Shawn Wooten

Infobox MLB player


width = 150px
name=Shawn Wooten
team=San Diego Padres
number=45
position=Catcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
debutdate=August 19
debutyear=2000
debutteam=Anaheim Angels
statyear=2007
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.272
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=18
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=86
formerteams=
*Anaheim Angels (by|2000–by|2003)
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|2004)
*Boston Red Sox (by|2005)

William Shawn Wooten (born July 24, 1972 in Glendora, California), is a Major League Baseball catcher in the San Diego Padres organization. Previously, Wooten played in the majors with the Anaheim Angels (by|2000-by|2003), Philadelphia Phillies (by|2004), and Boston Red Sox (by|2005). He bats and throws right-handed.

In a five-season career, Wooten has compiled a .272 batting average with 18 home runs and 86 RBI in 266 games played.

A valuable utility player who can play catcher, first base and third, Wooten showed some nice flashes early in his career, but might have amounted to more than a journeyman player if a pair of injuries did not occur. After parts of eight seasons in the minors (he was drafted and signed by the Detroit Tigers), Wooten made it to the majors with the Angels in 2000. He was part of their World Series championship team in by|2002. Wooten batted .474 in the postseason, third best among all hitters in the playoffs, going 9-for-19 with five runs scored and one homer, which came in the decisive Game 4 of the 2002 American League Division Series.

In by|2001, Wooten spent his first full season in the major leagues with Anaheim (qualifying as a rookie) after making the 25-man roster out of spring training. He opened the campaign batting .385 (10-for-26), with three home runs and six runs batted in in April, leading all American League rookies in home runs for the month. In June, he led Angels hitters with a .386 average (17-for-44) and was batting .328 (42-for-128) at the All-Star break, second to Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki among AL rookies (based on 125 at-bats). Wooten hit safely in 47 contests, including 17 multi-hit games. His season ended when doctors discovered torn cartilage in his left wrist in early September and underwent arthroscopic surgery. At the time, he was hitting .312 (69-for-221) with eight home runs and 32 runs batted in in 79 games and ranked second among American League first-year players with a .466 slugging percentage. Nevertheless, he was selected for the Baseball Digest and Topps Major League Baseball rookie All-Star teams. At the time of the injury, his .312 average was second best among American League rookies and was tops on the Angels' club.

Coming off the disabled list in July by|2002, Wooten hit .338 (26-for-77) from August through September, including three doubles in a game to tie a team record. He finished with a .292 average in 49 games. In the postseason against the Yankees, Twins, and Giants, he hit .474 (9-for-19) with one home run and three RBIs in nine games.

In 2003, Wooten posted career highs in games (98), at-bats (272), runs (25) and walks (24), hitting .243 with seven home runs and 32 RBIs. Anaheim pitchers posted a 3.81 ERA with him behind the plate. After a knee injury, Wooten was used mainly as a pinch hitter. His .350 pinch-average (7-for-20) tied for second in the American League. He signed with the Phillies before the by|2004 season, but he missed entire first-half of season due to recurrent injuries that placed him on 60-day disabled list starting on March 21.

On May 19, 2005, the Boston Red Sox placed reserve catcher Doug Mirabelli on the 15-day DL prior to the interleague series opener with the Atlanta Braves. To replace Mirabelli on the active roster, the Red Sox purchased the contract of Wooten from the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. At this time, Wooten had seven home runs and 27 RBI in 39 games for Pawtucket and was hitting .225 (34-for-151) when he got the call. More important, he was playing every day. He signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins at the beginning of the by|2006 season and played for their AAA affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings.After that, he spent time playing for the San Antonio Missions, the AA-affiliate of the San Diego Padres before his release.

In July by|2007, Wooten signed with the non-affiliated St. Paul Saints. He played three games with the team before the New York Mets bought out his contract. He was released by the Mets on May 3, by|2008, and quickly signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=6556 ESPN] - profile and daily updates for Shawn Wooten and all other players
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/w/wootesh01.shtml Baseball Reference] - statistics and analysis for Shawn Wooten and all other major league players