Wes Avi Littleton (born September 2, 1982) 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 ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

who spent his entire three-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Texas Rangers (

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

–

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

). He is noted for being credited with a save after pitching the final three scoreless innings in a 30–3 victory over the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in the first game of a two-night doubleheader at

Camden Yards The Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a baseball stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home field of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early ...

on August 22, 2007. The final 27- run differential broke the previous MLB record of 19 for largest winning margin for a save. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that "there are the preposterous saves, of which Littleton's now stands out as No. 1."

Career

A sidearm pitcher, he made his major league debut in the ninth inning of a 3–2 loss to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Ameriquest Field in Arlington Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the T ...

on July 4, 2006. He faced two batters, retiring

Vernon Wells Vernon Michael Wells III (born December 8, 1978) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the New York Yankees. Wells ...

on a groundout to the third baseman and

Troy Glaus Troy Edward Glaus (; born August 3, 1976) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman. Glaus played in Major League Baseball with the Anaheim Angels (–), Arizona Diamondbacks (), Toronto Blue Jays (–), St. Lou ...

on a called third strike. Littleton failed to make the Rangers' big league roster to start the 2007 season, and was optioned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

, but was later called up to play for Texas. On November 28, 2008, Littleton was traded to 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 ...

in exchange for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

, minor league pitcher Beau Vaughan. On March 17, 2009, Littleton was claimed off waivers by 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 ...

. Littleton signed a minor league contract on March 1, 2010, 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 2012 season with the

Amarillo Sox The Amarillo Thunderheads, formerly known as the Amarillo Sox, were a professional minor league baseball team based in Amarillo, Texas. They were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, an independent baseball ...

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 ...

before retiring.

Personal life

Littleton has

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

and Samoan heritage. He worked as a DJ during the offseason.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littleton, Wes 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Hayward, California Baseball players from California African-American baseball players American sportspeople of Samoan descent Major League Baseball pitchers Texas Rangers players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Spokane Indians players Stockton Ports players Frisco RoughRiders players Oklahoma RedHawks players Huntsville Stars players Nashville Sounds players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Tacoma Rainiers players High Desert Mavericks players Amarillo Thunderheads players Peoria Saguaros players Surprise Rafters players