Ty Wigginton
Encyclopedia
Ty Allen Wigginton is an American professional baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

 of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

. He is known as a utility player
Utility player
In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include association football , baseball, rugby, rugby league, water polo and softball....

, having platooned as an infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...

 and an outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 during his career. He bats and throws right-handed. Wigginton resides in Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista, California
Chula Vista is the second largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fourteenth largest city in the State of California, and the seventy seventh largest city in the U.S....

.

High school years

Wigginton attended Chula Vista High School
Chula Vista High School
Chula Vista High School in Chula Vista, California, was founded in 1947. It is part of the Sweetwater Union High School District. The school colors are "spartan" blue and white, and the mascot is Sammy Spartan. CVHS underwent a renovation to several classrooms and received a new ASB building in...

 in Chula Vista, California, and was a student and a letterman in football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 and baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

. Wigginton graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1995.

Baseball career

Wigginton attended UNC Asheville and played for three years from –. Wigginton still holds the school's records for most home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s in a game, most runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

 in a season and most doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

 in a season. Wigginton is the only UNC Asheville baseball player to have played in the major leagues.

New York Mets

The 6 feet (1.8 m), 200 pound Wigginton was selected by the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft
1998 Major League Baseball Draft
The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998...

.

Wigginton was brought up to the major league Mets for the first time in as a third baseman and had a promising partial rookie season with the Mets, batting
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .302 with a .354 on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...

 (OBP) and .526 slugging percentage (SLG) in 116 at-bats. He slumped somewhat in his first full season in , with a batting line of .255/.318/.396 in 573 at-bats, but started the season hot. In his first 312 at-bats, Wigginton hit .285/.334/.487, hitting 12 home runs and 23 doubles with 42 runs batted in
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On July 30, 2004, the Mets traded Wigginton to the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 in a six-player deal for pitcher Kris Benson
Kris Benson
Kristin James Benson is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Benson pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from to , New York Mets from to , Baltimore Orioles in to , Texas Rangers in , and Arizona Diamondbacks in ....

. Wigginton slumped badly after he was traded before recovering somewhat in September. In 2004, he had the lowest zone rating of any NL
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 third baseman (.731) for the second straight year.

He started at third base for the Pirates in , but again struggled and was demoted to the minor leagues on June 4, putting his future with Pittsburgh in doubt. After winning the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...

 Batter of the Week for the week of August 15–21, "Wiggy" was called up to the Pirates on August 22, 2005. The utility infielder caught fire, hitting .365 over his last 22 games for Pittsburgh, but the Pirates still released him after the season.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays

Wigginton signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...

 on January 10, . He split his time between first base and second base in 2006, with a few starts at third base and in the outfield. He signed a three-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays after the 2006 season.

Houston Astros

On July 28, , Wigginton was traded to the Houston Astros for pitcher Dan Wheeler
Dan Wheeler
Daniel Michael Wheeler is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball.-Baseball career:...

. After his acquisition, Morgan Ensberg
Morgan Ensberg
Morgan Paul Ensberg is a former infielder in Major League Baseball. Ensberg bats and throws right-handed...

 was designated for assignment, and Wigginton was announced to be the Astros' starting third baseman. When Astros outfielder Carlos Lee
Carlos Lee
Carlos Noriel Lee is a first basemen in Major League Baseball who plays for the Houston Astros. He bats and throws right-handed....

 had his finger broken by a pitch on August 9, 2008, Wigginton made the majority of the starts in left field in Lee's place. Wigginton ended up having a monster month of August, hitting .379 and posting a staggering 1.200 OPS. On December 12, 2008 the Astros failed to tender Wigginton a contract and he became a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

, a controversial move that upset many Astros fans.

Baltimore Orioles

On February 10, , Wigginton signed a two-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

.

He hit very well during the early stages of the 2010 season, batting .272 through his first 60 games, and ranking eighth in the American League with 13 home runs.

Wigginton was elected to his 1st All Star Game in 2010 being the lone O's representative. Wigginton had started the season without a starting position in Baltimore. However, hot streaks at the plate eventually prompted the saying "Gettin' Wiggy with it" in a pun of the song "Gettin Jiggy with it"

He split games between third base and first base following the trade of Miguel Tejada.

Colorado Rockies

On December, 7, 2010, Wigginton signed a two year deal with the Colorado Rockies
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are a Major League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado. Established in 1991, they started play in 1993 and are in the West Division of the National League. The team is named after the Rocky Mountains...

 with an option for a third year.

On April 20, 2011, Wigginton collected his 1000th career hit, a home run off of Matt Cain
Matt Cain
Matthew Thomas Cain is an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants...

 of the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....

. The home run was his first as a member of the Rockies.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 20, 2011, the Rockies traded Wigginton to the Philadelphia Phillies for a player to be named later or cash.

Scouting report

Wigginton showed slightly below-average power for a major league third baseman in his early career, but over his last two seasons has compiled 46 home runs. He cut down on his strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s in 2004 and increased his number of walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

, but his plate discipline is still no better than average. He hits fastball
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...

s well but struggles a little bit with good breaking ball
Breaking ball
In baseball, a breaking ball is a pitch that does not travel straight like a fastball as it approaches the batter. A pitcher who uses primarily breaking ball pitches is often referred to as a junkballer. A breaking ball will have some sideways or downward motion on it...

s. Wigginton has about average speed; he stole
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 12 bases in 2003, but has never duplicated that before (even in the minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

) or since. On the field, he is average at third base. He has played second base in the past, but is limited defensively at that position. He can play at first and the outfield corners and is decent at first but has struggled in very limited playing time in the outfield.

As of May 18, 2010, Wigginton has played in 943 major league games, and has hit .272 (887-for-3,256) with a .330 OBP, .46 SLG, 133 home runs, 190 doubles, 451 RBI, and 33 stolen bases.

Some experts compare the size and frame of Wigginton to The Simpsons Chief Wiggum of the Springfield Police Department. This has led to fans giving him the affectionate nickname "Chief Wiggumton."

Personal life

On December 20, 2006, Wigginton was forced to handle the delivery of his son Cannon at home when his wife Angela went into labor unexpectedly. Following the instructions of an operator on 9-1-1
9-1-1
9-1-1 is the emergency telephone number for the North American Numbering Plan .It is one of eight N11 codes.The use of this number is for emergency circumstances only, and to use it for any other purpose can be a crime.-History:In the earliest days of telephone technology, prior to the...

, he delivered the baby in a bedroom closet of their North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

 home and tied off the umbilical cord
Umbilical cord
In placental mammals, the umbilical cord is the connecting cord from the developing embryo or fetus to the placenta...

 with one of his shoelaces.

External links

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