David Wayne Kelton (born December 17, 1979) is a former

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), ...

player for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. He batted and threw right-handed.

Career

Kelton was raised in LaGrange, Georgia and graduated from

Troup County High School Troup County High School, originally called Troup County Comprehensive High School, is a public college-preparatory and tech-preparatory school located in LaGrange, Georgia, United States. It is a member of the Troup County Board of Education, an ...

in 1998 and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round. It is likely he fell out of the 1st round because of shoulder surgery. He spent 8 years with the Cubs organization. The last 3 of those years were in Triple-A

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

. While in the Cubs organization, Kelton spent 3 months in the big leagues. He got his first call up when

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...

was suspended for the corked bat incident. Then again when Sosa had a back spasm because of a sneeze. Kelton was a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the first 5 years of his minor league career, but due to shoulder problems played

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and

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

for the remainder of his career. He received a big league invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

with 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) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

and played in Triple-A

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

for the season. He retired after the 2006 season. Kelton is currently coaching baseball at Lagrange College in Georgia.

References

Baseball Reference
1979 births Living people Chicago Cubs players Baseball players from Alabama Major League Baseball outfielders Arizona League Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players LaGrange College Daytona Cubs players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Iowa Cubs players Richmond Braves players Sportspeople from Dothan, Alabama {{US-baseball-third-baseman-stub