Jack Eugene Wilson (born December 29, 1977) is an American

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 ...

coach and former professional

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

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), ...

. He is currently an assistant coach at

Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on ...

Early career

Wilson played high school baseball for

Thousand Oaks High School Thousand Oaks High School (TOHS) is a high school in Thousand Oaks, California, United States. Established in 1962, it is part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. It has a suburban campus with one story buildings primarily accessed by co ...

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, Downtown. It is named af ...

. He later played for two seasons at Oxnard Junior College, the same baseball program that produced major leaguers

Terry Pendleton Terry Lee Pendleton (born July 16, 1960) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, but he also spent time with the Florida Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, and Kansas C ...

Josh Towers Joshua Eric Towers (born February 26, 1977) is a former right-handed professional baseball pitcher. Towers stands at 6 ft 1 in tall, and weighs 188 lb. Professional career Baltimore Orioles Towers was drafted by the Baltimore Orio ...

Paul McAnulty Paul Michael McAnulty (born February 24, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played college baseball at Long Beach State. Major League Baseball San Diego Padres McAnulty gained the attention of San Diego Padres GM Kevin Tower ...

, among others. He was coached by Pat Woods, Jon Larsen, Roger Frash and Buster Staniland.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Wilson was originally selected by the

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 ...

in the amateur draft, but was dealt to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in for

Jason Christiansen Jason Samuel Christiansen (born September 21, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher. Biography Christiansen was born in Omaha, Nebraska and attended Elkhorn High School. He is an alumnus of Cameron University. He was ...

Pittsburgh Pirates

Wilson was dealt to the

in for

. He made his major league debut a year later. Wilson had almost identical seasons in and , hitting .252 with 22 doubles in 147 games and .256, 21, 150, respectively.

2004 season

Wilson enjoyed the finest season of his career in as he set career highs in almost every category. He posted a .308 average, shared the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

lead in triples with 12 (along with

Jimmy Rollins James Calvin Rollins (born November 27, 1978), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and Chicago White S ...

), scored 82 runs, hit 41 doubles with 11 home runs and 49 RBI, and collected 201 hits (3rd in the league) in 157 games, including 56 multi-hit games. To cap it off he ended the year with a season-high 12-game hitting streak (17-for-46, .370). After hitting eighth in the batting order for most of his career, he became a fixture in the second slot. With his 201 hits, Wilson became just the ninth National League shortstop to collect 200 hits in a season; the franchise's first player since

Dave Parker David Gene Parker (born June 9, 1951), nicknamed "The Cobra," is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1973 to 1991. A seven-time All-Star, Parker won two National League bat ...

(), and the first Pirates shortstop since

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pitts ...

(). Wilson also became the first Pirates player to collect 10 or more doubles, triples and home runs in the same season since

Andy Van Slyke Andrew James Van Slyke (born December 21, 1960) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. Career Van Slyke earned All-American honors in baseball as a senior at New Hartford Central High school in New Hartford, New York. ...

(). Defensively, Wilson led National League shortstops in

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s (492), putouts (234), and

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

(743); his 129

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

s led all major league shortstops and broke the club record of 128 — set by

Gene Alley Leonard Eugene Alley (born July 10, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates from through . A two-time All-Star player, Alley was a ...

in — and went 31 straight contests without making an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

. Wilson was named for the

2004 All-Star Game 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

and won the

Silver Slugger The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

at shortstop. He was also the Pirates' representative in the

Roberto Clemente Award The Roberto Clemente Award is given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team", as voted on by baseball fans a ...

balloting.

2005 season

In December 2004, Wilson was hospitalized for an appendectomy. Despite the setback, he was optimistic at

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 ...

. At 6-foot, 175-pound, Wilson had regained six of the 15 pounds he lost. However, he started the season poorly, hitting just .163 in April and .227 for the first half of the season, and acknowledged that he had not been fully recovered when the season started. Late season improvements to his hitting brought his cumulative season numbers to near his career averages, but still well below the standards he had set in 2004. He finished the year with a .257 batting average, a .299

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, and a .363

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, ...

, compared to his career highs of .308, .335, and .459 respectively the year before. His defense, however, did not seem to suffer. For the second straight year he led all shortstops in the National League (and, in fact, all of baseball) in assists (523), total chances (783), and double plays (126). Largely because of Wilson and fellow defensive standout second baseman José Castillo, the Pirates turned more double plays in 2005 than any National League team save the Cardinals.

2006–2009

Wilson rebounded offensively yet never to the same level as in 2004. Most notably, in 2007, he hit .296 with a career high 12 home runs despite only playing in 135 games. He had frequently been the subject of trade rumors.

Seattle Mariners

2009 season

On July 29, 2009, Wilson 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

along with

Ian Snell Ian Dante Snell (born October 30, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. From 2001 to 2003, he went by the name Ian Oquendo ...

for

Ronny Cedeño Ronny Alexander Salazar Cedeño (born February 2, 1983), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Houston As ...

and Minor League players

Jeff Clement Jeffrey Burton Clement (born August 21, 1983) is an American former professional baseball player. Clement was a catcher and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates. Clement attend ...

, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and Nate Adcock. Wilson was reportedly shocked to find out he had been traded to Seattle saying, He won a

Fielding Bible Award A Fielding Bible Award recognizes the best defensive player for each fielding position in Major League Baseball (MLB) based on statistical analysis. John Dewan and Baseball Info Solutions conduct the annual selection process, which commenced in 2 ...

for his defensive excellence at shortstop during the season. In November 2009, Jack Wilson re-signed with the Seattle Mariners for 2-years, $10 million.

Atlanta Braves

2011 season

On August 31, 2011, Wilson was traded to 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 ...

for a player to be named later. On January 13, 2012, the Braves announced they re-signed him to a 1-year 1M plus 500K bonuses for games played. On August 31, 2012, the Braves released Wilson.

Retirement

Wilson announced his retirement on September 25, 2012.

Coaching career

Wilson was the head coach at his alma mater, Thousand Oaks High School, from 2017 to 2021 where he went 98-30-1. He has held several positions coaching national amateur talent with

USA Baseball USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Basebal ...

. Wilson was named the hitting coach for the Mankato MoonDogs for the 2021 season. Wilson was named an assistant coach at Grand Canyon University on July 10, 2022, under new Lopes head coach Gregg Wallis.

Personal

Jack married his wife Julie in 1999. The couple has three children: Jacob, Jaidyn Faith and Jersi Grace. Jacob plays baseball at Grand Canyon and was a 2022

Golden Spikes Award The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to ...

semifinalist and a member of the

Collegiate National Team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jack 1977 births Living people Pittsburgh Pirates players Seattle Mariners players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from California Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops National League All-Stars People from Westlake Village, California Johnson City Cardinals players Oxnard Condors baseball players Peoria Chiefs players Potomac Cannons players Arkansas Travelers players Altoona Curve players Nashville Sounds players Indianapolis Indians players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Tacoma Rainiers players Gwinnett Braves players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Grand Canyon Antelopes baseball coaches