Denard Span
| Denard Span | |
|---|---|
 Span in September 2008 | |
| Minnesota Twins – No. 2 | |
| Outfielder | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| debut | |
| April 6, 2008, for the Minnesota Twins | |
| Career statistics (through 2010 season) | |
| Batting average | .288 |
| Home runs | 17 |
| Triples | 27 |
| Runs batted in | 173 |
| Stolen bases | 67 |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Keiunta Denard Span[1] (born February 27, 1984 in Tampa, Florida) is an American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins. He was selected by the Twins with the 20th overall pick in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft from Tampa Catholic High School. Span turned down just over $2 million from Colorado in an offer for a predraft deal; he fell all the way to the 20th pick and cost himself around $800,000.[2] He bats and throws left-handed and is known as one of the premier lead-off hitters in the AL due to his exceptional on-base percentage.[3] Denard's great personality and on field performance makes him a fan favorite.
Professional career
After being drafted by the Twins in 2002, Span signed with the Twins on August 15, 2002.[4] He started his minor league at Elizabethon, Twins rookie affiliate in 2003.[4] In 2004, he played for the Twins of the Gulf Coast League, only appearing in 5 games[4] and for the Swing of the Quad Cities, now called the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League. In 2005, he started with Fort Myers Miracle, Twins Advanced A affiliate then was called up to the New Britain Rock Cats, the Twins Double-A affiliate.[4] He spent the 2006 season as a member of the Rock Cats, and 2007 with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.[4]
Minnesota Twins
2008
He was competing with Carlos Gomez for the 2008 starting center field job for the Twins, but lost to Gomez. His MLB debut was against the Kansas City Royals on April 6, appearing three times at plate with no hits and a walk. He was subsequently sent down to AAA Rochester in late April. He was called up to take Michael Cuddyer's place after Cuddyer's injury. Span played with the Twins for the rest of 2008 season, hitting .294/.387/.432 with 6 HR, 47 RBI, and 7 triples in 93 games.[4] Span was chosen to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics but because he was called up to the Twins he was forced to skip the Olympics.
2009
Span, unlike 2008, got the nod to start as a left fielder. He also played center field and right field throughout the season. His 2009 stats showed some improvement from 2008, hitting .311/.392/.415 with 8 HR, 68 RBI, and 10 triples in 145 games.[4] He also stole bases 23 times while getting caught stealing 10 times.[4]
2010
On March 13, Span made a public a five-year deal worth $16.5 million with the Minnesota Twins that included an option for the 2015 season worth $9 million with a $500,000 buyout.[5] This contract effectively bought out all of Span's arbitration years but did not go beyond his available free agency. On March 31, he accidentally hit his mother, who was sitting in the stands, with a foul ball.[6] On April 2, 2010, Span collected the first hit (a triple) and the first home run in the Twins' new ballpark Target Field in an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
On June 29, Denard Span tied the modern-day Major League Baseball record by hitting three triples in one game when he did so against the Detroit Tigers in an 11-4 victory. He became the 29th player since 1900 to accomplish this feat and the second Minnesota Twin (after Ken Landreaux in 1980). On his spectacular night, which also included a single and five runs batted in, Span commented, “Today was a special day for me.” The last time a player hit three triples in one game was by Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves on April 21, 2002.[7][8]
See also
References
- ^ http://twins.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=452655
- ^ Talent emerging from 2002 draft," by Keith Law from Scouts, Inc. accessed on ESPN.com, accessed 2007-06-04
- ^ http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/2685/how-denard-span-became-denard-span
- ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spande01.shtml
- ^ Twins reward Span with five-year contract," by Kelly Thesier from MLB.com. accessed on MLB.com, accessed 2010-03-13
- ^ http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100331&content_id=9026878&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min
- ^ Maggio, Anthony (June 29, 2010). "Triple threat: Span's big night helps Twins coast". Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ ESPN.com (June 29, 2010). "Span's outburst helps starter Blackburn get first win since May". Retrieved June 30, 2010.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Denard Span's Official Twitter account