Khalil Greene | |
---|---|
Shortstop | |
Born: Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S. | October 21, 1979|
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
September 3, 2003, for the San Diego Padres | |
Last MLB appearance | |
October 4, 2009, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .245 |
Home runs | 90 |
Runs batted in | 352 |
Teams | |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Khalil Thabit Greene (born October 21,1979) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals.
Greene played high school baseball at Key West High School. Greene played all 69 games at third base for the Clemson Tigers in his freshman season,all but one of them as a starter. His first collegiate home run was an inside-the-park home run which came at the UNLV/Coors Desert Classic on February 27. In his freshman year,Greene had 98 hits,setting the record for Clemson freshmen. He led the team in hits,multi-hit games (31),at-bats (274),and hit-by-pitches (11). His batting average for the season was .358. Greene was a unanimous selection to the All-Regional Team in the postseason.
In his sophomore season,Greene started every one of the team's 69 games at third base. He led the team in batting average with runners in scoring position at .444. He was an All-ACC second team selection. (The first team selection was Georgia Tech's Mark Teixeira.) He was selected to the All-ACC Tournament team. After the 1999 and 2000 seasons,he played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. [1] [2] [3]
Greene again started every game for the Clemson Tigers in his junior season,but this time he and erstwhile shortstop Jeff Baker switched positions. He set the school record in season fielding percentage at that position (.965),while also setting every hit-by-pitch record for the school (in an inning,2;in a game,3;in a season,21;in a career,47). He also led the team in doubles with 18. He was named the ACC Player of the Week during the last week of the season. Peter Gammons made a prediction in his 2001 pre-draft column on ESPN.com:"You won't find Clemson shortstop/third baseman Khalil Greene or Wake Forest center fielder Cory Sullivan on any top-100 list,but check back in five years from now and see if they aren't remarkably like Jeff Cirillo and Steve Finley. Greene and Sullivan are players." Greene was drafted with the second pick of the fourteenth round (409th overall) by the Chicago Cubs,but did not sign.
Greene's senior season was his most impressive: Collegiate Baseball named him National Player of the Year. The publication,along with Baseball America ,selected him as a member of their All-America first teams. Baseball America also chose Greene for their National Midseason Player of the Year. He was the ACC's Player of the Year and was named to the All-ACC first team. Greene was named winner of the Dick Howser Trophy,the Rotary Smith Award,and the Golden Spikes Award at the end of the season. He hit .480 with 26 home runs and 30 doubles with a .557 on-base percentage and .888 slugging percentage (for an OPS of 1.445). He broke his own fielding record with a .967 mark. In only one of the team's 67 games did he not reach base via walk or hit. His last at-bat in Clemson's Doug Kingsmore Stadium was,fittingly,a home run. [4]
After Greene finished the 2002 season,having graduated with a bachelor's degree in sociology,he held school single-season records for total bases,extra-base hits,home runs,RBI,consecutive multi-hit games,and consecutive games with a home run. He still holds career school records in total bases and RBI. He holds the ACC single-season record for batting average and the ACC career records for doubles and hits. Greene also holds the NCAA record for doubles in a career. On June 22,2002,Greene received a special resolution from the South Carolina General Assembly. He'd started 269 consecutive games. Greene was taken by the San Diego Padres with the thirteenth pick of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. [5]
After finishing his college career and being drafted by the Padres,Khalil Greene reported to the Single-A Eugene Emeralds where he played only ten games. He batted .270 with no home runs and six RBI. He was then called up to the Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League where he finished the season. In 46 games,he hit nine home runs with 32 RBI while batting .317.
In 2003,Greene started the season with the Double-A Mobile BayBears. In 59 games,he had a batting average of .275. He was then called up to the Triple-A Portland Beavers. In 76 games,Greene batted .288 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI. He then saw his first major league action on September 3,2003,where he came into the game as a pinch-hitter for Brian Lawrence in the seventh inning and flied out against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He got his first start two days later against the Houston Astros,but went 0-for-4. His first hit came the next day;it was a single sharply hit up the middle against Ron Villone. His first home run led off the eighth inning of the September 16 game against Jerome Williams of the San Francisco Giants. He finished the year with an average of .215 with two home runs and six RBI in twenty games.
His first full season was in 2004. He played 139 games for the Padres,going 132-for-484 (.273) with 15 home runs and 65 RBI. He was seventh in the league in sacrifice flies with seven. His salary for the season was $300,500. Greene placed second in the MLB Rookie of the Year Award voting in the National League (to his former minor league roommate Jason Bay),despite having to play in fifteen of the last seventeen games of the season with a broken hand.
In 2005,Greene played in 121 games going 109 for 436 (.250) with 15 home runs and 70 RBI. He helped the Padres win their fourth division title,their first since 1998.
In 2006,Greene appeared in 121 games,and had 101 hits in 412 at-bats (.245) with 15 home runs and 55 RBI,helping the Padres win their second consecutive National League West title.
In 2007,Greene hit 155 for 611 for a (.254) average over 153 games. He also set a Padres record for home runs by a shortstop with 27,and accrued 97 RBI.
Despite playing in fewer than five full seasons,Greene is the Padres' career leader in home runs at the shortstop position,with 84 through the 2008 season. [6]
On February 4,2008,the Padres signed Greene to a two-year,$11 million extension.
In 2008,Greene got off to a terrible start offensively,not hitting a single home run until May 2. As of the end of July he was hitting only .213 with 10 home runs and 35 RBI and 5 stolen bases. On July 30,2008,Greene broke his hand due to punching a storage box after striking out for the 100th time in 2008 and his batting average dropped to .213. On July 31,it was announced Greene would miss the rest of the season.
On December 4,2008,Greene was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Mark Worrell and a player to be named later;he made $6.5 million in 2009. [7] On March 23,2009,it was announced that relief pitcher Luke Gregerson was the player to be named in the trade. [8]
Greene took several weeks off during May and June 2009,after it was revealed that he was cutting himself in mental anguish (revealed to be social anxiety disorder) due to a slow start for the Cardinals,hitting .197 with only three home runs at the time. He returned to the Cards lineup on June 19 at the Kansas City Royals. Playing third base for the first time since college,he went 2-for-2 with a double,a solo home run and a walk,eventually being substituted after fouling a ball off his foot. Following a 1-for-17 stretch over five games,Greene was placed back on the disabled list with social anxiety disorder on June 29. [9]
Greene filed for free agency for the 2010 season,and signed with the Texas Rangers. [10] On February 22,2010,he announced that he had been suffering another episode of social anxiety disorder,and that he would not be reporting to Rangers spring training. [11] [12] On February 25,the Rangers voided Greene's contract. [13]
Khalil Greene writes hip-hop lyrics in his spare time and adds them to music. [14] Greene was raised by his father,James,a woodworker,and mother,Janet,a schoolteacher,in the BaháʼíFaith. [15] He has said his faith helped his athletic performance mentally. [14] [16] [17]
David Mark Eckstein is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professionally for the Anaheim Angels,St. Louis Cardinals,Toronto Blue Jays,Arizona Diamondbacks,and San Diego Padres. Eckstein won the 2006 World Series Most Valuable Player Award. After retiring from professional baseball,he briefly served as a special assistant in the Pittsburgh Pirates operations department. Eckstein stood at 5' 6" during his playing career,which made him the shortest active player for the years he played.
Fernando Gabriel Tatís Medina Sr. is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman. Over his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career,Tatís played for the Texas Rangers,St. Louis Cardinals,Montreal Expos,Baltimore Orioles,and New York Mets. He holds the major league record for runs batted in (RBI) in an inning,a feat that he achieved by hitting two grand slams in one inning during a game on April 23,1999,becoming the only player in MLB history to do so. His son,Fernando Jr.,plays for the San Diego Padres.
Jason Alan Bartlett is a Filipino American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins,Tampa Bay Rays,and San Diego Padres.
Adrián González Savín,also known by his nicknames "A-Gon" and "Titán",is a Mexican-American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers,San Diego Padres,Boston Red Sox,Los Angeles Dodgers,and New York Mets.
Ryan Andrew Ludwick is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers,Cleveland Indians,St. Louis Cardinals,San Diego Padres,Pittsburgh Pirates,and Cincinnati Reds. His brother Eric also played four MLB seasons as a pitcher.
Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez Jr. is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers,Texas Rangers,Baltimore Orioles,Seattle Mariners,Minnesota Twins,Tampa Bay Rays,Washington Nationals,and San Diego Padres. Cruz is a seven-time MLB All-Star. Known for his power hitting,he has won four Silver Slugger Awards and two Edgar Martínez Awards.
Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox,San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Series. His nickname,given to him by former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén,is "the Cuban Missile" due to his tall,slim physique and combination of speed,power,and strong throwing arm. Ramírez batted and threw right-handed.
Mark Robert Worrell is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Baltimore Orioles between 2008 and 2011.
Edgar Victor Gonzalez is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants.
Allen Thomas Craig is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Boston Red Sox. The Cardinals drafted Craig from the University of California,Berkeley in 2006,and he made his Major League debut with them in 2010.
Jedd Lindon Gyorko is an American former professional baseball second baseman and third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres,St. Louis Cardinals,Los Angeles Dodgers,and Milwaukee Brewers. He was previously the manager of the West Virginia Black Bears of the MLB Draft League.
John Logan Forsythe is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres,Tampa Bay Rays,Los Angeles Dodgers,Minnesota Twins,Texas Rangers and Miami Marlins. While primarily a second baseman,Forsythe has played at least one game at every position except for center field and catcher.
Jurickson Barthelomeus Profar is a Curaçaoan professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers,Oakland Athletics,and Colorado Rockies.
Bradley Austin Miller is an American professional baseball utility player who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners,Tampa Bay Rays,Milwaukee Brewers,Cleveland Indians,Philadelphia Phillies,St. Louis Cardinals,and Texas Rangers.
Cory Joseph Spangenberg is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres,Milwaukee Brewers,and St. Louis Cardinals,and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Saitama Seibu Lions.
Luis Alexander Sardiñas Avilez is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Charros de Jalisco of the Mexican League. Sardiñas signed with the Texas Rangers as an amateur free agent in 2009. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Rangers during the 2014 season,and has also played for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015,the Seattle Mariners in 2016,the San Diego Padres in 2016 and 2017,and the Baltimore Orioles in 2018.
Greg Joseph Garcia is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and San Diego Padres.
Yangervis Alfredo Solarte is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the Algodoneros de Unión Laguna of the Mexican League. He made his MLB debut for the New York Yankees on April 2,2014,and has also played for the San Diego Padres,Toronto Blue Jays,and San Francisco Giants. He has additionally played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers.
Patrick Ian-Cashel Wisdom is an American professional baseball third baseman and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Saint Mary's Gaels. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft and he made his MLB debut in 2018. He previously played in MLB for the Cardinals and Texas Rangers.
Ha-seong Kim is a South Korean professional baseball shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kim was drafted 41st overall by the Nexen Heroes in the 2014 Korea Baseball Organization Draft. He made his KBO debut with the Heroes in May 2014 and won the KBO Golden Glove Award in 2018,2019 and 2020. In December 2020,Kim signed with the San Diego Padres,and made his MLB debut in 2021. In 2023,Kim became the first Korean-born player to win a Gold Glove Award.