Cory Joseph Spangenberg (; born March 16, 1991) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in

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), ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, Milwaukee Brewers, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway ...

. The Padres selected Spangenberg in the first round, with the 10th overall selection, of the

2011 MLB draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. He made his MLB debut with the Padres in 2014 and played for them until 2018. Spangenberg played for the Brewers in 2019, the Lions in 2020 and 2021, and the Cardinals in 2022.

Early career

Spangenberg graduated from

Abington Heights High School Abington Heights High School is a moderate-sized public high school. It serves the boroughs of Clarks Green and Clarks Summit and the townships of Waverly Township, Glenburn Township, Newton Township, North Abington Township, Ransom Township ...

Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Clarks Summit is a borough in Lackawanna County, northwest of Scranton in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 5,108 at the 2020 census. It is also the northern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension, I-476. Histor ...

, in 2009. During his senior year, he led the Abington Heights Comets varsity baseball team to a

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc., also known by its acronymn PIAA, is one of the governing bodies of high school and middle school athletics for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. The PIAA's main ...

Class AAA state championship. Spangenberg attended the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

(VMI) in 2010, and 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 p ...

for the

VMI Keydets The VMI Keydets are the athletic teams that represent the Virginia Military Institute. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I, and all but three compete in the Southern Conference (the exceptions being men's and women's swimming and diving ...

. He was named the Big South Conference's freshman of the year. He transferred to

Indian River State College Indian River State College (IRSC) is a public college with a main campus in Fort Pierce, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and serves the counties of Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie on the Treasure Coast region ...

in 2011, stating that the military commitment of VMI took too much time away from baseball and his coursework.

Professional career

Minor leagues

The

(MLB) selected Spangenberg in the first round, with the 10th overall selection, of the

. Spangenberg signed with the Padres, receiving a $1.883 million signing bonus. He made his professional debut with the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays thei ...

and was promoted to the

Fort Wayne TinCaps The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest Le ...

in July. In 72 games between both teams, he batted .316 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 44

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 ba ...

(RBIs). Before the 2012 season,

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

rated Spangenberg as the 81st best prospect in baseball. Cory Spangenberg

Spangenberg played for the

Lake Elsinore Storm The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park s ...

in 2012 where he hit .271 with one home run and 40 RBIs in 98 games, and Lake Elsinore and the San Antonio Missions in 2013 where he slashed .292/.346/.407 with six home runs and 51 RBIs in 130 games. He spent 2014 with the Missions. He missed two months of the season in 2014 after suffering a concussion, but was named the Texas League Player of the Month for July after returning to the Missions. Spangenberg, who had primarily played second base in his minor league career, also moved around the field in 2014, making starts at third base and in center field. In 66 games for San Antonio, he batted .331 with two home runs and 22 RBIs.

San Diego Padres

The Padres promoted Spangenberg to the Major Leagues on September 1, 2014, receiving a start at third base and recording his first Major League hit, a two-run single. He hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

off

Brad Ziegler Brad Gregory Ziegler (born October 10, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, Boston Red Sox, and Miami Marlins. Ziegler was one of th ...

of the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in his second Major League game. He played in 20 games in 2014, making starts at third and in left field. Spangenberg made the Padres' Opening Day roster in 2015 as a bench player, making occasional appearances at second and third. By June 2015, Spangenberg began to gain playing time at second base, due to the struggles of

Jedd Gyorko Jedd Lindon Gyorko ( ; born September 23, 1988) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers. He is curr ...

. He suffered a knee injury in late June and went on the disabled list, returning in mid-August. For 2015, Spangenberg finished with a .271/.333/.399 batting line and four home runs in 108 games, with 48 starts at second base and 11 at third base. Spangenberg was the starting second baseman on the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

Opening Day roster, but he tore his

quadriceps muscle The quadriceps femoris muscle (, also called the quadriceps extensor, quadriceps or quads) is a large muscle group that includes the four prevailing muscles on the front of the thigh. It is the sole extensor muscle of the knee, forming a large ...

in April and played in only 14 games that season.

Jemile Weeks Jemile Nykiwa Weeks ( ; born January 26, 1987) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, and San Diego P ...

, and later

Alexi Amarista Alexi Jose Amarista (born April 6, 1989) is a Venezuelan professional baseball utility player for El Águila de Veracruz of the Mexican League. Amarista was signed by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim as an amateur free agent in 2007. He has pl ...

and

Ryan Schimpf Ryan Michael Schimpf (born April 11, 1988) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. He made his MLB debut in 2016 with the Padres and was ...

, picked up most of the remaining time at second base. After competing with Schimpf for the starting third base job in spring training in 2017, Spangenberg was among the Padres' final roster cuts. Schimpf struggled with the Padres, and they recalled Spangenberg on April 25 after he batted .348 with the

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened ...

. Spangenberg started slowly, but improved in the second half, putting up a .794

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 ...

with eight home runs after the All-Star break and claiming the third-base position as Yangervis Solarte transitioned to shortstop in August. He finished with a .264/.322/.401 batting line and 13 home runs in 129 games, with 86 starts at third base, 12 in left field, and four at second. In 2018, he hit .235 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs. He was designated for assignment on November 20 and released the next day.

Milwaukee Brewers

Spangenberg signed a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Brewers on January 4, 2019. He opened the 2019 season with the San Antonio Missions. On May 14, he was designated for assignment. On August 24, the Brewers selected Spangenberg's contract. In AAA with the San Antonio Missions, he led the PCL with 28 stolen bases while being caught four times, and batted .309/.378/.498.

Saitama Seibu Lions

On December 6, 2019, Spangenberg signed with the

(NPB). After hitting .268/.326/.482 with 15 home runs in 2020 to go along with 12 stolen bases, Spangenberg re-signed a $1.4MM contract with the Lions for the 2021 season on January 14, 2021. He elected free agency following the 2021 season.

St. Louis Cardinals

On March 25, 2022, Spangenberg signed a minor league contract with the

. He began the 2022 season with the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. The Cardinals promoted Spangenberg to the major leagues for a series on the road against the

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 ...

, replacing players who were not vaccinated against COVID-19. He elected free agency on November 10, 2022.

Personal life

Spangenberg and his wife, Julie, had a baby during the 2020 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spangenberg, Cory 1991 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Arizona League Padres players Baseball players from Pennsylvania El Paso Chihuahuas players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne TinCaps players Indian River State Pioneers baseball players Lake Elsinore Storm players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Memphis Redbirds players Milwaukee Brewers players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders People from Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania Peoria Javelinas players Saitama Seibu Lions players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players St. Louis Cardinals players VMI Keydets baseball players