Sidney Ponson
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|---|---|
| Minnesota Twins — No. 19 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 19, 1998 for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through August 25, 2006) |
|
| Record | 80-96 |
| ERA | 4.89 |
| Strikeouts | 918 |
| Former teams | |
Sir Sidney Alton Ponson (born November 2, 1976, in Noord, Aruba) is a professional baseball pitcher who is an active pitcher on the Minnesota Twins non-roster invitee list.
Prior to signing with the Twins, Ponson played most of his career with the Baltimore Orioles. When he made his debut for the Orioles in 1998, he became the third player from Aruba to play in the major leagues.
Ponson attended Maria College in Aruba. He was picked up by the Orioles as an amateur in 1993.
After the 2003 season, he was made a knight by Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, along with fellow baseball players Eugene Kingsale and Calvin Maduro. (Aruba is part of the kingdom of the Netherlands.) This has earned him the nickname "Sir Sidney."
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[edit] 2003
In 2003, he went 14-6 with a 3.77 ERA for the Orioles. Because Baltimore was not in contention for a playoff spot and Ponson was in the last year of his contract, the Orioles traded Ponson to the San Francisco Giants at the trading deadline for three Giants players: Kurt Ainsworth, Damian Moss and prospect Ryan Hannaman. At the end of the 2003 season, Ponson re-signed with the Orioles for a 3 year, 22.5 million dollar contract.
[edit] 2004
In 2004, Ponson was the opening day starter for Baltimore. However, he started off disastrously; his record was 3-12 by the All-Star Break. He rebounded for a strong second half, going 8-3. He finished with an 11-15 record and a 5.30 ERA.
[edit] Controversy
On December 25, 2004, Ponson was arrested in Aruba and charged with assaulting an Aruban judge following an incident about a complaint of Ponson's handling of his powerboat. He spent 11 days in jail, but the charges were dropped after he reached a settlement that included restitution, community service and contributions to local charities on the island. In January 2005, he was charged with driving under the influence in Broward County, Florida. Because of these activities, it was thought that he would not be able to enter Canada to pitch in a series against the Toronto Blue Jays in May 2005. However, a visa was later granted, and he was able to make his scheduled start.
Baltimore attempted to trade Ponson to San Diego for first baseman Phil Nevin shortly before the 2005 trade deadline, but the deal was cancelled when Nevin invoked his no-trade clause. Nevin eventually was traded to Texas.
Early on the morning of August 25, 2005, Ponson was arrested for driving under the influence and driving while impaired on southbound Interstate 95 near downtown Baltimore, Maryland. He was stopped for following too closely and was subsequently arrested for the traffic violation, DUI, and DWI; he was later released. This was his second drunk-driving incident of 2005.
On September 1, 2005, the Orioles released Ponson and voided his contract, saying that his infractions with the law went against a morals clause in Major League Baseball contracts. A week later, on September 8, the Major League Baseball Players Association filed a grievance on Ponson's behalf.
On December 12, 2005, Ponson was sentenced to five days in the Baltimore city jail after he was found guilty of driving while impaired. He was also fined $535. He was released from jail on December 19.
[edit] 2005 and beyond
On December 21, 2005, Ponson signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals calling for a $1 million salary with the ability to earn an additional $1.5 million in incentives. Although his season started promisingly, Ponson struggled with stamina and rarely went more than five innings in his starts. On July 7, 2006, the Cardinals designated Ponson for assignment, ending his stint with yet another team.
On July 14, 2006 he signed on with the New York Yankees. The Yankees won his first game, lost the second game, and he was subsequently sent to the bullpen when the Yankees acquired Cory Lidle from the Philadelphia Phillies. Reportedly, Brian Cashman asked Ponson if he would be amenable to being placed in the pen before going ahead with the trade (which also involved acquiring Bobby Abreu). If Ponson had refused, he would have been released and the trade that sent Shawn Chacon to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Craig Wilson would have fallen through. [1]
After a poor pitching performance on August 18, 2006, The Yankees released Ponson, making him a free agent.
In 2007 he signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins and is currently at spring training with them.
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- ESPN - daily profile and stats
- Ponson released
- Union grievance filed
