Ty Wigginton
Ty Allen Wigginton (born October 11, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Houston Astros, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Philadelphia Phillies, and St. Louis Cardinals. He mainly played as a first and third baseman, but also platooned as an infielder and an outfielder during his career. He batted and threw right-handed. Wigginton resides in Chula Vista, California. High school years Wigginton attended Chula Vista High School in Chula Vista, California, and was a letter-man in football and baseball. Wigginton graduated from Chula Vista High School in 1995. Baseball career Wigginton attended UNC-Asheville and played for three years from to . Wigginton still holds the school's records for most home runs in a game, most runs in a season, and most doubles in a season. New York Mets The 200-pound Wigginton was selected by the New York Mets in the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. Wigginton was called up to the Mets major league roster for the first time in as a third baseman and had a promising partial rookie season with the Mets, batting .302 with a .354 on-base percentage (OBP) and .526 slugging percentage (SLG) in 116 at-bats. He slumped somewhat in his first full season in with a batting line of .255/.318/.396 in 573 at-bats but started the season hot. In his first 312 at-bats, Wigginton hit .285/.334/.487, hitting 12 home runs and 23 doubles with 42 runs batted in. Pittsburgh Pirates On July 30, 2004, the Mets traded Wigginton to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a six-player deal for pitcher Kris Benson. Wigginton slumped badly after he was traded before recovering somewhat in September. In 2004, for the second straight year, he had the lowest zone rating of any NL third baseman (.731). He started at third base for the Pirates in but again struggled and was demoted to the minor leagues on June 4, putting his future with Pittsburgh in doubt. After winning the International League Batter of the Week for the week of August 15–21, "Wiggy" was called up to the Pirates on August 22, 2005. The utility infielder caught fire, hitting .365 over his last 22 games for Pittsburgh. Despite this, the Pirates released him after the season. Tampa Bay Devil Rays Wigginton signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on January 10, . He split his time between first base and second base in 2006 with a few starts at third base and in the outfield. He signed a three-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays after the 2006 season. Houston Astros On July 28, , Wigginton was traded to the Houston Astros for pitcher Dan Wheeler. After his acquisition, Morgan Ensberg was designated for assignment, and Wigginton was announced as the Astros' starting third baseman. When Astros outfielder Carlos Lee had his finger broken by a pitch on August 9, 2008, Wigginton made the majority of the starts in left field