Dan Wilson (baseball)

Dan Wilson
Catcher
Born: March 25, 1969 (1969-03-25) (age 42) Barrington, Illinois
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 7, 1992 for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 2005 for the Seattle Mariners
Career statistics
Batting average	.262
Home runs	88
Runs batted in	519
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (1992–1993) Seattle Mariners (1994–2005)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (1996)

Daniel Allen Wilson (born March 25, 1969, in Barrington, Illinois), nicknamed "Dan the Man", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 14-year career, he played for the Cincinnati Reds and the Seattle Mariners.^[1] He is regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in major-league history, and had a career fielding percentage of .995.^[1] He is a Christian, and is also known for his involvement with charities in the Seattle area.^{[citation needed]}

Professional career

Minor leagues (1987-1993)

Wilson was first drafted in the 26th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Mets.^[2] He did not sign with the Mets, electing to instead go to the University of Minnesota. He re-entered the draft in 1990; he was selected in the first round, seventh overall, by the Cincinnati Reds.^[3] He signed in time to play 32 games with the Charleston Wheelers of the South Atlantic League.^[4] He returned to Charleston at the start of the 1991 season, batting .315 in 52 games before earning a promotion to Class AA Chattanooga.^[4] He started the 1992 season with Nashville in the Triple-A American Association, and he batted .251 in 106 games there before earning a September callup to the major leagues at age 23.^[4] He returned to the minor leagues the following year, going to the Indianapolis Indians since the Reds had changed their AAA affiliation after the 1992 season, and he played 51 games for the Indians as well as 36 games in the majors for the Reds.^[1]

Seattle Mariners (1994-2005)

After the 1993 season, the Reds traded Wilson to the Seattle Mariners for second baseman Bret Boone.^[5] He made the Mariners' roster out of spring training and became an established major-league player, replacing Dave Valle as the Mariners catcher.^[6] In his first full season in the majors, he struggled at the plate, batting .216, but he showed signs of his defensive ability with a .986 fielding percentage.^[1] That turned out to be the lowest fielding percentage he would have in the years he spent as the Mariners' primary catcher.^[1] The 1995 season went better for him; he played 119 games, batting .278 and raising his fielding percentage to .995, as the Mariners won the American League Western Division pennant.^[1][7]

In 1996, Wilson set career highs with 146 games played, 18 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and a .774 OPS.^[1] In addition, he made his only All-Star appearance.^[1] The 1996 season was also his first working with starting pitcher Jamie Moyer; Randy Johnson was another pitcher he spent several seasons catching with the Mariners. In 1998 Wilson hit an inside-the-park-grand slam, an unusual feat for any ballplayer, and especially for a catcher.^[8] Wilson remained a dependable battery mate for Mariners pitchers over the next several seasons. In the 2000 season, Wilson's numbers declined to a .235 batting average and .990 fielding percentage;^[1] he was also limited to 90 games because of injuries. However, in 2001, he regained his form, playing 123 games (122 at catcher) and posting a .265 batting average and a .999 fielding percentage (one error in 744 total chances).^[1] Although it was becoming late in his career, he posted a .295 batting average in 115 games for the Mariners in 2002, and a .998 fielding percentage over 96 games in 2003.^[1] In what ended up being his last full healthy season in the majors, he batted .251 with 33 RBI in 2004.^[1]

Wilson lost his starting job at the beginning of the 2005 season to Miguel Olivo. On May 4, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during a game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Wilson had intended the 2005 season to be his last as a player, and he announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2005 season, on September 12.^[9] Although a torn ACL commonly keeps athletes sidelined for most of a season, Wilson spent most of the rest of the season rehabilitating his knee and was activated from the disabled list on September 30. He came back for one final inning on September 30 against the Oakland Athletics; he had not recovered enough to swing a bat, but he was able to crouch and throw. The Mariners' starting pitcher in that game was Jamie Moyer, with whom Wilson had formed a battery for 190 previous starts dating back to 1996. Moyer pitched to five batters in the inning, which ended when Bobby Kielty flied out to center field, and the Athletics scored no runs. Moyer went on to pitch seven more innings, and the Mariners defeated the Athletics, 4-1.^[10]

Career statistics

In a 14 year career, Wilson played in 1299 games, accumulating 1097 hits in 4186 at bats for a .262 career batting average along with 88 home runs and 519 runs batted in.^[1] He ended his career with a .995 fielding percentage; sixth highest for a catcher in major league history.^[11] Wilson led American League catchers twice in fielding percentage, twice in putouts, twice in baserunners caught stealing and twice in range factor.^[1] He set an American League record for catchers with 1051 putouts in 1997, the fourth highest season total for a catcher in major league history.^[12] His 1128 total chances in 1997 were the sixth highest season total for a catcher in major league history.^[13] In 2001, Wilson committed only one error in 122 games, for a .9987 fielding percentage, the fourth highest season average in major league history.^[14] He played in more games as a catcher than any other player in Mariners history (1281).^[15] He has stated that he will remain with the Mariners' front office after retiring.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n} Dan Wilson at Baseball Reference
2. ^ 1987 Major League Baseball Draft at www.thebaseballcube.com
3. ^ 1990 Major League Baseball Draft at www.thebaseballcube.com
4. ^ ^{a b c} Dan Wilson minor league statistics at Baseball Reference
5. ^ Dan Wilson Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
6. ^ 1994 Seattle Mariners at Baseball Reference
7. ^ 1995 American League standings at Baseball Reference
8. ^ Inside The Park Grand Slams at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
9. ^ "Longtime Mariners catcher Dan Wilson to retire". ESPN.com. September 12, 2005. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2159900. Retrieved October 10, 2009. 
10. ^ "Dan Wilson activated from 60-day DL". Mariners.com. September 30, 2005. http://seattle.mariners.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20050930&content_id=1230828&vkey=pr_sea&fext=.jsp&c_id=sea. Retrieved October 10, 2009. 
11. ^ Catchers Career Fielding Percentage at Baseball Reference
12. ^ Single Season Records For Putouts by Catcher at Baseball Reference
13. ^ Season Fielding Leaders at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers
14. ^ Single Season Records For Fielding Percentage by Catcher at Baseball Reference
15. ^ Most Games Caught For Team at The Encyclopedia of Baseball Catchers

External links

• Career statistics and player information from ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• "Another M's icon hangs it up - from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
• "Brothers in Arms" - Interview along with Jamie Moyer for Focus on the Family's Breakaway magazine
• Dan Wilson Profile, Baseball Digest, August 1996

Persondata
Name	Wilson, Dan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 25, 1969
Place of birth	Barrington, Illinois
Date of death
Place of death