David Newhan

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David Newhan

Houston Astros — No. 31
Utility player
Born: September 7, 1973 (1973-09-07) (age 34)
Bats: Left Throws: Right 
Major League Baseball debut
June 4, 1999 for the San Diego Padres
Selected MLB statistics
(through 2007)
Average     .252
HR     21
RBI     108
Stolen Bases     28
Teams

David Matthew Newhan (born September 7, 1973, in Fullerton, California) is an American baseball player for the Houston Astros. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Newhan's father is Ross Newhan, a Hall of Fame baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times, and the 2000 recipient of the Hall of Fame's J. G. Taylor Spink Award.[1]

Newhan was an infielder at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California.[2] He starred in high school, but only received scholarship offers at the Division II level.[3]

[edit] College

Newhan attended Cypress College, a junior college, in 1992. His coach experimented by putting Newhan at first base, a position that seemed peculiar for a 5' 10" player. To prepare him, the coach had Newhan put on catcher's gear, and hit grounders at him. Eventually Newhan became so adept at first base that he played the position for the entire year.[2]

After a season at Cypress, Newhan was recruited to play second base alongside star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra at Georgia Tech in 1993. Head coach Jim Morris had lied to him about the position, however, and he ended up playing first base.[2]

He therefore transferred to Pepperdine University the following year. At Pepperdine he hit .313 with 15 home runs and 71 RBIs in 103 games in 1994 and 1995.[4] He was All-West Coast Conference as a left fielder in 1995, after leading the league in slugging and home runs. He graduated from Pepperdine in 1995 with a business administration degree.

[edit] Minor leagues

Newhan was drafted by the Oakland Athletics as an outfielder in the 17th round of the 1995 amateur draft.

He was primarily considered an outfielder until his second pro season in 1996, when then Class A Modesto A's manager Jim Colborn, now the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching coach, found himself in need of an infielder after the team's second baseman was injured. The night of the injury, Colborn walked through the team's parking lot and noticed a car with the license plate: "LV2TRN2." The next day Colborn asked the team which player had that particular license plate. Newhan raised his hand. "Get your infield glove, you're going to be a second baseman," Colborn said.[2] Newhan hit .301 that season, with a .538 slugging percentage, 25 home runs, and 17 stolen bases in 117 games.

In three years in the Athletics' minor league system, Newhan never made his way higher than Oakland's Single-A team, and despite signs of improvement, was traded with Don Wengert to the San Diego Padres organization for Jorge Velandia and Doug Bochtler in November 1997.

Newhan batted .277 over two seasons with San Diego's AA team. He was promoted to the Padres' AAA team before the 1999 season where, over 98 games, he batted .286 with 22 stolen bases.

[edit] Major Leagues

[edit] Early career

David Newhan made his Major League debut with the San Diego Padres in 1999. He began the 2000 season as the second baseman for the Padres, but hit for a batting average of only .150, and was soon demoted to AAA. While in the minors, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for Desi Relaford.

The Phillies briefly kept him at AAA, before calling him up to the Major League.

In the offseason, Newhan was traded to his previous club, the Padres, who then traded him back to the Phillies before the 2001 season. During the 2001 season, Newhan appeared in seven games for the Phillies before injuring his shoulder making a play in the outfield. "I ran into a wall, and it didn't move," he said.[3] He had season-ending shoulder surgery on May 25. In October, he was released by the Phillies.

Newhan was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2002 and released in October. He signed with the Colorado Rockies in May 2003, and played in their minor league system, hitting .348 with a .392 obp in AAA. He became a free agent in after the season.

Newhan signed with the Texas Rangers, which included a clause requiring the Rangers was required to release him by June 15, 2004 if he were not on the Major League team. He was not promoted, and subsequently earned his release.

[edit] Baltimore Orioles (2004-06)

The Baltimore Orioles signed Newhan in June 2004. He was hitting .328, with a .557 slugging percentage and 10 stolen bases in 10 attempts in AAA when the Orioles called him up.

In 2004 with the Orioles he had 42 hits through 100 at bats, and were it not for a pinch hit appearance in which he flied out he would have had a 21-game hit streak. He finished with a .311 batting average, seven triples (seventh in the AL), eight home runs, 54 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. He hit .343 with runners in scoring position, and .400 with runners in scoring position and 2 out. One of his more exciting hits was an inside-the-park home run off Pedro Martínez with a runner on base on a drive off the center field wall on July 20 against the Red Sox in Fenway Park.[5]

2005 was a disappointment for Newhan. Because there were so many "everyday" starters on the Orioles, Newhan was relegated to the bench. He saw very limited action and struggled at the plate. Rarely playing on consecutive days, he claimed it was impossible to be consistent offensively. He was briefly demoted to AAA, where he hit .366.

During spring training of 2006 he batted .400. While the Orioles had planned to use him as a backup, they started him in seven of their first ten games due to his spring stats. He had seven runs, two home runs, and three stolen bases. On his third stolen base, he slid awkwardly and had to leave the game with a broken right fibula on April 17. Newhan was placed on the Disabled List and was out until the end of August. He finished the season with a .252 average and 4 home runs.

[edit] New York Mets (2007)

Newhan signed a free agent 1-year, $575,000 contract with the New York Mets on January 5, 2007, turning down an offer from the Chicago Cubs.[6][7]

Newhan was used mainly as a pinch hitter by the Mets for much of April and early May 2007, but was given a great deal of playing time after that due to a slew of injuries that landed several Mets starters on the disabled list. Newhan hit .200, driving in only four runs (including a solo home run) with the Mets, as he played left field and second base. On June 8th, the Mets optioned Newhan to the New Orleans Zephyrs. In July, the Mets recalled Newhan from the Zephyrs, sent him down, and recalled him once again. In 108 at bats with the AAA team through the end of July, he batted .358/.405/.569. Newhan was sent to Triple-A New Orleans after the season, but declined the assignment, making him a free agent.[1]

[edit] Houston Astros (2008-present)

On January 29, 2008 he signed a minor league deal with the Houston Astros, who invited him to spring training.[2] In late March he was reassigned to Triple-A Round Rock.[3] Newhan batted .208 in 7 games before his contract was purchased by the major league club on April 11, 2008. He was designated for assignment on April 14.

[edit] Playing style

Newhan hits lefty and righty pitchers equally well.[8] His swing is compact and level, mostly generating line drives and groundballs. He has batted from every position in the batting order, but has mostly been batted second through 2006.

Newhan plays all infield positions except shortstop, as well as all outfield positions. Through 2006 he played in 4 games at first base (1 start), 28 games at second base (14 starts), 28 games at third base (16 starts), 56 games in left field (50 starts), 51 games in center (47 starts), and 62 games in right (36 starts). His range is average both in the infield and outfield, and he throws accurately.[6]

[edit] Miscellaneous

  • Nicknamed "Son of Scribe," because his father is a long-time baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times.[1]
  • Is a member of the Pepperdine Waves Hall of Fame.[9]
  • Although he was a solid student while growing up California, and later at Pepperdine, David never considered following in his father's journalistic footsteps. "Playing seemed a lot more fun than writing," he says. "My dad writes at home, and one thing I've seen a lot of is his cussing up a storm, yelling at the laptop. I understand what the sportswriter goes through. I don't think anyone has to worry about me pulling an Albert Belle."[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b JewishVirtualLibrary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Arangure Jr., Jorge (2005-03-21). "O's Newhan Touches All the Bases and Finds a Home". Washington Post. 
  3. ^ a b FansOnly.com
  4. ^ NewYork.Mets.MLB.com
  5. ^ Boston.Redsox.MLB.com
  6. ^ a b Morrissey, Michael (2007-01-06). "Mets Add Newhan To Bench". New York Post. 
  7. ^ Blogs.BaltimoreSun.com
  8. ^ As of July 4, 2007, Newhan's batting average against lefties was just 6 points higher than against righties, while his OPS was just 3 points higher against righties than against lefties.
  9. ^ PepperdineSports.cstv.com
  10. ^ Jeff Pearlman, Stephen Cannella (1999-06-22). "Inside Baseball - Sportswriter's Son: An Unlikely Source". Sports Illustrated. 
  11. ^ Newhan, David. Jews in Sports. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
  12. ^ Stump the Abramowitz. The Israel Baseball League. InfinityProSports. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.

[edit] External links