Josh Fields
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Chicago White Sox — No. 22 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: December 14, 1982 Ada, Oklahoma |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 13, 2006 for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
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| Batting average | .239 |
| Home runs | 24 |
| Runs batted in | 69 |
| Teams | |
Joshua Dean Fields (born December 14, 1982, in Ada, Oklahoma) is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Chicago White Sox. He was selected as the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft by the White Sox.
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[edit] Collegiate Career
Fields was a two-sport athlete at Oklahoma State University, playing both baseball and football. He was selected as a Big 12 Conference All-Star at third base in 2003, and had a career batting average of .364 over three years. Fields also earned three letters as a quarterback for the Cowboys. He owns the school record for most touchdown passes (55), and led the team to two bowl games, including setting the Cotton Bowl record with 307 passing yards against the University of Mississippi.
[edit] Professional Career
Entering 2005, Fields was ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the White Sox organization[1] and the 95th-best prospect in Major League Baseball[2] by Baseball America. He hit safely in 14 straight games from August 6-21 for the Birmingham Barons, tied for the eighth-longest streak in the Southern League.
Prior to the 2006 season, Fields was once again ranked as the fourth-best prospect in the White Sox organization by Baseball America[3]. He homered in four consecutive games from May 11-14 with the Charlotte Knights, and was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. Fields made his major league debut on September 13, 2006, but did not record his first major league at-bat until September 18. In that game against the Detroit Tigers, Fields hit a pinch-hit home run off Detroit's Jamie Walker. He became the third player in White Sox history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat, joining Carlos Lee (May 7, 1999) and Miguel Olivo (September 15, 2002) as the only other White Sox to do so.
Fields entered the 2007 season ranked as the second-best prospect in the White Sox organization[4] and the 45th-best prospect in Major League Baseball[5] by Baseball America. He recorded his first multi-home run game on August 10 against the Seattle Mariners, hitting both off of starter Jarrod Washburn. On August 26, 2007, Fields made his first start in left field, an indicator that the White Sox are planning on continuing to give Fields regular playing time into the 2008 season, despite the possible return of Joe Crede.
Fields ended his first season as a Major Leaguer by hitting .244, with 23 HR, 67 RBI, and an OPS of 788 in 100 games. His 23 HR ties him with Bill Melton for 3rd most HR by a White Sox player in their rookie season, Melton did that in 157 games. Fields received one third-place vote for AL Rookie of the Year.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Top 10 Prospects: Chicago White Sox". Baseball America (2004-11-29).
- ^ "2005 Top 100 Prospects: 76-100". Baseball America (2005-02-28).
- ^ "Top 10 Prospects: Chicago White Sox". Baseball America (2006-01-25).
- ^ "Top 10 Prospects: Chicago White Sox". Baseball America (2006-11-20).
- ^ "2007 Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America (2007-02-28).
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
