Blake DeWitt
| Blake DeWitt | |
|---|---|
 DeWitt with the Dodgers in 2008 Photo by Chris Nelson | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 33 | |
| Third Baseman | |
Bats: Left Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| March 31, 2008, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Career statistics (through 2008) | |
| Batting average | .317 |
| Home runs | 2 |
| Runs batted in | 18 |
| Teams | |
| |
Blake R. DeWitt (born August 8, 1985 in Sikeston, Missouri) is a third baseman in Major League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
As a senior short stop at Sikeston High School in Missouri he batted .558 with 15 home runs, 11 doubles and 48 RBI and was named to Baseball America's High School All-America first team and the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3 all-state first team. He was scheduled to attend Georgia Tech but he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1st round of the June 2004 MLB draft and chose to play professional ball. He was rated as the best high school pure hitter entering the draft.
Began his professional career as the starting third baseman for the Ogden Raptors in 2004 and was tabbed by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Pioneer League as well as the eight best prospect in the Dodgers organization.
In 2005 he hit for the cycle on June 5 while playing with the Columbus Catfish, and went on to lead the Catfish in hits, doubles and total bases. He was rated as the "Best Hitter for Average" in the Dodgers farm system while hitting .333 for Columbus.
In 2006 with the Vero Beach Dodgers he was again ranked as the Dodgers 8th best prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star team while hitting .339 with 18 homers and 61 RBI for Vero Beach. Played for the North Shore Honu of the Hawaii Winter Baseball League following the season.
He began 2007 with the Inland Empire 66ers and hit .298 with 8 homers and 46 RBI in 83 games, leading to a promotion to the Jacksonville Suns. He hit .281 in 45 games with the Suns the rest of the season.
During spring training in 2008 injuries to the projected third basemen led to DeWitt getting a chance to play with the big league club. He became the Dodgers opening day starting third baseman and in his first at bat he singled off of San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito and went 5 for 9 with 3 walks in the 3 game series. Dewitt hit his first career home run off of Oliver Perez of the New York Mets on May 5, 2008. The following night, he hit his second, a rare inside the park home run off of the Mets' Nelson Figueroa. The inside the park home run was the first for the Dodgers in 5 years.
References
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference