Scott Podsednik

Infobox MLB player
name = Scott Podsednik

---

width = 300
caption = Podsednik at bat
team = Colorado Rockies
number = 22
position = Outfielder
birthdate = birth date and age|1976|3|18
birthplace = city-state|West|Texas
bats = Left
throws = Left
debutdate = July 6
debutyear = 2001
debutteam = Seattle Mariners
statyear = 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .271
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 28
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 201
stat4label = Stolen bases
stat4value = 236
teams =
*Seattle Mariners (by|2001-by|2002)
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|2003-by|2004)
*Chicago White Sox (by|2005-by|2007)
*Colorado Rockies (by|2008-present)
awards =
*All-Star selection (by|2005)
*World Series champion in 2005
*Led NL in stolen bases in by|2004

Scott Eric Podsednik (born March 18, 1976 in West, Texas), is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Colorado Rockies. Podsednik led the major leagues in stolen bases in by|2004 with 70. In by|2005, Podsednik finished second in the American League in stolen bases with 59 (behind Chone Figgins' 62), despite missing several games due to injury. However, because he led Major League Baseball in steals for all of the first half of the 2005 season, he was voted by fans into the last roster spot as an All-Star selection, the first of his career. Although he played in the All-Star Game in Detroit, he saw only defensive time and did not get a chance to bat.

Professional career

Minor Leagues

Podsednik was drafted out of West High School in the 3rd round, 85th overall, in the by|1994 Amateur Draft by the Texas Rangers. For the next 8 years, he would only play on rookie and minor league clubs, dealing with minor nagging injuries along the way. While his play was not stellar initially, he showed gradual improvement until he was promoted to Texas' AA team, the Tulsa Drillers. Here, he began to struggle so much as to be demoted back to the Rangers organization's rookie club in by|1999, but he immediately responded by hitting .412 with 5 runs batted in just 5 games. After being recalled back to Tulsa for the remainder of that season and the by|2000 season, the Rangers gave up on him as a future prospect, and he then moved to the Seattle Mariners organization.

Seattle immediately placed Podsednik at the AAA level, where he hit .564, good enough for his first promotion to a Major League team in September, by|2001. He was mostly used in a pinch-running role or as a late defensive replacement. His first career Major League hit was a three run triple.

In by|2002, Podsednik played mostly at AAA Tacoma, but was activated for 14 Major League games, hitting his first major-league home run during that time.

After the 2002 season, Podsednik was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers organization from Seattle for $20,000. In Milwaukee, Podsednik was finally given a fair chance to become a Major League regular, and he would take advantage in by|2003. Podsednik surprised many people by compiling a .314 batting average, 43 stolen bases, 100 runs scored, 175 hits, 29 doubles, eight triples, nine home runs, 58 runs batted in, 56 walks and a .379 on-base percentage for the Brewers, even though he was not inserted permanently into the starting lineup until mid-May.

Podsednik finished second to the Florida Marlins' Dontrelle Willis in the official Rookie of the Year balloting. Despite sharing comparable success, some thought Podsednik's chances for winning the award were irreparably hurt by his playing for a perennial also-ran and by his relative low profile. This was in contrast to Willis, who received much more national exposure and played in a larger Miami market for a team that would eventually win the World Series. Furthermore, unlike Podsednik, who had been a relatively obscure career minor leaguer, Willis had been a much-hyped future superstar, going back to his days in the Chicago Cubs minor league system.

Despite this, Podsednik was subsequently (unofficially) voted Rookie of the Year by baseball fans through a system similar to the one in use to determine each year's All Star team starting lineups.

Major League

The 2004 season saw Podsednik's average drop to .244, partly due to pressure on him and his teammates to produce runs on an offensively lethargic Brewers team. Despite his more limited time on base, Podsednik led the league with 70 stolen bases, an astounding number for a sub-.250 hitter.

In December 2004, the Chicago White Sox realized Podsednik's ability and felt he was perfect for the direction they were going, ses, batted .290, led the league in infield hits, and stole third base on 18 out of 19 attempts. A well rounded yet below average offensive White Sox team enabled Podsednik to concentrate on his strengths — getting on base, and using his speed, rather than hitting for power and driving in runs himself. He quickly became a huge fan favorite in Chicago, and every stolen base he attempted seemed to bring as much excitement as does an RBI base hit; indeed, the "Podsednik effect" was one of the factors in the White Sox' performance, much commented on, unnerving pitchers who knew they had to watch over their shoulder constantly. He was selected to his first All-Star game in 2005 via the MLB's All-Star Final Vote.

On June 23, by|2006, Podsednik hit his first career grand slam off Andy Pettite, another Houston Astros pitcher. Phil Garner, manager of the Astros when they were swept by the White Sox in the 2005 World Series and still when Podsednik hit his first grand slam in 2006, said "It's tough to pitch to this guy. He hits a home run once in a blue moon or whenever he faces the Astros."

On November 20, by|2007, Podsednik was designated for assignment and the White Sox had 10 days to trade, waive, release, or outright him to the minors. Podsednik was released on November 28, 2007 [http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071120&content_id=2305432&vkey=news_cws&fext=.jsp&c_id=cws] . On February 5, by|2008, he signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the Colorado Rockies [http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080205&content_id=2365228&vkey=news_col&fext=.jsp&c_id=col] .

Curious records

On October 4, 2005, during Game 1 of the American League Division Playoff Series against the Boston Red Sox, Podsednik became only the second player in Major League Baseball history to hit a home run in a post-season game after going without any homers in the regular season with at least 500 or more at bats. Coincidentally, the man he joins in this historical category is Lance Johnson, another White Sox player who was the first to accomplish the feat in the 1993 American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Later, on October 23, 2005, during Game 2 of the World Series against the Houston Astros, Podsednik hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 9th off Astros closer Brad Lidge to win the game thus making Podsednik the only player in history to hit more than one home run in the post-season after going a full season with none.

In Game 3 of the same 2005 Series, as the lead-off batter he also became the player with the most at-bats in a single Series game (8).

Personal

He is married to former Playboy playmate Lisa Dergan.

He made an appearance on the Lance Armstrong-Sheryl Crow episode of Saturday Night Live, the first one after the 2005 World Series.

ee also

* List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
* Chicago White Sox all-time roster

External links

succession box
title = National League Stolen Base Champion
years = 2004
before = Juan Pierre
after = José Reyes
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