Craig Wilson (first baseman): Difference between revisions

Craig Wilson
Craig Wilson
	File:Craigwilson.JPG
New York Yankees – No. 39
	First Baseman
	Bats: Right Throws: Right
debut
	April 22, 2001, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics ; (through July 31, 2006)
Batting average	.268
Runs scored	282
Home runs	94
Former teams
	Pittsburgh Pirates (2001-2006); New York Yankees (2006-Present);

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Revision as of 06:57, 23 August 2006

for the Scottish curler, see Craig Wilson (curler)

Craig Allan Wilson (born November 30, 1976) is a right fielder and first baseman for Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. As of the end of the 2005 season, Wilson had a career .268 batting average with 81 home runs and 241 runs batted in (RBI) in 549 games.

Early career

A native of Fountain Valley, California, Wilson played high school ball at Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California, and was drafted as a catcher out of high school by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Pirates acquired the rights to Wilson before the 1997 season, and gradually moved him to first base and the outfield. After several years in the minor leagues, Wilson was called up to the big-league club in 2001.

Major-league career

File:Craig Bobble.jpg

Craig Wilson is one of many Pirates to have been depicted in bobblehead form

After three years as a role player and pinch-hitter, Wilson played regularly in 2004, hitting .264 with 29 home runs and 82 RBI in 155 games, but posting a franchise-record 169 strikeouts in 561 at-bats. He led the major leagues at being hit by pitches in 2002 (21) and 2004 (30). Wilson tied the major league single-season record for pinch-hit home runs with 7 in 2001.

In 2005, Wilson played in only 59 games as a result of two separate hand injuries that caused him to spend over half the season on the disabled list, playing in only 5 games between May 6 and August 28. Neither injury is expected to have any long-term effect on his play. He ended the season with a .264 average, 5 home runs, and 22 RBI in 197 at-bats.

Through Wilson's career as a Pirate, he had frequently been dogged by trade rumors. In 2006, with the acquisition of Jeromy Burnitz, members of the Pittsburgh press asserted that the Pirates, despite Wilson's relative success, were trying to trade him. At the trade deadline of the 2006 season, Wilson was traded to the Yankees for Shawn Chacon. According to the New York Post, at least one general manager in the National League found the deal inexplicable from the Pirates' standpoint. Voicing the opinion that Pirates GM Dave Littlefield had undersold Wilson, the anonymous GM was quoted as saying, "We really thought Wilson was a guy a lot of AL teams would be interested in. He is a high strikeout guy, but he can hit a fastball, damage lefty pitching, and not embarrass himself in right field or at first."^[1]

External links

MLB Profile
Template:Espn mlb
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference

References

^ "BOMBERS TAKE CAKE IN TRADING STAKES", Joel Sherman, The New York Post, published August 1, 2006, accessed August 1, 2006.

[1] "BOMBERS TAKE CAKE IN TRADING STAKES", Joel Sherman, The New York Post, published August 1, 2006, accessed August 1, 2006.

[1]

@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 Through Wilson's career as a Pirate, he had frequently been dogged by trade rumors.  In 2006, with the acquisition of [[Jeromy Burnitz]], members of the Pittsburgh press asserted that the Pirates, despite Wilson's relative success, were trying to trade him. At the trade deadline of the 2006 season, Wilson was traded to the Yankees for [[Shawn Chacon]]. According to the [[New York Post]], at least one general manager in the National League found the deal inexplicable from the Pirates' standpoint. Voicing the opinion that Pirates GM [[Dave Littlefield]] had undersold Wilson, the anonymous GM was quoted as saying, "We really thought Wilson was a guy a lot of AL teams would be interested in. He is a high strikeout guy, but he can hit a fastball, damage lefty pitching, and not embarrass himself in right field or at first."<ref>"[http://www.nypost.com/sports/yankees/bombers_take_cake_in_trading_stakes_yankees_joel_sherman.htm BOMBERS TAKE CAKE IN TRADING STAKES]", Joel Sherman, The [[New York Post]], published [[August 1]], [[2006]], accessed [[August 1]], [[2006]].</ref>
-==Scouting report==
-While on a hot streak, Wilson hits for good power to all fields, waiting for a good pitch to hit and driving it with authority. If he does not get anything to hit, he will take a [[base on balls|walk]]. When he is cold, he tries to pull everything, leaving him vulnerable to [[breaking balls]] on the outside corner. He can crush a mistake pitch, but usually he strikes out or grounds out to the left side of the [[Infielder|infield]]. Wilson is versatile defensively, playing [[first base]] and [[right field]], although he is mediocre at both positions. He was a [[catcher]] in the minor leagues, but the Pirates never considered him good enough defensively to play the position in the major leagues regularly. He has below-average speed, but has good judgment about when to use it. Wilson also hit his first ever home run as a Yankee on August 9, [[2006]] in a 6-5 loss against the [[Chicago White Sox]].
 ==External links==