Josh Willingham
| Josh Willingham | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Minnesota Twins – No. 16 | |
| Left fielder | |
| Born: February 17, 1979 Florence, Alabama |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| July 6, 2004 for the Florida Marlins | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) |
|
| Batting average | .262 |
| Home runs | 132 |
| Runs batted in | 434 |
| Teams | |
|
|
Joshua David Willingham (born February 17, 1979 in Florence, Alabama) is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the Minnesota Twins. He has played for the Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals and Oakland Athletics.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
He was born in Florence, Alabama where he played high school baseball and basketball at Mars Hill Bible School. Willingham attended college at the University of North Alabama. He played shortstop and was a two-time All-Gulf South Conference selection (1999, 2000) and a 2-time American Baseball Coaches Association All American. He is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, Eta Rho Chapter.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Florida Marlins
Willingham was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 17th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his MLB debut on July 6, 2004 against the Pittsburgh Pirates but did not garner regular playing time until 2006.
After struggling to find a fielding position for Willingham, as his advanced hitting abilities did not allow him the opportunity to develop defensively, the Marlins made Willingham their starting left-fielder during the 2006 season in wake of the Marlins's "marker correction" in the 2005 offseason.[1]
On April 4, 2006, Willingham recorded his first career multi-homer game, launching two against the Houston Astros. He ended the 2006 season with a solid line of .277/.356/.496 with 26 home runs and 74 runs batted in.
2007 proved to be another successful season for Willingham in his sophomore season. He maintained a solid batting average while hitting 21 home runs and 89 runs batted in. He became the team's regular left fielder in 2007, making just three errors in 223 total chances.
Willingham saw a reduced amount of playing time in 2008 due to a 50 game stint on the disabled list, appearing in just over 100 games as opposed to over 140 in the previous two years. His production suffered as his batting average regressed (.258) and his home run totals dipped to 15 on the season. He homered in 4 straight games for first time in career, September 21–26.
[edit] Washington Nationals
On November 11, 2008, Willingham was traded to the Washington Nationals, along with pitcher Scott Olsen for Emilio Bonifacio, Jake Smolinski, and P.J. Dean. Willingham began 2009 as the National’s fifth outfielder behind Adam Dunn, Elijah Dukes, Austin Kearns, and Lastings Milledge. In May, however, Kearns was sidelined with a fractured foot, giving Willingham a starting role. Dunn was eventually moved to first base and Milledge was traded for then-Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Nyjer Morgan. Willingham was very productive, proving himself worthy of the everyday left fielder position. On July 27, 2009, Willingham became the 13th player in MLB history to hit two grand slams in the same game and the 7th in MLB history to accomplish this feat in back to back innings. He ended the season with a line of .260/.367/.496 with 24 home runs and 61 RBIs. Having secured the starting left field job, Willingham was productive in the Nationals lineup in 2010. He batted 5th behind sluggers Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn.
[edit] Oakland Athletics
On December 16, 2010, Willingham was traded to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Henry Rodríguez and outfielder Corey Brown.[2] His 2011 batting average of .246 was his lowest since his rookie season, but he reached career pinnacles in home runs (29) and RBIs (98).[3] Willingham won the 2011 Catfish Hunter Award.[4]
[edit] Minnesota Twins
On December 15, 2011, Willingham signed a 3 year deal with the Minnesota Twins for $21,000,000.[5]
[edit] Personal
He is married to his high school sweetheart, Ginger Jaynes Willingham, and they have two sons, Rhett and Ryder.
[edit] References
- ^ http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100204&content_id=8020040&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp
- ^ Greg Johns (2010-12-16). "A's acquire Willingham from Nationals". MLB Advanced Media, L.P.. http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101216&content_id=16331246&vkey=news_oak&c_id=oak. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110920&content_id=24965024&vkey=pr_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak
- ^ http://sfluxe.com/2011/12/20/willingham-twins-agree-on-21m-3-year-deal-yahoo/
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Josh Willingham |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- 1979 births
- Living people
- North Alabama Lions baseball players
- North Alabama Lions football players
- Florida Marlins players
- Washington Nationals players
- Oakland Athletics players
- All-Star Futures Game players
- Baseball players from Alabama
- Major League Baseball left fielders
- People from Florence, Alabama
- Utica Blue Sox players
- Kane County Cougars players
- Jupiter Hammerheads players
- Gulf Coast Marlins players
- Carolina Mudcats players
- Albuquerque Isotopes players
- American members of the Churches of Christ
