Richie Sexson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Seattle Mariners — No. 44 | |
| First Base | |
| Born: December 29, 1974 Portland, Oregon |
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| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| September 14, 1997 for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through May 30, 2008) |
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| Batting Average | .261 |
| Home Runs | 303 |
| Runs Batted In | 928 |
| Teams | |
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Richmond Lockwood "Richie" Sexson (born December 29, 1974 in Portland, Oregon) is an American first baseman who currently plays for the Seattle Mariners. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches tall, he is the tallest position player in the history of Major League Baseball.[1]
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[edit] High school career
At Prairie High School in Brush Prairie, Washington, Sexson was an All-State performer in baseball, basketball, and football. He also set the school record for the most RBIs and home runs in a career.
[edit] Baseball career
Sexson was drafted in 1993 by the Cleveland Indians in the 24th Round (671st overall) of the baseball amateur draft. He made his first appearance in Major League Baseball in 1997, when he played in 5 games for the Indians. He appeared in 49 games the following year, collecting 174 at-bats. Sexson had a breakout year in 1999, playing 134 games while collecting 479 at-bats, 122 hits, 31 home runs. and 116 runs batted in.
In 2000, Sexson was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with a player to be named later, for Bob Wickman, Steve Woodard, and Jason Bere. In 2001, Sexson played in 158 games for the Brewers, hitting 45 home runs (tying a team record at the time set by Gorman Thomas in 1979. A record since broken by Prince Fielder in 2007.) with a .271 batting average, but also set the then single-season record for strikeouts by a Brewer player with 178, which was surpassed by José Hernández in 2002. In 2002, he represented the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB All-Star Game. In 2003, Sexson played in every inning of all 162 games, hit .272 and blasted 45 home runs to tie his own record (and Thomas'), while earning a selection to the 2003 MLB All-Star Game. During the all star game, he used a bat which weighed 71 ounces and was 44 inches long.
Sexson was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in December of 2003 along with pitcher Shane Nance and a player to be named later (Noochie Varner) for infielders Junior Spivey, Craig Counsell, Lyle Overbay, catcher Chad Moeller, and pitchers Chris Capuano and Jorge de la Rosa. This trade proved to be disastrous for the Diamondbacks, as Sexson missed most of the 2004 season after twice suffering a reverse subluxation of his left shoulder while attempting to check his swing.
Prior to the 2005 season, Sexson signed a four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners worth $50 million. Sexson hit 2 home runs in his first game as a Mariner on opening day against the Minnesota Twins. Sexson played well in the 2005 season, hitting 39 home runs and 121 RBIs. On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Sexson was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.
On May 8th, 2008 in a game against the Texas Rangers, Sexson charged the mound towards Rangers starting pitcher Kason Gabbard and threw his batting helmet at him, after Gabbard threw a head-high pitch high over the plate, to which Sexson reacted as if it nearly hit him. Sexson later stated he was frustrated and had a lot going on in his head, including his club's recent struggles. He was suspended six games for the incident. He later appealed the suspension, and was dropped to five games.
Similar to the colloquialism "Changing deck seats on the Titanic," Seattle fans have started referring to someone in that situation as "Moving Richie Sexson up and down in the order."
[edit] Transactions
- June 3, 1993: Drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 24th round of the 1993 amateur draft.
- July 28, 2000: Traded by the Cleveland Indians with a player to be named later, Kane Davis, and Paul Riggdon to the Milwaukee Brewers for Bob Wickman, Steve Woodard, and Jason Bere. The Cleveland Indians sent the contract rights of minor leaguer Joel Kurzdorfer (August 30, 2001) to the Milwaukee Brewers to complete the trade.
- December 1, 2003: Traded by the Milwaukee Brewers with a player to be named later and Shane Nance to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Junior Spivey, Craig Counsell, Lyle Overbay, Chad Moeller, Chris Capuano, and Jorge de la Rosa. The Milwaukee Brewers sent Noochie Varner (minors) (December 15, 2003) to the Arizona Diamondbacks to complete the trade.
- November 1, 2004: Granted free agency.
- December 15, 2004: Signed as a free agent with the Seattle Mariners.
[edit] Salaries
- 1996 Portland Fred Meyer $8.82/hr
- 1997 Cleveland Indians $150,000
- 1998 Cleveland Indians $175,000
- 1999 Cleveland Indians $219,000
- 2000 Cleveland Indians $247,000
- 2001 Milwaukee Brewers $1,125,000
- 2002 Milwaukee Brewers $3,125,000
- 2003 Milwaukee Brewers $5,125,000
- 2004 Arizona Diamondbacks $8,725,000
- 2005 Seattle Mariners $6,000,000
- 2006 Seattle Mariners $13,000,000
- 2007 Seattle Mariners $15,500,000
Career (may be incomplete) $53,391,000
[edit] See also
- Top 500 home run hitters of all time
- Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
- Arizona Diamondbacks all-time roster
[edit] External links
- Richie Sexson's career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com
- ESPN.com: Richie Sexson
- MLB.com: Player Information on Richie Sexson
- Fangraphs stats
