Amateur career
Kiger attended La Jolla High School in La Jolla,California. Out of high school,Kiger was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 27th round of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft,but did not sign. He attended Grossmont College,then transferred to the University of Florida,where he played for coach Andy Lopez and coach Pat McMahon's Florida Gators baseball teams from 2000 to 2002. He developed a reputation as a hitter,with a .403 batting average,104 hits and ninety runs scored,while drawing sixty walks,in 2002. After leading the team for three consecutive seasons in scoring,his 212 runs scored remains fifth on the Gators' career records list.
Professional career
The Oakland Athletics selected Kiger out of Florida as a fifth round selection in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft. Kiger was initially assigned to the Vancouver Canadians,where he hit .244/.346/.362 while moving to second base. He led Class A Short Season Northwest League second basemen in fielding percentage (.969). In 2003,Kiger hit .281/.375/.411 with the Modesto A's. He cracked 38 doubles,scored 95 and drew 77 walks while striking out 106 times. He led the Class-A Advanced California League in walks.
In 2004,Kiger batted .263/.369/.355 for the Midland RockHounds of the Class AA Texas League and walked 78 times and was 3 for 13 with three walks for the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. He led the Texas League in fielding percentage at second base (.979). The next season,he was back with Midland and had an almost identical season - .267/.360/.367,68 walks and the league-leading fielding percentage at2B (.988). Starting another year at Midland in 2006,Kiger hit .307/.379/.450 and got a longer look at Sacramento (.233/.348/.330).
On October 13,2006,Kiger became the first player since Bug Holliday in 1885 to make his major league debut in a postseason game when he appeared as a defensive replacement for D'Angelo Jiménez at second base for the Athletics in Game 3 of the 2006 American League Championship Series (ALCS). He was added to the Athletics roster in the ALCS after starting second baseman Mark Ellis was injured in the 2006 American League Division Series. [1] Oakland had already suffered injuries to Bobby Crosby and Antonio Perez. [2] [3] He appeared in one inning each defensively in Game 3 and Game 4,his only action coming when recording a putout on a force play at second base on a grounder to the shortstop to end the bottom of the 8th in Game 3. [4] Kiger was released by Oakland after the playoffs.
In 2007,he played in the New York Mets organization and was invited to major league spring training by the Seattle Mariners in 2008. In January 2009,he signed again with the New York Mets. He retired after the season.
As of 2025,four more players have made their major league debut in the postseason since Kiger:Adalberto Mondesi in 2015 (the only player to make his debut in the World Series),and three players in 2020 after the minor league season was cancelled [5] due to COVID-19 —Alex Kirilloff,Shane McClanahan,and Ryan Weathers. All subsequently appeared in the regular season.
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