Ty Wigginton

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**Ty Wigginton**
Major League Baseball debut
Tampa Bay Devil Rays — No. 21
Third Baseman
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
May 16, 2002 for the New York Mets
Selected MLB statistics (through July 21, 2006)
Batting average	.261
Home Runs	57
Runs batted in	232
Former teams
New York Mets (2002–2004) Pittsburgh Pirates (2004-2005) Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2006-present)

Ty Allen Wigginton (born October 11, 1977 in San Diego, California) is a third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He bats and throws right-handed.

The 6-foot, 200 pound Wigginton was selected by the New York Mets in the 1998 amateur draft.

Wigginton was brought up to the major league Mets for the first time in 2002 as a third baseman and had a promising partial rookie season with the Mets, batting .302 with a .354 on base percentage (OBP) and .526 slugging percentage (SLG) in 116 at bats. He slumped somewhat in his first full season in 2003, with a batting line of .255/.318/.396 in 573 at bats, but started the 2004 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 (RBIs).

On July 30, 2004, the Mets traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a six-player deal for pitcher Kris Benson. Wigginton slumped badly after he was traded before recovering somewhat in September. He started at third base for the Pirates in 2005, but again struggled and was demoted to the minor leagues on June 4, putting his future with Pittsburgh in serious jeopardy. After winning the International League Batter of the Week for the week of Aug. 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.

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, he delivered the baby in a bedroom closet of their North Carolina home and tied off the umbilical cord with one of his shoelaces.^[1]

Wigginton signed a one year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on January 10, 2006. He has split his time between second base and third base so far this season, with a few starts at first base and in the outfield.

[edit] Scouting Report

Wigginton has shown slightly below-average power for a major league third baseman in the past. He did not hit many home runs (though he's off to a fast start in 2006, with eight home runs through April, more than he hit throughout 2005), but he has good doubles power. He cut down on his strikeouts in 2004 and increased his number of walks, but his plate discipline is still no better than average. He hits fastballs well but struggles a little bit with good breaking balls. Wigginton has about average speed; he stole 12 bases in 2003, but has never duplicated that before (even in the minor leagues) or since. On the field, he is well below average at third base. He has played second base in the past, but is limited defensively at that position. He also can play at first and the outfield corners and is decent at first but has struggled in very limited playing time in the outfield. He is considered to be an extremely aggressive player.

In 525 major league games, Wigginton has hit .265 (472-1782) with a .325 OBP, .446 SLG, 65 home runs, 108 doubles, 259 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases.