Stephen Bradley Wilkerson (born June 1, 1977) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for eight seasons. Wilkerson played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and was selected by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in the first round of the

1998 Major League Baseball Draft The 1998 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

. During his Major League career, he played for the Montreal Expos /

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, Texas Rangers,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Early years

Wilkerson was born in

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

, where he attended and played baseball at Apollo High School. Wilkerson played for the US national junior baseball team in 1995. He was the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(MVP) of the

World Junior Baseball Championship The U-18 Baseball World Cup is the 18-and-under baseball world championship sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and its successor, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), and was first held in 1981 in the United S ...

, pitching a three-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

against

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

in the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

game, hitting .360, and leading Team USA with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and eight

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBI) for the tournament.

College career

A line drive hitter and versatile defensive player, Wilkerson received an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach

Andy Lopez Andrew Lopez (born November 30, 1953) is a retired American college baseball coach. He was most recently the head baseball coach at University of Arizona, and has served as the head baseball coach at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Pepperdine, and Fl ...

Florida Gators baseball The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. Florida competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (S ...

team from 1996 to 1998. A three-time first-team All-American, Wilkerson led the Gators to the

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

in 1996 and 1998 with both his hitting and pitching. In the

1996 College World Series The 1996 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1996 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series ...

, he hit a dramatic

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

to defeat the rival

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

. As a junior in 1998, he became the first player in college history to hit 20 home runs, steal 20 bases, and win 10 games as a pitcher in the same year. The Gators advanced to the 1998 College World Series, and he was awarded the

Rotary Smith Award The Rotary Smith Award was created in 1988 to honor the most outstanding college baseball player of the year. The award was founded by the Greater Houston Sports Association. In 1996, the Rotary Club of Houston joined the award committee. Prior to ...

as the most outstanding player in college baseball. The pitcher-outfielder holds a number of season and career school records, including career batting average (.381), career slugging percentage (.714), and career on-base percentage (.531). Wilkerson was inducted into the

University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame The University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame includes over 300 former Florida Gators athletes who represented the University of Florida in one or more intercollegiate sports and were recognized as "Gator Greats" for their athletic excellence ...

as a "Gator Great" in 2010, and the

National College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collecti ...

in 2012. In 2014, he received his bachelor's degree in sport management from the University of Florida.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Wilkerson was selected by the Montreal Expos in the first round (33rd pick) of the

. Initially, he struggled in the minors. In , Wilkerson hit .235 with eight home runs and 49 RBI at Double-A

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

. Back in the Eastern League to start the season, Wilkerson tore up the league, hitting .336 with six home runs, 44 RBI and 36 doubles in 66 games. He was on pace to break the Eastern League record for doubles in a season before he was promoted to Triple-A

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. For the season, Wilkerson played in 129 games combined between Harrisburg and Ottawa, batting .295 with 18 home runs, 79 RBI and 47 doubles in 441

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s. While coming up through the minors, Wilkerson was a member of the gold medal-winning USA baseball team in the

Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug language, Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport ...

. In one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, Team USA defeated

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

4–0 in the Gold Medal Game.

Major Leagues

Wilkerson debuted with Montreal on July 12, against the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

, finishing the game 0-for-3 with a walk. He recorded his first major league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

off

Tim Wakefield Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Wakefield began his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-yea ...

of the Boston Red Sox on July 17, 2001, and his first major league home run off Atlanta Braves pitcher

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Arizona ...

on July 26, 2001. From –, Wilkerson delivered almost identical seasons with a .266 average, 20 home runs and 59 RBI in 2002, and a .268 average, 19 home runs, and 77 RBI in 2003. In 2002, Wilkerson's 20 home runs set an Expos rookie record, and he was named Rookie of the Year by ''The Sporting News''. His most productive season came in , when he posted career-highs in homers (32), hits (146), doubles (39), runs (112), walks (106),

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

(.498) and

OPS In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...

(.872), and hitting .255 with 67 RBI. He

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Ba ...

on June 24, 2003, against

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

(with the Expos). In that first instance, Wilkerson became the first player since to have the minimum four plate appearances and hit for a

natural cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Ba ...

. In 2004, he hit the last home run in Montreal Expos franchise history. He appeared once more in an Expos uniform during the

Major League Baseball Japan All-Star Series The MLB Japan All-Star Series is an irregular end-of-the-season tour of Japan made by an All-Star team from Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1986, contested in a best-of format against the All-Stars from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or ...

shortly after the 2004 regular season. The Expos were to become the Washington Nationals for the season, prompting some to refer to Wilkerson as "The Last Expo." Wilkerson opened the 2005 season as the regular

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

and leadoff hitter after the Expos moved to Washington and became the Nationals. He hit for the cycle for the second time on April 6, 2005, against

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

(with the Nationals, in their second game after moving from Montreal). Wilkerson also hit the first grand slam home run hit by a Washington Nationals player. On December 7, 2005, Wilkerson was traded to the Texas Rangers along with outfielder

Terrmel Sledge Terrmel Sledge (born March 18, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and the former assistant hitting coach of the Chicago Cubs. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals and San D ...

and minor league pitching prospect

Armando Galarraga Armando Antonio Galarraga Barreto (born January 15, 1982) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. Galarraga made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Texas Rangers on September 15, 2007. He was traded to the Detroit Ti ...

for second baseman

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cu ...

. While playing for the Rangers in , Wilkerson hit three home runs in one game against the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

– the third player to do so in 2007 behind Alfonso Soriano and

Carlos Lee Carlos Noriel Lee (born June 20, 1976), nicknamed "El Caballo", is a Panamanian former professional baseball first baseman and left fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999–2012 with the Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

. An injury to, and later the trade of,

Mark Teixeira Mark Charles Teixeira ( ; born April 11, 1980), nicknamed "Tex", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels of Anahei ...

led to Wilkerson making many of his starts at first base in 2007. On January 31, , Wilkerson signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the

. On April 30, he was designated for assignment, and on May 8 was given his unconditional release. On May 9, he signed with the

. On August 22, he was put on the 15-day

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with lower back spasms. On October 30, 2008, Wilkerson filed for free-agency from Toronto. On February 16, , Wilkerson signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the

. Wilkerson decided to retire in 2009, having had one hit in nine Triple-A at-bats in the Boston minor league affiliate. He retired with a .247 batting average, .350 on-base percentage and 122 career home runs. On February 23, 2010, Wilkerson attempted a brief comeback by agreeing to a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. However, he was released on March 29.

Coaching career

In 2014, Wilkerson agreed to manage a middle school baseball team at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida, leading the team to a league championship in his first year. After the season, Wilkerson was hired as the school's varsity baseball coach. Wilkerson is also a coach for USA Baseball. In 2014, he was named Volunteer Coach of the Year by the organization. On July 17, 2020, Wilkerson was hired by

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College u ...

as a baseball assistant.

Personal life

Wilkerson married Dana Marie Gleason in 2006. They have three children—Ella, Ava and Max. In 2006, he was named a

Kentucky Colonel Kentucky Colonel is the highest title of honor bestowed by the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and is the most well-known of a number of honorary colonelcies conferred by United States governors. A Kentucky Colonel Commission (the certificate) is ...

by Governor

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician. In 1998, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th ...

, the highest honor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Wilkerson participated in numerous charitable functions over the course of his Major League career and he continues to do so post-retirement. He holds a charity golf tournament annually to raise money for various children's charities.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilkerson, Brad 1977 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Kentucky National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Dunedin Blue Jays players Florida Gators baseball players Frisco RoughRiders players Harrisburg Senators players Jupiter Hammerheads players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Montreal Expos players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Ottawa Lynx players Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Owensboro, Kentucky Seattle Mariners players Texas Rangers players Toronto Blue Jays players Washington Nationals players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball coaches