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Denard Span

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Denard Span
Span with the Nationals in 2013
San Francisco Giants
Center fielder
Born: (1984-02-27) February 27, 1984 (age 40)
Washington, D.C.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
April 6, 2008, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average.287
Hits1,097
Home runs37
Triples55
Runs batted in336
Stolen bases152
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Keiunta Denard Span[1] (born February 27, 1984) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals.

Span bats and throws left-handed and is known as one of the premier leadoff hitters in baseball due to his exceptional on-base percentage.[2] He is also one of the top defenders in the MLB for his ability to make difficult catches.[3]

Professional career

Span 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 the Colorado Rockies in a predraft deal (who instead drafted Jeff Francis with the eighth pick) and his fall to the 20th pick cost himself around $800,000.[4] Following his selection, Span signed with the Twins on August 15, 2002 which caused him to miss all of the 2002 minor league season.[5] He started his minor league career in 2003 at Elizabethton, the Twins rookie-league affiliate.[5] In 2004, Span was promoted first to the Gulf Coast League Twins in Fort Myers, FL and, after only appearing in 5 games,[5] for the Quad Cities of the Low Single A Midwest League. In 2005, he was promoted to Fort Myers Miracle, the Twins Advanced A affiliate, and then to the New Britain Rock Cats, the Twins Double-A affiliate.[5] In 2006, Span returned to the Rock Cats, but was promoted Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in 2007.[5]

Minnesota Twins

Span batting for the Minnesota Twins in 2008

Throughout the 2008 spring training, Span was competing with Carlos Gómez to be the Twins' starting center fielder, but ultimately lost out to Gomez and was outrighted to AAA. However, on April 6, Michael Cuddyer was placed on the 15-day disabled list and Span was called up to make his Major League debut against the Kansas City Royals. Span failed to impress the Twins (hitting .258/.324/.258) and was sent back down to AAA.[6] However, He got hot over the next 40 games in AAA (.340/.434/.481) and was recalled to the Twins where he spent the rest of 2008 season. Span's 2008 season totals were .294/.387/.432 with 6 HR, 47 RBI, and 7 triples in 93 games.[5] Span was chosen to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics but because he had been promoted, he was forced to skip the Olympics.

In 2009, Span, unlike in 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.[5] He also stole bases 23 times while getting caught 10 times.[5] Span earned the odd distinction of becoming the player to hit both the first regular and post season hits at Yankee Stadium in 2009.

On March 13, 2010, 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.[7] This contract effectively bought out all of Span's arbitration years but did not go beyond his available free agency. On March 31, he unintentionally hit his mother, who was sitting in the stands, with a foul ball.[8] 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, the second Minnesota Twin (after Ken Landreaux in 1980), and the first player since the Atlanta Brave Rafael Furcal performed the feat on April 21, 2002.[9][10] His night also included a single and five runs batted in.

Overall, Span hit .284/.357/.389 in his Minnesota career, with 254 walks and 321 strikeouts in 2354 at-bats and stole 90 bases in 118 attempts. Adding his strong defense gives him an overall wins above replacement of 15.9. He also became the first ever player on the 7-Day Disabled List in 2012.[6]

Washington Nationals

After being tied with the Nationals in trade rumors as far back as 2011, the Twins finally traded Span to the team on November 29, 2012 for Washington's 2011 first round pick (23rd overall), starting pitcher Alex Meyer.[11] After the trade, Span became the team's starting center fielder, moving 2012 NL Rookie of the Year Bryce Harper to left field.[12] During the 2013 season, Span set a personal and league high with a 29-game hit streak (besting the previous 2013 season high of 27 games set by former Twins teammate and current New York Mets outfielder Michael Cuddyer). The streak ended on September 19 following an 0-4 performance against the Miami Marlins. During the streak, Span raised his season average from .258 to .281 (46 for 128) while hitting 2 HR, 9 RBI, and scoring 21 runs.[13]

On December 3, 2014, Span underwent a sports hernia surgery. He claimed that he suffered this injury toward the end of the 2014 season but didn’t miss any games.[citation needed] Recovery time required 6 weeks, giving him enough time to be ready for 2015 Spring Training. During March of 2015, Span underwent core muscle surgery. He began the 2015 season on the 15-day disabled list and made his season debut on April 19.

San Francisco Giants

On January 7, 2016, Span signed a three year, $31 million, contract with the San Francisco Giants that included a mutual option for 2019 and $5 million in performance bonuses.[14] While it is expected he will fill a gap in left field created by the departure of Nori Aoki, Span can also become the Giants' starting center fielder, as well as providing depth in the outfield in the case of injuries. His offensive capabilities are also expected to amend the top of the Giants' order.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Denard Span Stats, Video Highlights, Photos, Bio | twinsbaseball.com: Team". Twins.mlb.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  2. ^ Neyer, Rob. "How Denard Span became Denard Span - SweetSpot Blog - ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  3. ^ Reddington, Patrick (March 31, 2013). "Washington Nationals' New Center Fielder Denard Span: The Nats' New "True Defensive Ballhawk Center Fielder"". FederalBaseball.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  4. ^ Talent emerging from 2002 draft," by Keith Law from Scouts, Inc. accessed on ESPN.com, accessed 2007-06-04
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h "Denard Span Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  6. ^ a b Sickels, John (November 30, 2012). "Prospect Retrospective and Career Profile: Denard Span". MinorLeagueBall.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  7. ^ Twins reward Span with five-year contract," by Kelly Thesier from MLB.com. accessed on MLB.com, accessed 2010-03-13
  8. ^ "Span hits mom with foul ball | twinsbaseball.com: News". Minnesota.twins.mlb.com. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  9. ^ Maggio, Anthony (June 29, 2010). "Triple threat: Span's big night helps Twins coast". Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  10. ^ ESPN.com (June 29, 2010). "Span's outburst helps starter Blackburn get first win since May". Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  11. ^ "Nationals acquire Denard Span from Twins for Minor Leaguer Alex Meyer | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2012-11-29.
  12. ^ Associated Press (November 29, 2012). "Twins trade Denard Span to Nats". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  13. ^ "Denard Span Game-by-Game Stats and Performance". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 18, 2014.
  14. ^ Shea, John (January 8, 2016). "Denard Span joining Giants' outfield". SF Gate. Retrieved January 8, 2016.
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