A photo of Richie Sexson.
Richmond Lockwood "Richie" Sexson (born December 29, 1974 in Portland, Oregon) is an American first baseman for the New York Yankees. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches tall, he is the tallest position player in the history of Major League Baseball.[1]
High school career[]
At Prairie High School in Brush Prairie, Washington, Sexson was an All-State performer in baseball, basketball, and football. He also set the school record for the most RBI and home runs in a career.
Baseball career[]
Cleveland Indians[]
Sexson was drafted in 1993 by the Cleveland Indians in the 24th round (671st overall) of the baseball amateur draft. He made his first appearance in Major League Baseball in 1997, when he played in 5 games for the Indians. He appeared in 49 games the following year, collecting 174 at bats. Sexson had a breakout year in 1999, playing 134 games while collecting 479 at bats, 122 hits, 31 home runs, and 116 runs batted in.
Milwaukee Brewers[]
In 2000, Sexson was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers with a player to be named later, for Bob Wickman, Steve Woodard, and Jason Bere. In 2001, Sexson played in 158 games for the Brewers, hitting 45 home runs (tying a team record at the time set by Gorman Thomas in 1979, a record since broken by Prince Fielder in 2007) with a .271 batting average, but also set the then single-season record for strikeouts by a Brewer player with 178, which was surpassed by José Hernández in 2002. In 2002, he represented the Milwaukee Brewers in the MLB All-Star Game which was played in Milwaukee. In 2003, Sexson played in every inning of all 162 games, hit .272 and blasted 45 home runs to tie his own record (and Thomas'), while earning a selection to the 2003 MLB All-Star Game. During the all star game, he used a bat which weighed 71 ounces and was 44 inches long.
Arizona Diamondbacks[]
Sexson was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in December of 2003 along with pitcher Shane Nance and a player to be named later (Noochie Varner) for infielders Junior Spivey, Craig Counsell, Lyle Overbay, catcher Chad Moeller, and pitchers Chris Capuano and Jorge de la Rosa. This trade proved to be disastrous for the Diamondbacks, as Sexson missed most of the 2004 season after twice suffering a reverse subluxation of his left shoulder while attempting to check his swing.
Seattle Mariners[]
Prior to the 2005 season, Sexson signed a four-year contract with the Seattle Mariners worth $50 million. Sexson hit 2 home runs in his first game as a Mariner on opening day against the Minnesota Twins. Sexson played well in the 2005 season, hitting 39 home runs and 121 RBI. On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Sexson was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the Breast Cancer Foundation.
On May 8, 2008, in a game against the Texas Rangers, Sexson charged the mound towards Rangers starting pitcher Kason Gabbard and threw his batting helmet at him after Gabbard threw a head-high pitch inside, to which Sexson reacted as if it had hit him. Sexson later stated he was frustrated and had a lot going on in his head, including his son being in the hospital and his club's recent struggles. He was suspended six games for the incident. He later appealed the suspension, and it was dropped to five games.
On July 10, 2008, Sexson was released by the Mariners.
New York Yankees[]
On July 18, 2008, Sexson signed with the New York Yankees.[2] Sexson did well in his Yankee debut, by collecting his first hit as a Yankee in the first inning with a single and also bringing in Bobby Abreu for the first run by the Yankees and as a Yankee. He went 1-3 with 1 RBI, 1 walk, and 1 strikeout.
See also[]
References[]
External links[]
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
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