIOGRAPHY
Ian Happ was born August 12, 1994, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is a center fielder in the MLB.
Happ was considered one of the top prospects for the 2015 Major League Baseball draft. The Chicago Cubs selected him in the first round, with the ninth overall selection. Happ became the 50th Bearcat drafted in Cincinnati history; 2008 picks Josh Harrison (6th round) and Tony Campana (13th round) also both played for Cincinnati and were drafted by the Cubs, and former Bearcat and MLB 3-time All-Star Kevin Youkilis is the Cubs Scouting and Player Development consultant.
Happ began the 2017 season with the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. The Cubs promoted Happ to the major leagues on May 13. In 26 games for Iowa prior his promotion, he was batting .298 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs. He made his debut the same day he was called up, and hit a 413-foot home run off of Carlos Martínez of the St. Louis Cardinals for his first career MLB hit. In a June 13 game at Citi Field against the New York Mets, Happ became the fifth player in MLB history to hit a grand slam and strike out four times in the same game. After Happ's 10th home run of the season, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said, "When he hits it, it goes quickly." Happ hit his 20th home run on August 30 against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Iván Nova. He hit his 23rd on September 28 and his 24th the following day which was the second-most for a rookie switch-hitter in National League history. He was third among NL rookies with 67 RBIs. Happ spent the remainder of the 2017 season with the Cubs after his June 13 promotion, and in 115 games, he slashed .253/.328/.514 with 24 home runs and 68 RBIs.
In 2021, Happ hit .226/.323/.434 in 148 games for the Cubs. He led the team with 66 RBIs and set career highs with 105 hits, 25 home runs, 63 runs scored, and 9 stolen bases.
In 2022, Happ finished the season with a career-high 158 games played, hitting .271/.342/.440 with 17 home runs, 72 RBIs, 72 runs, and 42 doubles. He made his first All-Star game and on defense won a Gold Glove Award in left field.
