AJ Pierzynski

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AJ Pierzynski
AJ Pierzynski April 2009.jpg
 - No. 15
Catcher
Born: December 30th, 1976
Bridgehampton , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Strikes: Left Throws: Right
Debut in Major League Baseball
September 9,  1998  for the  Minnesota Twins
Last MLB assignment
September 10,  2016  at the  Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
(until end of career)
Batting average    , 280
Home runs    188
Runs batted in    909
Hits    2,043
Teams

Awards

Anthony John "AJ" Pierzynski (* the thirtieth December 1976 in Bridgehampton , New York ) is an American Major League Baseball - Catcher , which for the Atlanta Braves play. Prior to that, Pierzynski played with the Minnesota Twins (1998-2003), the San Francisco Giants (2004), the Chicago White Sox (2005-2012), the Texas Rangers (2013), the Boston Red Sox (2014) and the St. Louis Cardinals (2014).

biography

Minnesota Twins

Pierzynski graduated from high school in 1994 and signed a letter of intent to play baseball for the University of Tennessee . At the same time he was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the third round of the 1993 MLB Draft . He signed with the Twins and played for them in various farm teams in the Minor Leagues .

On September 9, 1998, at the age of 22, he made his major league debut. However, from 1998 to 2002 he only played 49 games for the Twins. In 2002 he was selected as a reserve catcher in the All Star Team of the American League.

In the last game of the AL Division Series against the Oakland Athletics , he hit the decisive 2-run home run in the last inning for the 5-4 win of the game and thus the entire Division Series.

In 2003 Pierzynski had a batting average of .312, the best of his career.

San Francisco Giants

In 2004 Pierzynski played for the San Francisco Giants . Here he had a batting average of .272 with eleven home runs and 77 RBI ’s.

Chicago White Sox

On January 6, 2005 Pierzynski signed a contract with the Chicago White Sox .

Pierzynski made on October 12, 2005 for a controversial move in the 2nd game of the AL Championship Series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim . With a score of 1: 1 at the end of the 9th inning, Pierzynski missed the throw with two “out” and a count of 2 strikes, which would have meant the third strike and thus the end of the inning. The Angels catcher rolled the ball back to the mound and left the field. Pierzynski realized that the umpire recognized the 3rd strike, but did not "end" it. Pierzynski then went to first base and was given "safe". The umpire decided that the ball had touched the ground before catching the catcher and that the rule of the Uncaught Third Strike was applied. Pablo Ozuna replaced Pierzynski as baserunner. He stole the 2nd base and was able to score the decisive point to win the game three pitches later with a double from Joe Crede .

In 2006 Pierzynski was one of five players nominated for the public election of the American League's All-Star Team. The Chicago White Sox then organized a campaign with the slogan "Punch AJ" (German: "Schlag AJ"). Pierzynski received 3.6 million votes, the most that any American League player received in this election.

The "Punch AJ" campaign was inspired by an incident that occurred on May 20, 2006 between Pierzynski and Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, which is symptomatic of the ongoing rivalry between the two Chicago baseball clubs, the Cubs and the White Sox . After a flyout, Pierzynski tried to score from 3rd base. On the homeplate, however, he collided with Barrett. After Barret got up, he hit Pierzynski in the face. Pierzynski, Barrett, White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson and Cubs first baseman John Mabry were sent off after a brawl between several players.

Pierzynski was the catcher of Mark Buehrle ’s No-Hitter on April 18, 2007, and Philip Humber’s Perfect Game on April 21, 2012 against the Seattle Mariners .

Pierzynski extended his contract for another 2 years after the 2010 season.

In 2012, Pierzynski hit five home runs in five consecutive games. He is the sixth White Sox player to do so.

On June 13, 2012, Pierzynski was rated as the Most Hated Player in Major League Baseball.

Web links

Commons : AJ Pierzynski  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b AJ Pierzynski Statistics and History. Baseball-reference.com, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  2. ↑ 2002 ALDS - Minnesota Twins vs. Oakland Athletics - Game 5. Retrosheet.org, accessed September 27, 2012 .
  3. ^ MLB statistics from AJ Pierzynski. MLB.com (English), accessed September 27, 2012 (English).
  4. ↑ Pierzynski shrugs off 'hero' label . October 13, 2005. Archived from the original on January 22, 2012. Retrieved on February 5, 2019.
  5. ↑ 2005 ALCS - Chicago White Sox vs. Anaheim Angels - Game 2. Retrosheet.org, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  6. ^ Cubs' Barrett slugs Pierzynski, leads to melee. ESPN.com, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  7. ↑ Chicago White Sox vs. Texas Rangers - April 18, 2007. Retrosheet.org, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  8. ^ Philip Humber throws 21st perfect game in MLB history. ESPN.com, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  9. ↑ Pierzynski, White Sox renew partnership. (No longer available online.) MLB.com, archived from the original on January 9, 2011 ; accessed on February 5, 2019 .
  10. ^ White Sox re-sign AJ Pierzynski. ESPN.com, accessed October 3, 2012 .
  11. ↑ Chicago White Sox Top Los Angeles Angels, Pierzynski Homers In 5th Straight Game. (No longer available online.) Huffingtonpost.com, archived from the original on January 23, 2016 ; accessed on February 5, 2019 .
  12. ^ AJ Pierzynski is the No. 1 most hated player in MLB. (No longer available online.) Chicago Sun-Times, archived from the original September 22, 2012 ; accessed on February 5, 2019 .
  13. ^ Pierzynski Voted Most Hated Player In Baseball. CBS Local Chicago, accessed October 3, 2012 .
personal data
SURNAME Pierzynski, AJ
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Pierzynski, Anthony John (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American baseball player
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1976
PLACE OF BIRTH Bridgehampton , New York