Skip Schumaker

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Skip Schumaker
Cincinnati Reds – No. 25
Second baseman/Outfielder
Born: (1980-02-03) February 3, 1980
Torrance, California
Bats: Left Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 8, 2005 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
(through 2013 season)
Batting average .285
Home runs 25
Runs batted in 241
Teams

Career highlights and awards

Schumaker playing for the St. Louis Cardinals in 2011

Jared Michael "Skip" Schumaker (/ˈʃuːmɑːkər/ SHOO-mah-kər; born February 3, 1980) is a professional baseball outfielder and second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball. He has also played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Career

Amateur career

Schumaker graduated from Aliso Niguel High School[1] before a short, two-year career at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2001, his only year with regular playing time, Schumaker had 100 total hits for a batting average of an even .400, while achieving 41 RBI.

St. Louis Cardinals

He was selected in the 5th round of the 2001 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Schumaker spent the remainder of 2001 with the short-season New Jersey Cardinals, and in 2002 he had 158 hits for the Potomac Cannons. His minor-league career advanced from Single-A in 2003, when he was promoted to the Tennessee Smokies, where he spent two full seasons. A .316 batting average in 2004 was enough to give him a shot with the Cardinals during spring training in 2005.

After spending the first two months of the season in Memphis, Schumaker made his major-league debut on June 8 against the Boston Red Sox at Busch Stadium. Schumaker entered the game as a pinch-hitter for the pitcher, Chris Carpenter, and was struck out by David Wells. Schumaker remained with the club until June 14, failing to pick up a hit in five at bats.

On August 10, he was called back up to the Cardinals and picked up his first major-league hit two days later in a pinch-hit appearance against the Chicago Cubs. On September 8, 2005, Schumaker went over into the stands and made a great catch.[2] Schumaker hit his first Major League home run on April 5, 2006, in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. He played in 28 regular-season games in 2006 for St. Louis, but did not appear in the postseason.[3]

Schumaker is a capable leadoff hitter and a strong defensive outfielder with an above-average arm. However, he has difficulty against lefthanders; from 2007 to 2009, he had a .210 batting average, a .278 on-base percentage, and a .226 slugging percentage against them.[4] He had six hits in seven at bats against the New York Mets on July 26, the first Cardinal to do so since Terry Moore against the Boston Braves on September 5, 1935. Combined, Schumaker and his teammate, Albert Pujols, were the first pair of Cardinals to hit five or more hits each since Charlie Gelbert and Taylor Douthit against the Chicago Cubs on May 16, 1930.[5]

On February 9, 2009, Cardinal 2nd baseman Adam Kennedy was released by the club,[6] which sparked discussion about placing Schumaker as the regular second baseman in 2009. Schumaker, who played shortstop in high school and college[7] began working out with Cardinals third base coach Jose Oquendo in Spring Training to prepare.[8] Schumaker would go on to become the Cardinals' starting second baseman during the 2009 season.

On February 8, 2010, Schumaker signed a two-year deal with the Cardinals worth $4.7 million, buying out his final arbitration years.[9]

On August 9, 2010, Schumaker hit his first major league grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds.

On August 23, 2011, he made his major league pitching debut when he came in as a reliever in the top of the 9th. He faced 5 batters, striking out 2, walking 1, and giving up a 2 run home run to Aaron Miles.

After a great performance in the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies in which he drove in Rafael Furcal for the only run in the Cardinals' 1-0 victory in Game 5, Schumaker was left off the National League Championship Series roster due to an oblique injury.

Schumaker signed another 2-year deal with the Cardinals on December 12, 2011, for $3 million.[10]

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 12, 2012, the St. Louis Cardinals traded Schumaker to the Los Angeles Dodgers for minor league shortstop Jake Lemmerman. [11][12] He played in 125 games for the Dodgers, hitting .263. He also pitched two scoreless innings for the Dodgers during the season.

Cincinnati Reds

On November 18, 2013, Schumaker signed a 2-year, $5 million contract with the Cincinnati Reds with a club option for 2016. He attributed his choice to their playoff contention in recent years.[13] The deal was finalized on November 26.

Personal

Currently, Schumaker is 5'10" and weighs 195 pounds. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.[14]

Schumaker resides in Ladera Ranch, California. He and his wife, Lindsey, have two children, son Brody Hudson and daughter Presley Rowan.[15]

When Schumaker was 5 years old and living in southern California, he had a chance encounter with Tommy Lasorda and Orel Hershiser at a restaurant, both of whom signed his baseball glove with "To a future Dodger..."[16] When he reached the Major Leagues with the Cardinals, Schumaker was given uniform number 55, which "happened to be Orel's number and I stuck with it."[16] When he joined the Dodgers in 2013, he initially wore #3, but switched to #55 when it became available.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Schumaker player profile page". Stlcardinals.scout.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  2. ↑ "Video". Stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Skip Schumaker Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  4. ↑ Jaffe, Jay (May 13, 2010). "Baseball Prospectus". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  5. ↑ Game Recap Game recap for July 26, 2008
  6. ↑ Cardinals release Adam Kennedy
  7. ↑ Matthew Leach (January 18, 2009). "Schumaker shrugs off winter of rumors". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  8. ↑ By Matthew Leach / MLB.com (February 19, 2009). "Schumaker committed to 2nd base". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  9. ↑ Schumaker Cardinals Agree to 2 Year Deal
  10. ↑ "Skip Schumaker signs; Ryan Theriot cut". Espn.go.com. 2011-12-13. Retrieved 2013-08-27. 
  11. ↑ "Dodgers acquire Schumaker to fortify bench". MLB.com. December 12, 2012. 
  12. ↑ "Cards send Schumaker to Dodgers for shortstop". MLB.com. December 12, 2012. 
  13. ↑ Sheldon, Mark (November 26, 2013). "Contender status attracted Schumaker to Reds". MLB.com. 
  14. ↑ 'D'&sectionType=career&statType=1&season=2012&level='ALL' "Skip Schumaker Stats, Video Highlights, Photos, Bio | dodgers.com: Team". Stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. 2013-05-24. Retrieved 2013-08-27. 
  15. ↑ "ST. Louis Cardinals Bio". Stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2011. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Mark Simon, Looking back at Orel Hershiser's Major League record scoreless innings streak, ESPN.com, Published 30 August 2013, Accessed 31 August 2013.

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