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Revision as of 20:45, 17 January 2007 by Epeefleche (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Baseball player| David Newhan | |
|---|---|
| New York Mets – No. 11 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Bats: LeftThrows: Right | |
| debut | |
| June 4, 1999, for the San Diego Padres | |
| Career statistics (through July 12, 2006) | |
| Avg | .257 |
| Hits | 183 |
| Runs scored | 122 |
Stats at Baseball Reference  | |
| Former teams | |
David Matthew Newhan (born September 7, 1973 in Fullerton, California) is a Jewish-American baseball player who plays for the New York Mets.
He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. He made his major league debut in 1999.
Early life
Newhan's father is Ross Newhan, a Hall of Fame baseball writer for the LA Times, and the 2000 recipient of the Hall of Fame's J.G. Taylor Spink Award.
Newhan attended Cypress Junior College, Georgia Tech, and Pepperdine. As a college athlete, he was All-West Coast Conference in 1995 after leading the league in slugging and home runs.
Professional career
Newhan was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 17th round of the 1995 amateur draft. In 3 years in Athletics minor league system, Newhan never made his way higher than Oakland's Single-A team, and despite signs of improvement, was traded to the San Diego Padres organization during the 1997 season.
Newhan batted .277 over 2 seasons with San Diego's AA team. He was promoted to the Padres' AAA team before the 1999 season where, over 98 games, he batted .286 with 22 stolen bases. During the season he made his major league debut.
Newhan started the 2000 season as the second baseman for the San Diego Padres, hitting .150. He was then demoted to AAA. While in the minors, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies, who briefly kept him at AAA before calling him up to the Majors.
He was then traded back to the Padres, who then traded him back to the Phillies before the 2001 season.
During the 2001 season, Newhan appeared in 7 games for the Phillies, going 2-6 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored before injuring his shoulder. He had season-ending shoulder surgery on May 25.
In early 2002 Newhan was released by the Phillies and was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers on February 15 of that year. He was then released on October 15 of the same year.
Newhan floated around in the Colorado Rockies minor league system, and then eventually went to the Texas Rangers.
With his deal with the Rangers, he had a clause where the team had to release him by June 15 of 2004 if he was not on the team. June 15 came and he was released.
The Baltimore Orioles then signed him, placing him on their active roster.
Orioles (2004-06)
In 2004 with the Orioles he had 42 hits through 100 at bats, and were it not for a pinch hit appearance in which he flied out he would've had a 21 game hit streak. He finished with a .311 batting average, 8 home runs, 54 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He was considered by some to be the AL Rookie of the Year (the award eventually went to Bobby Crosby).
2005 was a disappointment for Newhan. Due to the fact that there are so many "everyday" starters on the Orioles baseball team (Miguel Tejada, Brian Roberts, Melvin Mora), Newhan was relegated to the bench. He saw very limited action and struggled at the plate; due to the fact that he rarely played on consecutive days, he claimed it was impossible to gain any consistency offensively. He was even briefly demoted to AAA.
During spring training of 2006 he batted .400, and while the Orioles planned to have him as a backup, they decided to start him in 7 of their first 10 games due to his spring stats. He had 7 runs, 2 home runs, and 3 stolen bases. On his third stolen base, he slid awkwardly and had to leave the game with a broken right fibula on April 17. Newhan was placed on the Disabled List and was out until the end of August. He finished the season with an unremarkable .252 average with four home runs.
Mets (2007-present)
Newhan signed a free agent contract with the New York Mets on January 5, 2007. The contract pays Newhan $575,000 if he makes the major league team in spring training, and $175,000 if he is sent to the minors.
Miscellaneous
Also known as the man with happiest Jumbotron smile.
References
- Morrissey, Michael (2007-01-06). "Mets Add Newhan To Bench". New York Post.