Travis Norton Denker (born August 5, 1985) 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 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 Yor ...

. Prior to playing professional

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 ...

, Denker attended Brea Olinda High School.

Professional career

Los Angeles Dodgers

Originally drafted by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in the 21st round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, Denker signed and started his professional career that very same year. He split time between the

South Georgia Waves The South Georgia Waves were a Low-A class minor league baseball team in Albany, Georgia for one season before relocating to Columbus, Georgia where they operated under the same name for the 2003 season before being rebranded the Columbus Catfi ...

and

GCL Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compo ...

, combining to

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 ...

.264 with three

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 and 14 RBI in 46 games. Denker spent the entire 2004 season with the

Ogden Raptors The Ogden Raptors are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Ogden, Utah and play their home games at Lindquist Field. Pitche ...

, with whom he hit .311 with 12 home runs and 43 RBI in 57 games. In 2005, he split time between the

Columbus Catfish The Columbus Catfish were a minor league baseball team in Columbus, Georgia. They were a Class A team in the South Atlantic League, and were an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2007 in baseball, 2007 and 2008 in baseball, 2008 seasons. The ...

and

Vero Beach Dodgers Vero may refer to: Geography * Vero Beach, Florida, a city in the United States * Vero, Corse-du-Sud, a commune of France in Corsica Other * ''Véro'', a talk show on the Radio-Canada television network * Vero (app), a social media company co-found ...

, combining to hit .281 with 23 home runs and 77 RBI in 132 games. He split time again between the two teams in 2006, hitting .247 with 16 home runs and 70 RBI in 129 games. He also walked 89 times and

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denote ...

73 times.

San Francisco Giants

He spent most of the 2007 season with the

Inland Empire 66ers The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchise ...

until the Dodgers traded him to the Giants on August 25, 2007, as the PTBNL from a trade for

Mark Sweeney Mark Patrick Sweeney (born October 26, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who played for several teams from 1995 to 2008. He is best known for his skill as a pinch hitter, where he ranks second in career pinch h ...

on August 9, 2007. Denker finished the season playing for the Giants High-A affiliate, the

San Jose Giants The San Jose Giants are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Located in San Jose, California, the Giants play their home games at Excite Ballpark. Games San Jose Giants ga ...

and helped lead them to the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

championship. For the year, Denker hit .300 with 11 home runs and 66 RBI in 118 games. Denker was called up on May 12, , and got his first major league

against the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

on May 25, 2008, which was a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

down the

third base 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 ...

line. He hit his first home run against

Scott Schoeneweis Scott David Schoeneweis (; born October 2, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. In the five seasons from 2003 to 2007, Schoeneweis allowed only one home r ...

of 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 ...

on June 3, 2008.

San Diego Padres/Boston Red Sox

After spending the rest of the 2008 season in the minor leagues, Denker was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. He appeared in only one game for the AA

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. ...

. On April 14, 2009, 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 eight ...

claimed Denker off waivers from the Padres. He appeared in 117 games for the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, hitting .238.

Los Angeles Dodgers

He signed a minor league contract with

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 ...

for 2010 season, but he was released April 24, 2010 after only 7 games 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 signed by the

on May 4. In 2010, he played in 74 games for the

Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino The Inland Empire 66ers of San Bernardino are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The 66ers are based in San Bernardino, California, and play at San Manuel Stadium. Franchis ...

, 16 games for the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

and 13 games for the

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

. In 2011, he was in 55 games for the

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and play their home games at LoanMart Field. The franc ...

and 66 for the Lookouts. Combined he hit .274 with 25 home runs and 81 RBI. In 2012, he continued with the Lookouts, appearing in 64 games and hitting only .228. He was released on July 27.

Independent leagues

Denker signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

on August 4, 2012. He played with them through 2013 and then signed with the

Laredo Lemurs The Laredo Lemurs were a professional baseball team based in Laredo, Texas, that played in the independent American Association from 2012 to 2016. The team played their home games at the Uni-Trade Stadium in Laredo, replacing the Laredo Broncos o ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

. He led the American Association in home runs while with the Laredo Lemurs.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On June 11, 2016, Denker signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

organization. On June 12, he was assigned to the Double–A

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

. During the 2016 offseason, Denker signed a new minor league contract with the Diamondbacks. Denker spent the 2017 season with the Double–A

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (1964–2020), Southern League (SL) as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliat ...

, logging a .296/.399/.468 batting line with 7 home runs and 28 RBI. He elected free agency following the season on November 6, 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denker, Travis 1985 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Fountain Valley, California Broncos de Reynosa players Chattanooga Lookouts players Columbus Catfish players Connecticut Defenders players Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Inland Empire 66ers players Lancaster Barnstormers players Laredo Lemurs players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball second basemen Mobile BayBears players Ogden Raptors players Pawtucket Red Sox players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players San Antonio Missions players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Giants players South Georgia Waves players Brea Olinda High School alumni Sugar Land Skeeters players Tacoma Rainiers players Vero Beach Dodgers players