Joshua J. Kroeger (born August 31, 1982) 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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. Listed at 6'3" , 220 pounds , Kroeger batted and threw

left-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 ...

. He was born in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

High school career

Kroeger graduated from Scripps Ranch High School in 2000, where he was named to the Third Team All-American.

Professional career

In Kroeger played 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 ...

Triple-A affiliate, the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a minor league contract 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 p ...

. Additionally, he played three winter ball seasons for the

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

club of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, resulting champion in the 2009-2010 season and being a key part in the team's regular lineup. Kroeger batted an average of .167 (9-for-54) with three doubles in 22 games for Arizona, including five

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

and two RBI without

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. In 13 minor league seasons, Kroeger hit .276 with 154 home runs and 743 RBI in 1,434 games. His most productive seasons came in Venezuela, where he was widely known as 'La Pesadilla' (The Nightmare), primarily due to his

clutch hitting A clutch hitter is a baseball player who is seemingly adept at getting a hit in high-pressure situations, i.e. in the clutch. This usually refers to getting a hit (particularly a home run) when the player's team is trailing late in a game and need ...

ability for delivering a game-winning hit or belting a home run against the opposite team, as well as for the phonetic similarity of his surname to the fictional character

Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger () is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series. He was created by Wes Craven and made his debut in Craven's ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' (1984) as the malevolent spirit ...

. Overall, he posted a .297/.401/.482

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an e ...

with 27 homers and 128 RBI in 224 games during his five-season stint in the league. Besides Caracas, Kroeger played with the

Águilas del Zulia The Águilas del Zulia ( en, Zulia Eagles) is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. History The team was founded in 1969 and debuted in the 1969–70 season. The fra ...

and

Bravos de Margarita The Bravos de Margarita (''Margarita Braves'') are a professional baseball team who plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League since the 2007-08 season. The team was founded in 1991 as the ''Petroleros de Cabimas'' (''Cabimas Oilers'') ...

and served as a reinforcement for the

Caribes de Anzoátegui The Caribes de Anzoátegui ( en, Anzoátegui Caribs) is a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League based in Puerto la Cruz, Anzoátegui. Franchise history In January 1987, a local businessmen group based in Puerto la Cruz, ...

in the 2010-2011 postseason, when he earned Most Valuable Player honors.Josh Kroeger refuerza a Caribes
. ''El Universal''. (Spanish)

Sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kroeger, Josh 1982 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Arizona Diamondbacks players Arizona League Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Iowa Bravos de Margarita players Charlotte Knights players El Paso Diablos players Gwinnett Braves players Iowa Cubs players Lancaster JetHawks players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball outfielders New Orleans Zephyrs players Pawtucket Red Sox players Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Somerset Patriots players South Bend Silver Hawks players Sportspeople from Davenport, Iowa Tennessee Smokies players Tucson Sidewinders players