Sean Frank Kazmar Jr. (born August 5, 1984) is an American 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He played 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), ...

(MLB) 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 penna ...

and

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 ...

Amateur career

Kazmar attended the

College of Southern Nevada The College of Southern Nevada (CSN) is a public community college in Clark County, Nevada. The college has more than 2,500 teaching and non-teaching staff and is the largest public college or university in Nevada. It is part of the Nevada Syst ...

. In 2003, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Wareham Gatemen The Wareham Gatemen are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Wareham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Gatemen play their home games at Clem Spillane Fi ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Kazmar was drafted by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in the 37th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres drafted Kazmar out of the

in the fifth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft and he signed. Kazmar started with the Double-A

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

and was

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.264 in 111 games when he was called up to the majors on August 12, 2008. He recorded his first Major League

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

on August 13, 2008, on the first pitch of his first ever

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

from the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

CC Sabathia Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauke ...

. On November 6, 2010, he elected free agency.

Seattle Mariners

On November 17, 2010, Kazmar signed a minor-league deal with 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 ...

. He spent the year with the

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. ...

and elected free agency on November 2, 2011.

New York Mets

On January 10, 2012 Kazmar signed with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

to a minor-league deal. He elected free agency on November 2, 2012, after spending the year with the

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mira ...

and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

Atlanta Braves

On January 19, 2013, Kazmar signed a minor-league deal with the

. Since 2013, he has played for the Gwinnett Braves/Stripers minor league baseball team. He elected for free agency after the 2014 season. On November 12, 2014, Kazmar resigned with the Braves organization. He elected for free agency on November 7, 2015. On December 13, Kazmar resigned a minor-league contract. He elected for free agency on November 7, 2016. On November 19, he signed a new minor-league contract to remain with the Braves organization. On November 6, 2017, Kazmar elected free agency. Kazmar was resigned to a minor-league deal on November 16, 2017. Kazmar was invited to Spring Training for the 2019 season but did not make the team. He was again invited to Spring Training for the 2020 season. He became a free agent on November 2, 2020. On December 7, 2020, Kazmar again re-signed with the Braves on a minor-league contract. He received an invitation to attend Major League Spring Training on February 15, 2021. On April 17, 2021, Kazmar was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time since 2008. That same day he made his first MLB appearance in over 12 years, pinch hitting for

Huascar Ynoa Huascar Jose Ynoa Ventura (born May 28, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019. Career Minnesota Twins Ynoa signed with the Minnesota Twins as an ...

, he grounded into a double play in his only at-bat. At a time span of 12 years and 206 days, this is the ninth longest gap for a player between major league appearances in MLB history. On April 24, 2021, he was optioned to the Braves alternate site. After receiving only 2 plate appearances in 3 games, Kazmar was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on May 10, 2021. The Braves would go on to win the World Series, earning Kazmar his first World Series victory. Kazmar elected free agency on October 14. Kazmar retired from professional baseball on November 12, 2021.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kazmar, Sean 1984 births Living people Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Binghamton Mets players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Eugene Emeralds players Fort Wayne Wizards players Gwinnett Braves players Gwinnett Stripers players Lake Elsinore Storm players Major League Baseball shortstops Peoria Saguaros players Portland Beavers players San Antonio Missions players San Diego Padres players Southern Nevada Coyotes baseball players Tacoma Rainiers players Wareham Gatemen players West Oahu Canefires players People from Valdosta, Georgia St. Cloud River Bats players