Jack Wilson (baseball player)

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Jack Wilson

Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 2
Shortstop
Bats: Right Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 3, 2001 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Selected MLB statistics
(through August 11,2006)
Avg     .265
RBI     276
HR     42

Jack Eugene Wilson (born December 29, 1977 in Westlake Village, California) is a shortstop in Major League Baseball who has played with the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2001 and is signed through 2009[1]. He bats and throws right handed.

In a five-season career, Wilson has compiled a .263 batting average with 35 home runs and 245 RBI in 720 games. Wilson is a line-drive hitter and an excellent bunter who is starting to develop gap power as he gains experience and confidence at the plate. He hit for a high average in the minors, but struggled with plate discipline in his first few seasons in the majors. In 2004, Wilson finished first among shortstops in a wide range of offensive statistics. His appendectomy, however, ruined the early part of his 2005 season.

Wilson is one of the best defensive shortstops in the game. His glovework has been compared favorably with several former Pirate shortstops known for their defense, such as Dick Groat, Gene Alley and Jay Bell. He has outstanding range, particularly in the hole, great hands, a good throwing arm, and has sound reflexes and instincts for the game.

Contents

[edit] High School Years

Wilson attended Thousand Oaks High School in Thousand Oaks, California and was a letterman in baseball. In baseball, he posted a batting average of .581 as a junior.

[edit] Early career

Wilson played for two seasons at Oxnard Junior College, the same baseball program that produced major leaguers Terry Pendelton, Josh Towers, Paul McAnulty and others. He was coached by Pat Woods, Jon Larsen, Roger Frash and Buster Staniland.

Originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1998 amateur draft, Wilson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2000 midseason and made his major league debut a year later.

Wilson had almost identical seasons in 2002 and 2003, hitting .252 with 22 doubles in 147 games and .256, 21, 150,respectively.

[edit] 2004

Wilson easily enjoyed the finest season of his brief career in 2004 as he set career highs in almost every category. He posted a .308 average, shared the league lead in triples with 12 (along with Jimmy Rollins), scored 82 runs, hit 41 doubles with 11 home runs and 49 RBI, and collected 201 hits (3rd in the league) in 157 games, including 56 multi-hit games. To cap it off he ended the year with a season-high 12-game hitting streak (17-for-46, .370). After hitting eighth in the batting order for most of his career, he became a fixture in the second slot.

With his 201 hits, Wilson became just the ninth National League shortstop to collect 200 hits in a season; the franchise's first player since Dave Parker (1977), and the first Pirates shortstop since Hall of Famer Honus Wagner (1908). Wilson also became the first Pirates player to collect 10 or more doubles, triples and home runs in the same season since Andy Van Slyke (1992).

Defensively, Wilson led National League shortstops in assists (492) and total chances (743); his 129 double plays led all major league shortstops and broke the club record of 128 — set by Gene Alley in 1966 — and went 31 straight contests without making an error. Wilson was named for the 2004 All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger at shortstop. He was also the Pirates' representative in the Roberto Clemente Award balloting.

[edit] 2005

In December 2004, Wilson was hospitalized for an appendectomy. Despite the setback, he was optimistic at spring training 2005. At 6-foot, 175-pound, Wilson had regained six of the 15 pounds he lost. However, he started the season poorly, hitting just .163 in April and .227 for the first half of the season, and acknowledged that he hadn't been fully recovered when the season started. Late season improvements to his hitting brought his cumulative season numbers to near his career averages, but still well below the standards he had set in 2004. He finished the year with a .257 batting average, a .299 on-base percentage, and a .363 slugging percentage, compared to his career highs of .308, .335, and .459 respectively the year before.

His defense, however, did not seem to suffer. For the second straight year he led all shortstops in the National League (and, in fact, all of baseball) in assists (523), total chances (783), and double plays (126). Largely because of Wilson and fellow defensive standout second baseman José Castillo, the Pirates turned more double plays in 2005 than any National League team save the Cardinals.

[edit] Facts

  • Wilson was selected for the 2004 All-Star Game after receiving the most votes (395) among all National League shortstops in player balloting.
  • When he was a teenager and playing on a summer travel team, Wilson's roommate was his future Pirates teammate Freddy Sanchez. At the time, Sanchez played the more demanding shortstop position while Wilson was relegated to second base.
  • Has been nicknamed "Steve-O" by teammates for his resemblance to the "Jackass" star.
  • His walk-up music at PNC Park is the Rolling Stones hit "Jumpin' Jack Flash".
  • In a back-page interview in ESPN magazine, he revealed he was 5'10. Two inches shorter than his listed height.
  • Curiously, in 2006 he was elected into the Lancaster JetHawks Hall of Fame even though he never played for the team. He had been on the Lancaster Stealth in 1999 but had not been one of the club's big stars.

[edit] Sources

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