Luke Scott (baseball)
Luke Scott | |
---|---|
Outfielder / Designated hitter | |
Born: DeLeon Springs, Florida | June 25, 1978|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
Professional debut | |
MLB: April 5, 2005, for the Houston Astros | |
KBO: March 29, 2014, for the SK Wyverns | |
Last appearance | |
MLB: September 27, 2013, for the Tampa Bay Rays | |
KBO: July 4, 2014, for the SK Wyverns | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .258 |
Home runs | 135 |
Runs batted in | 436 |
KBO statistics | |
Batting average | .267 |
Homeruns | 6 |
Runs batted in | 17 |
Teams | |
Luke Brandon Scott (born June 25, 1978) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, and Tampa Bay Rays, and in the Korea Baseball Organization for the SK Wyverns.
College
Scott attended Oklahoma State University, where he earned All-Big 12 Conference honors on the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team. In the summer of 2000, he played for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and also played for the Staunton Braves in the Valley Baseball League. He also played baseball at Indian River Community College. Luke spent a winter playing for a Venezuelan League where he earned the nickname "el monstruo de cuadrangular" which translates to "The Home Run Monster". He spent his first professional season in 2001 at home recovering from Tommy John surgery on his elbow joint.[1]
Professional baseball career
Cleveland Indians
Scott, drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 9th round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft and made his professional debut for the Columbus Red Stixx of the South Atlantic League in 2002. He played for the Indians organization through 2003, making stops at Kinston and Akron.
Houston Astros
He was traded by the Indians to the Houston Astros for Jeriome Robertson before the 2004 season. He made his Major League debut on April 5, 2005 against the St. Louis Cardinals, and was hitless in three at-bats in that game. His first hit was a triple to centerfield off Ramón Ortiz of the Cincinnati Reds on April 8, 2005.[2] He appeared in 34 games that season, hitting .188.
Scott became the first Astros' rookie to hit for the cycle, accomplishing an "unnatural cycle" (home run, triple, double, and single, in that order) on July 28, 2006.[3] That feat also marked Scott's first career home run, off Enrique González. After the completion of the 2007 season Scott headed to Venezuela to play another season in the Winter League, where he earned Winter League all-star honors.
Baltimore Orioles
Scott was traded to the Orioles with Matt Albers, Troy Patton, Dennis Sarfate and Mike Costanzo for Miguel Tejada during the 2007–2008 off-season.[4]
On July 7, 2009, Scott had a career high seven RBIs against the Seattle Mariners, going 3-4 with a single, triple, and home run. After Aubrey Huff was dealt to the Detroit Tigers in August 2009, the Orioles starting using Scott as an occasional 1st baseman. Scott was named Most Valuable Oriole for the 2010 season.[5]
Scott hit .220 in 2011 and struck out 54 times in 209 at-bats.[6] The Orioles declined to offer him a contract for 2012, making him a free agent.[7]
Tampa Bay Rays
On January 12, 2012, Scott signed a one-year deal with a player option for 2013 with the Tampa Bay Rays.[8] His option was declined on October 31, making him a free agent. On February 6, 2013 he was re-signed by the Rays to a one-year, $2.75 million, contract.[9]
He was placed on the 15-day DL on March 31, 2013. On April 30, Scott was activated from the disabled list, and Shelley Duncan, who had been getting most of the time at designated hitter in Scott's absence, was designated for assignment to make room on the roster.[10] On August 17, Scott was placed on the disabled list with back spasms. After his return on September 1, he was used mostly off the bench. His best month was July, where in 20 games, he hit .284 with 4 HR and 11 RBI. In 91 games in 2013, including a team-leading 61 starts at designated hitter, he hit .241 with 9 HR and 40 RBI.
SK Wyverns
On December 19, 2013, Scott agreed to a one-year, $300,000 deal with the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Championship. The $300,000 is made up of a $50,000 signing bonus and a $250,000 contract.[11] On July 16, it was reported that Scott had been cut from the team for calling the coach, Lee Man-soo, a "liar" and a "coward".[12]
Pericos de Puebla
He signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League for 2015. He played in 28 games with them, hitting .292 with seven homers and 27 RBI.[13]
Toronto Blue Jays
Scott signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on a minor league deal on May 15, 2015, and was assigned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons.[14][15] He was released on August 13.[16]
Personal life
Scott enjoys hunting and is a firearms enthusiast. He is a supporter of greater personal responsibility and smaller government.[17]
In 2010, during the dispute regarding President Obama's birth certificate, Scott said that Obama was not born in the United States. Scott added: "I was born here. If someone accuses me of not being born here, I can go – within 10 minutes – to my filing cabinet and I can pick up my real birth certificate and I can go, 'See? Look! Here it is. Here it is.' The man has dodged everything. He dodges questions, he doesn't answer anything. And why? Because he's hiding something."[17][18]
References
- ^ "FanBlog: Astros, October 12, 2006", chron.com
- ^ "April 8, 2005 Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros Box Score and Play by Play – Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Scott first Astros rookie to hit for cycle", mlb.com
- ^ "Tejada traded to Astros, Orioles to receive five players for former AL MVP". SI.com. December 12, 2007. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
- ^ "Luke Scott named 2010 Most Valuable Oriole". Baltimore Orioles. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "2011 Baltimore Orioles". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ Baltimore Sun (December 13, 2011). "Orioles decline to tender 2012 contract to Luke Scott". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Scott deal official: $5M in '12, $6M option". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ "Rays Sign Luke Scott". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
- ^ Topkin, Marc (April 29, 2013). "Rays await discipline for blowup with umpire". Tampa Bay Times.
- ^ Topkin, Marc (December 19, 2013). "Former Rays DH Scott heads to South Korea". Tampa Bay Times.
- ^ Meoli, Joe (July 16, 2014). "Former Oriole Luke Scott cut from Korean team after calling coach 'liar,' 'coward'". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
- ^ "Luke Scott minor league statistics and history". Baseball Reference. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ Dakers, Tom (May 14, 2015). "Blue Jays sign Luke Scott to minor league contract, yeah...that Luke Scott". bluebirdbanter.com. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ Nicholson-Smith, Ben (May 14, 2015). "Blue Jays to sign Scott to minor-league deal". Sportsnet. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
- ^ "International League Transactions". p. August 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
- ^ a b Brown, David (December 7, 2010). "Answer Man: Luke Scott talks Nugent, hunting and Obama origin". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ "Orioles disavow Luke Scott's comments". ESPN. AP. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- MLB updates
- Career statistics and player information from Korea Baseball Organization
- 1978 births
- Living people
- Houston Astros players
- Baltimore Orioles players
- Tampa Bay Rays players
- Major League Baseball left fielders
- Indian River State Pioneers baseball players
- Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players
- Baseball players from Florida
- Columbus RedStixx players
- Kinston Indians players
- Mesa Desert Dogs players
- Akron Aeros players
- Salem Avalanche players
- Round Rock Express players
- Delmarva Shorebirds players
- Gulf Coast Orioles players
- Bowie Baysox players
- Navegantes del Magallanes players
- Florida Republicans
- People from Volusia County, Florida
- Durham Bulls players
- Charlotte Stone Crabs players
- SK Wyverns players
- Pericos de Puebla players
- KBO League outfielders
- American expatriate baseball players in South Korea