Cory Sullivan (born August 20, 1979) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

, New York Mets, and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

between 2005 and 2010.

Early life

Sullivan was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and graduated from

North Allegheny Senior High School North Allegheny Senior High School (NASH) is a suburban high school in the North Allegheny School District and is located in Wexford, Pennsylvania, a northern suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The current building was built in 1974. In 2013, e ...

Wexford, Pennsylvania Wexford is an unincorporated community in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The area known as Wexford is split among multiple municipalities, including Franklin Park, McCandless Township, Pine Township, and Marshall Township. It i ...

. He is an alumnus of the Wake Forest University. In 2000, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox and was named a league all-star.

Major league career

Colorado Rockies

2005

Sullivan was drafted by the

in the 7th round of the

2001 Major League Baseball draft The 2001 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round Selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban ba ...

. He made his major league debut on April 4, 2005. He began the year as the Rockies' fourth outfielder, but assumed the role of starting

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 ...

prior to mid-season when the Rockies traded then-starter

Preston Wilson Preston James Richard Wilson (born July 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played all or parts of ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2007 for the New York Mets, Florida Marlins, Colorado R ...

to the Washington Nationals. By season's end, he would finish with a .294 batting average with 4 home runs, 30 runs batted in, and 12

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 139 games. With his performance, he earned the center field position and lead off spot in the Rockies' batting order for 2006.

2006

Sullivan began his 2006 campaign red hot. On April 9, 2006, Sullivan etched his name in major league record books. He became only the 11th player in history to

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

twice in the same inning. He accomplished this feat against the San Diego Padres. The first triple came against Padres ace

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. He batted and threw right- ...

, the second off

Chan Ho Park Chan Ho Park (; ; born June 30, 1973) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. Park was the first South Korea-born player in MLB history. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, ...

. The last time this feat took place was on August 21, 1951, by

Gil Coan Gilbert Fitzgerald Coan (May 18, 1922 – February 4, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox and New York Giants. Listed ...

of the Washington Senators. The last National League player to accomplish this was on July 22, 1926, by

Curt Walker William Curtis Walker (July 3, 1896 – December 9, 1955), was a professional baseball player who played outfield in the Major Leagues from 1919 to 1930. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Gian ...

of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

2007

In the 2007 spring training, Sullivan lost out on the starting center fielder position to Willy Taveras and began the season in Triple-A Colorado Springs.

New York Mets

In January , Sullivan agreed to a one-year contract with the New York Mets. He was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo before the start of the season. On July 20 , Sullivan was called up from Triple-A Buffalo after pitcher

Fernando Nieve Fernando Alexis Nieve 'knee-EH-veh''(born July 15, 1982) is a Venezuelan former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and New York Mets and in Korea Baseball Organization (K ...

was put on the disabled list. Sullivan wore No. 19, formerly the number of Ryan Church.

Houston Astros

On January 20, 2010, Sullivan signed a minor league deal with the

and was invited to spring training. He was added to the Major League roster on April 3 after winning the 5th outfielder spot over

Jason Bourgeois Jason Jerrod Bourgeois (; born January 4, 1982) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played eight seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), with two seasons each for the Houston Astros and the Cincinnati Reds. Bourgeois would p ...

. He was designated for assignment with

Casey Daigle Sean Casey Daigle (born April 4, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Professional career Arizona Diamondbacks Daigle made his major league debut in 2004, giving up five home runs in less than three innings. , he is the only pitche ...

and Kevin Cash for rookies Chris Johnson, Jason Castro, and

. He was the only one to refuse minor league assignment, so he became a free agent.

Philadelphia Phillies

On February 11, 2011, Sullivan signed a minor league deal 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 ...

. He was released on May 28.Phillies released of Cory Sullivan

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed Sullivan to a minor league contract on December 13, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. The Dodgers released him on March 29, 2012.

Personal life

He married Bresee Sullivan in November 2006. His wife gave birth to daughter Riley Dylan at 2:10 a.m. on July 5, 2007 at

Rose Medical Center Rose Medical Center is a part of HCA Healthcare's HealthONE network. Located in Denver, Colorado, Rose has been well known as a Denver institution and a 9th Avenue landmark since its founding. With thousands of babies born each year, Rose has ear ...

in Denver, Colorado. Sullivan shares a birthday with former

' teammate Todd Helton.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Cory 1979 births Living people Colorado Rockies players New York Mets players Houston Astros players Asheville Tourists players Salem Avalanche players Tulsa Drillers players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Major League Baseball center fielders Baseball players from Oklahoma Sportspeople from Tulsa, Oklahoma Cypress Chargers baseball players Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players All-American college baseball players