Wilson Betemit
| Wilson Betemit | |
|---|---|
| New York Yankees – No. 14 | |
| Infielder | |
Bats: Switch Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| September 18, 2001, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Career statistics (through July 31, 2007) | |
| Batting average | .263 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 102 |
| Teams | |
| |
Wilson Betemit, pronounced Bet-uh-meet (born November 2, 1981, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a 6' 3" switch-hitting Major League Baseball infielder on the New York Yankees.
Baseball career
Betemit is a 1996 graduate of Juan Bautista Safra High School, where he played baseball. He was signed as an undrafted free agent shortstop by the Atlanta Braves on July 28, 1996.
Atlanta Braves organization (1997-2006)
He began his professional career in 1997 with the Gulf Coast Braves.
In 1999, he was the Player of the Year for the Danville Braves of the Rookie League, and Appalachian League All-Star shortstop after batting .320 in 67 games, though he made 33 errors in 67 games.
In 2000, with the Jamestown Jammers, he hit .331 and was named the Braves' # 1 Minor League Prospect by ''Baseball America'', as well as the Short-Season A Player of the Year and All-Star shortstop.
Betemit started 2001 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in Advanced-A ball (hitting the first inside-the-park home run in Pelicans history on June 11), and was promoted mid-season to the Greenville Braves in AA. He hit .355 with Greenville, and was named the Braves top prospect for the second year in a row. He was also the Braves Minor League Player of the Year, the Florida State League All-Star shortstop, and the Baseball America 2nd team minor league all-star shortstop.
Called up to the Braves in September, he made his major league debut on September 18, 2001 as a pinch runner against the Philadelphia Phillies. He was 0 for 8 for the Braves in limited pinch hitting opportunities.
In 2002, he was sent to the AAA Richmond Braves to start the season, but spent significant portions of the season on the disabled list due to various ailments. Despite a sub-par, injury-ridden season, he was still named the Braves second-best pro prospect after the season.
He spent most of 2003 and 2004 with Richmond, but appeared in 22 games with the Braves in 2004, recording his first Major League hit on May 8 against the Houston Astros.
Betemit finally broke out in 2005 as the Braves' principal reserve infielder, frequently filling in at third base for the Braves' oft-injured star 3B Chipper Jones, hitting over .305 for the season. He hit his first career home run on April 27 against New York Mets pitcher Tom Glavine.
In the offseason, following shortstop Rafael Furcal's free agency in the winter of 2005, the Braves considered giving Betemit the starting shortstop job. However, they decided instead to trade for SS Edgar Rentería from the Boston Red Sox. Betemit continued to play a valuable role for the Braves as a pinch-hitter and backup for 2B Marcus Giles, Rentería, and Chipper Jones.
Los Angeles Dodgers (2006-07)
On July 28, 2006, Betemit was traded to the Dodgers for relief pitcher Danys Baez and infielder Willy Aybar. He made his debut for the Dodgers on July 30, 2006, playing 3B against the Washington Nationals. He was expected to be the Dodgers starting third baseman in 2007, but poor play resulted in his becoming a part-time starter and pinch hitter. He hit pinch hit home runs in consecutive games against the Braves in May 2007.
New York Yankees (2007-current)
On July 31, 2007, the Dodgers traded Betemit to the New York Yankees for relief pitcher Scott Proctor. On August 2, 2007, Betemit homered in his first Yankee at-bat and was given a curtain call by the fans in attendance. His entrance song was Phish's Wilson.
Defense
At the time of his trade to the Yankees, in his career Betemit had played 202 games at third base, 57 at shortstop, and 12 at second base, as well as 1-2/3 uneventful innings in right field. He has soft hands, and plenty of arm for third.[1]
Date of birth
There is some confusion surrounding Betemit's date of birth. His official Player Profile on MLB.com lists it as 1980-07-28, while other sources, including his information page on respected statistics site Baseball-Reference.com, have it as 1981-11-02. An article from February 2000 in the Savannah Morning News offers an explanation for the discrepancy.
Pronunciation of last name
The pronunciation of Betemit's last name has been a matter of some debate among baseball broadcasters and fans. Betemit has stated that he pronounces his name the way it is pronounced in his native Dominican Republic, ie "Bay-tah-mee", not "Bet-eh-mitt". ("The 't' is silent," he explains.)[2] However, Betemit has also said that he does not especially care that many American baseball broadcasters have "Americanized" his name by pronouncing the "t".
In an interview in 2006, Atlanta Braves announcer Joe Simpson related that he had asked Betemit about halfway through that season how to pronounce his name, and when told the answer, apologized to him, saying, "I've been pronouncing your name wrong all this time, but I'm gonna pronounce it right from now on!"
It is worth noting that in most instances of pronunciation of non-American players' names, usually the native pronunciation is favored, such as Jesus Alou, Patrick Roy, or Mark Messier.