Alan Wiggins

Template:Infobox MLB retired Alan Anthony Wiggins (February 17 1958 - January 6 1991) was an American second baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the San Diego Padres from 1981 to 1985 and the Baltimore Orioles from 1985 to 1987. He was a switch hitter and threw right-handed.

Career overview

Born in Los Angeles, California, Wiggins was a highly praised prospect before being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers as the 8th pick of the draft. With their minor league affiliate, Wiggins picked up an incredible 120 stolen bases in 1980. After bouncing around for a few years in the minors, Wiggins ended up playing his first major league game on September 4, 1981 with the Padres as a September call-up. In his first season, he only got 14 at bats, but made the most of them, picking up five hits.

In 1983, he got a chance to play a full season as an everyday player for an average Padre team. That year he proved much of the praise for him was correct, as he stole 66 bases, which was good for second in the league behind Tim Raines. Even though his job was to be fast and steal bases, his .276 batting average was also impressive. He picked up 139 hits that year.

1984 turned out to be a carbon copy of 1983, only better in almost every category. Wiggins' statistics were very solid. With a .258 batting average, it seemed he attempted to hit for power a little bit more, hitting a career-high 3 home runs with 34 runs batted in. That year (one in which the Padres won their first-ever National League pennant), he was also second in the league in runs scored with 106. Wiggins had 154 hits in 596 at bats. But most importantly, his running even improved a little more from the past season. He had seven triples during the season, and compiled 70 stolen bases, eclipsing his previous total of 66 and putting himself into the Padres' record books. It still stands today as the Padre single-season record for stolen bases.

After being traded to the Orioles the following year, Wiggins reportedly began to battle drug problems and was a bit of a distraction. After a bad 1987 season, in which he batted .232 with only 20 stolen bases and was put out on the base paths twice in a single season by means of the hidden ball trick, he was released by the Orioles on September 29. A promising career seemed to be disrupted by drug use.

In a seven-year career, Wiggins held a .259 batting average, with 5 home runs and 118 RBIs. He compiled 581 hits, 61 doubles and 19 triples. He had 346 runs scored and 235 walks. Wiggins had 242 career stolen bases for an average of 40 steals per season.

Death

Wiggins died in a hospital in his hometown of Los Angeles, on January 6 1991, reportedly of complications due to AIDS. Most believe he fell victim to the disease through his drug problems, neglecting his family and young daughter in the process. He is the first baseball player known to have died from AIDS.

Student-Athlete children

His daughter, Candice Wiggins, is a star basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Before joining the Lynx as the third overall pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft, she had been an All-American performer at Stanford University. On January 31 2008, in a game against USC, she scored 18 points to pass Kate Starbird as the all-time Stanford women's basketball scoring leader. His son, Alan Wiggins, Jr., is also playing professional basketball; he signed a one-year contract with German club Eisbären Bremerhaven in July 2007.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• November 30, 2005 USA Today article on Wiggins' children