Dan Wilson (baseball player)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Daniel Allen Wilson (born March 25, 1969 in Barrington, Illinois) was a Major League Baseball catcher with the Seattle Mariners. He is regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in major-league history, and had a career fielding percentage of .995. In addition, he is an outspoken Christian, and is also known for his involvement with charities in the Seattle area.

1 Professional career
- 1.1 Minor leagues (1987-1993)
- 1.2 Seattle Mariners (1994-2005)
2 External links

[edit] Professional career

[edit] Minor leagues (1987-1993)

Wilson was first drafted in the 26th round of the 1987 MLB draft by the New York Mets. He did not sign with the Mets, electing to instead go to the University of Minnesota. He re-entered the draft in 1990; he was selected in the first round, seventh overall, by the Cincinnati Reds. He signed in time to play 32 games with the Charleston Alley Cats of the South Atlantic League. He returned to Charleston at the start of the 1991 season, batting .315 in 52 games before earning a promotion to Class AA Chattanooga. He started the 1992 season with Nashville in the Class AAA American Association, and he batted .251 in 106 games there before earning a September callup to the major leagues at age 23. He returned to AAA the following year, going to the Indianapolis Indians since the Reds had changed their AAA affiliation after the 1992 season, and he played 51 games for the Indians as well as 36 games in the majors for the Reds.

[edit] Seattle Mariners (1994-2005)

After the 1993 season, the Reds traded Wilson to the Seattle Mariners. He made the Mariners' roster out of spring training and became an established major-league player. In his first full season in the majors, he struggled at the plate, batting .216, but he showed signs of his defensive ability with a .986 fielding percentage. That turned out to be the lowest fielding percentage he would have in the years he spent as the Mariners' primary catcher. The 1995 season went better for him; he played 119 games, batting .278 and raising his fielding percentage to .995.

In 1996, Wilson set career highs with 146 games played, 18 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and a .774 OPS. In addition, he made his only All-Star appearance. The 1996 season was also his first working with starting pitcher Jamie Moyer; Randy Johnson was another pitcher he spent several seasons catching with the Mariners. Wilson remained a dependable battery mate for Mariners pitchers over the next several seasons. In the 2000 season, Wilson's numbers declined to a .235 batting average and .990 fielding percentage; he was also limited to 90 games because of injuries. However, in 2001, he regained his form, playing 123 games (122 at catcher) and posting a .265 batting average and a .999 fielding percentage (one error in 744 total chances). Although it was becoming late in his career, he posted a .295 batting average in 115 games for the Mariners in 2002, and a .998 fielding percentage over 96 games in 2003. In what ended up being his last full healthy season in the majors, he batted .251 with 33 RBI in 2004.

Wilson lost his starting job at the beginning of the 2005 season to Miguel Olivo. On May 4, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Wilson had intended the 2005 season to be his last as a player, and he announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2005 season, on September 12. [1] Although a torn ACL commonly keeps athletes sidelined for most of a season, Wilson spent most of the rest of the season rehabilitating his knee and was activated from the disabled list on September 30. He came back for one final inning on September 30 against the Oakland Athletics; he had not recovered enough to swing a bat, but he was able to crouch and throw. The Mariners's starting pitcher in that game was Jamie Moyer, with whom Wilson had formed a battery for 190 previous starts dating back to 1996. Moyer pitched to five batters in the inning, which ended when Bobby Kielty flied out to center field, and the Athletics scored no runs. Moyer went on to pitch seven more innings, and the Mariners defeated the Athletics, 4-1. [2]