Mark Thomas Wasinger (born August 4, 1961) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

scout and front-office official, and a former Major League

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. 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 ...

, second baseman and

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 wh ...

, he appeared in 50 MLB games between and 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 ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

. He threw and batted

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 ...

, and was listed at tall and .

Playing career

Amateur

Born in Monterey, California, Wasinger attended

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (Old Dominion or ODU) is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia. It was established in 1930 as the Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary and is now one of the largest universities in Virginia w ...

. In 1981, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was a third-round selection by the Padres in the

1982 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft. Compensation Picks Other notable players * David Wells†, 2nd round, 30th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays * Allan Anderson, 2nd ro ...

Professional

Wasinger rose through the Padre system, batted above .300 four times in his first five pro seasons, and was named a 1985 All-Star in the Double-A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. But, following a three-game trial with San Diego in September 1986, he was traded to San Francisco in April 1987 and would spend the rest of his big-league tenure with the Giants. He split the season between the Giants and Triple-A, and collected 22 hits in a reserve role for San Francisco. On May 9, 1987, in his second game as a Giant, Wasinger collected four hits in five

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, including a

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 ...

, and scored three runs, in a 9–4 defeat of the Pittsburgh Pirates at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

. His 888-game minor-league playing career essentially ended after the 1993 season.

Coaching/front office career

Wasinger managed in

independent league baseball Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, then became a scout for the Padres (1996–2002), where he scouted and signed

Jake Peavy Jacob Edward Peavy (born May 31, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox, and San Francisco Giants. He batted and threw right- ...

in 1999. He joined the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

in 2003, working as an amateur scouting regional cross-checker, a professional scout and special assignment scout for general managers

Theo Epstein Theo Nathaniel Epstein (born December 29, 1973) is an American Major League Baseball executive, who currently works for MLB as a consultant. He was the vice president and general manager for the Boston Red Sox and then the president of baseball o ...

and

Ben Cherington Benjamin P. Cherington (born July 14, 1974) is an American baseball executive serving as the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) since November 2019. He previously served as the vice-president of baseball oper ...

. He was promoted to special assistant/player personnel in January 2015."Red Sox hire former major-league pitcher Brian Bannister as pro scout, analyst"
''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Puli ...

'', 2015.01.14.

Notes

Sources

1961 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Monterey County, California Beaumont Golden Gators players Boston Red Sox scouts Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Columbus Clippers players Cotuit Kettleers players Edmonton Trappers players Idaho Falls Braves players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Major League Baseball third basemen Midland Angels players Old Dominion Monarchs baseball players Phoenix Firebirds players Reno Padres players San Francisco Giants players San Diego Padres players San Diego Padres scouts Sportspeople from Monterey, California {{US-baseball-third-baseman-stub