Craig Allan Wilson (born November 30, 1976) is a former

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 ...

player. He played all or part of seven seasons 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), ...

, most often as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

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 ...

. He bats and throws

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

Major league career

After three years as a role player and

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

, Wilson played regularly in 2004, hitting .264 with 29

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 82 RBI in 155 games, but posted a franchise-record 169 strikeouts (surpassing

Donn Clendenon Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from to . He is most notable for his performance during the 1969 World Series when he ...

's 163 in 1968) in 561 at bats. He led the major leagues at being hit by pitches in 2002 (21) and 2004 (30). Wilson tied the major league single-season record for pinch-hit home runs with seven in 2001. In 2005, Wilson played in only 59 games as a result of two separate hand injuries that caused him to spend over half the season on the disabled list, playing in only five games between May 6 and August 28. He ended the season with a .264

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 5 home runs, and 22 RBI in 197 at bats. At the trade deadline of the 2006 season, Wilson was traded to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

for

Shawn Chacón Shawn Anthony Chacón (born December 23, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He last played in Major League Baseball with the Houston Astros in 2008. During his career, he threw an 88–92 mph sinker, a big curveball, ...

. According to the

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

, at least one general manager in the National League found the deal inexplicable from the Pirates' standpoint. Voicing the opinion that Pirates GM Dave Littlefield had undersold Wilson, the anonymous GM was quoted as saying, "We really thought Wilson was a guy a lot of AL teams would be interested in. He is a high strikeout guy, but he can hit a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

, damage lefty pitching, and not embarrass himself in right field or at first." Overall in 2006, Craig batted .251 with 17 home runs and 49 RBI. Though he only batted 359 times, he struck out 122 times. The Yankees did not re-sign him, causing him to become a free agent. The

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

signed Wilson to a one-year contract worth $2 million USD on January 18, 2007. After 40 games of the 2007 season with the Braves, Wilson was granted his unconditional release on May 17, 2007, to make room for Brayan Peña on the roster. On May 28, 2007, he signed a minor league deal with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, but ended up undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in June. Wilson was released by the White Sox at the end of the 2007 season. On February 9, 2008, Wilson signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Cincinnati Reds, but was released on February 21 after failing a physical. On April 8, 2008, he signed a minor league deal to return to the Pittsburgh Pirates. On July 10, he was traded to the

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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

for a player to be named later.Craig Wilson traded to Mariners 2008-07-15
", Fox Sports, FoxSports.com, published July 15, 2008, accessed November 5, 2012. After finishing the season with the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

, he became a free agent, ending his professional playing career.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Craig Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Yankees players Atlanta Braves players Medicine Hat Blue Jays players Hagerstown Suns players Lynchburg Hillcats players Carolina Mudcats players Altoona Curve players Nashville Sounds players Indianapolis Indians players Charlotte Knights players Tacoma Rainiers players Baseball players from California People from Fountain Valley, California 1976 births Living people