| Steve Pearce | |
|---|---|
Pearce batting for the Indianapolis Indians, Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, on May 19, 2009. |
|
| Minnesota Twins | |
| First baseman / Right fielder | |
| Born: April 13, 1983 | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 1, 2007 for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Career statistics (through May 5, 2011) |
|
| Batting average | .240 |
| Home runs | 8 |
| Runs batted in | 44 |
| Teams | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s baseball | ||
| Competitor for United States | ||
| Baseball World Cup | ||
| Gold | 2007 Tianmu | National team |
Steven Wayne Pearce (born April 13, 1983 in Lakeland, Florida) is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball.
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Pearce is a 2001 graduate of Lakeland High School (Fla.), where he was a four-year letterman in baseball and posted a career .400 batting average.
Pearce was selected twice in the MLB Draft, but did not sign; taken in the 45th round in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by Minnesota and in the 10th round in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft by Boston. He played two seasons (2004–05) of NCAA baseball at the University of South Carolina and led the Gamecocks in batting average, home runs and RBI both years and hit 42 home runs in his two seasons with USC to become the first player in school history to reach the 40-homer plateau that quickly.
As a senior in 2005, he hit .358 with 21 home runs and 63 RBI and was a Second-Team All-SEC selection, a Baseball America Second-Team All-American and the NCBWA District IV Player of the Year. Pearce was named to the watch lists for both the Golden Spikes Award (USA Baseball's top amateur baseball player) and the Dick Howser Trophy (top collegiate baseball player) prior to the 2005 season. As a transfer junior in 2004, he hit .346 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI to lead the Gamecocks to their third consecutive appearance in the College World Series and was named USC's Rookie of the Year and was selected to both the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team and the College World Series All-Tournament Team. He set a South Carolina school record with a 1.000 fielding percentage (416 PO, 22 A, 0 E) in 50 games at first base.
He played for the Cotuit Kettlers of the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2004 and hit .275 with one home run. Pearce transferred to South Carolina after playing two seasons (2002–03) at Indian River Community College (Fla.) leading Indian River in batting average both seasons and combined to hit 17 home runs.
Pearce was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 8th round of the June 2005 Major League Baseball Draft.
Pearce began the 2007 season with the Prirates' A affiliate, the Lynchburg Hillcats, then onto the AA Altoona Curve, AAA Indianapolis Indians. During his 2007 run in the minors, Pearce hit 31 home runs. Pearce the made his Major League debut for the Pirates on September 1 against the Milwaukee Brewers. He would then go on to play 23 games with the Pirates.
In 2008, Pearce spent the majority of the year in Indianapolis, but made several appearances for the Pirates. On September 2, he was recalled again when the rosters expanded.
In 2009, he failed to make the Pirates starting day roster after spring training and began the year at Triple-A. With the recent addition of outfield prospects in the organization, Pearce was moved back to playing first base. He was recalled on June 20.[1] Pearce joined the Pirates on July 23 to become the starting first baseman following the trade of Adam LaRoche. He ended a poor 2009 season with 13 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 16 runs batted in, 1 stolen base, to go along with a .206 average, .296 on base percentage, .370 slugging percentage, in just 165 at bats.
Pearce has started the 2010 season with the Indianapolis Indians, but was eventually called up by the Pirates due to his .345 batting average for the Indians.
2011 marked the first time in his career that Pearce won a roster spot with the Pirates straight out of spring training. He's never spent Opening Day in the major leagues. He obtained a .283 batting average during spring training and had 5 doubles among his 13 hits. More importantly, he increased his versatility by working at two new positions, third base and left field.[2]
On December 15, 2011, Pearce signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.