Alden Carrithers

Alden Jeffrey-Adam Carrithers

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 170 lb.
• School University of California-Santa Barbara, UCLA
• High School Oregon Episcopal High School, Beaverton High School

• Born November 14, 1984 in San Luis Obispo, CA USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Alden Carrithers played professionally from 2008 to 2015.

Carrithers set Beaverton High School single-season records for average (.507) and OBP (.656) as a senior and was named All-State. He was actually attending class at nearby Oregon Episcopal High School, but he was allowed to play for Beaverton because his high school did not field a baseball team. He hit .285/.413/.364 as a college freshman at the University of California-Santa Barbara and .342/.465/.444 as a sophomore. He was second in the Big West Conference in OBP, .002 behind Evan Longoria. He led the conference in walks (45) and was third in runs (60). He formed a double play combo with Buster Posey for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (he played 2B, Posey SS), hitting .268/.394/.304 with 20 runs in 37 games. He transferred to UCLA for his junior year.

He hit .352/.445/.445 his first year at UCLA, tying Darwin Barney for 9th in the Pac-10 Conference with 53 runs, placing 6th with 81 hits and tying Jon Gaston for 9th with 32 walks. He hit only .198 for the Orleans Cardinals back in the Cape Cod League, but had a .371 OBP; he slugged .297. This time, his double play partner was his UCLA teammate, Brandon Crawford. He was 4th in the league with 29 runs, trailing Addison Johnson, Jason Castro and Blake Tekotte. As a senior, he batted .377/.484/.543 with 51 runs and 47 RBI in 59 games. He was named the team MVP and was 6th in the Pac-10 in average (between Josh Satin and Castro), 5th in OBP, 5th in hits (84, between Jason Kipnis and Ike Davis), 8th in walks (40) and 3rd in steals (17, behind T.J. Steele and Kipnis). He and Cord Phelps were the All-Pac-10 second basemen.

He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 15th round of the 2008 amateur draft (he was signed by scout Tim McWilliam) and played in their system through 2010. He hit .316/.464/.430 with 16 steals in 17 tries and 28 walks; he handled 155 chances without an error. He led Gulf Coast League second basemen in fielding percentage, tied Chris Curran and Aaron Hicks for third in walks, was 7th in steals, led in OBP and was 6th in OPS (between Hicks and Jarek Cunningham). He was named the team Player of the Year.

He split 2009 between the Oneonta Tigers (2 for 11, 3 BB) and the West Michigan Whitecaps (.307/.395/.367 in 45 G). In 2010, he was with the Lakeland Flying Tigers (.359/.464/.423 in 60 G) and the Erie SeaWolves (.262/.378/.310 in 59 G), scoring 70 times, stole 17 bases in 25 tries and drew 78 walks. He led Tigers farmhands in average (.007 ahead of Will Rhymes), was second in OBP, was second to Jamie Johnson in walks, tied Brent Wyatt for 8th in steals and was 6th in runs (between Jeff Frazier and Gustavo Nunez).

Despite hitting .309 in his three years in the Tigers organization, he was released in March 2011. The Chicago White Sox signed him for the 2011 campaign, and he hit .276/.365/.351 with 51 BB to 33 K and 19 steals in 22 tries for the Birmingham Barons, but Chicago released him during the following offseason to make room for signees Osvaldo Martinez and Ray Olmedo. The Atlanta Braves signed him and he played in their system and he was a very good utility man for the 2012 Mississippi Braves (.315/.433/.352 in 74 G). He spent 2013 with Mississippi (4 for 27, 8 BB) and the Gwinnett Braves (reaching AAA, he hit .299/.387/.398 in 90 games and stole 13 bases in 17 tries).

He was granted free agency by the Braves after the 2013 season and signed with the Oakland Athletics. With their Triple-A club in 2014, the Sacramento River Cats, Carrithers hit .284/.381/.349 with 14 stolen bases, 55 walks and only 45 strikeouts in 101 games. He returned to the A's system in 2015, playing in 46 games for their new Triple-A team, the Nashville Sounds, and hitting .286/.379/.344. He elected free agency following the season and joined the Cincinnati Reds system, but never played there.

Overall, he batted .294/.397/.361 with 10 home runs and 197 RBI in 633 games over 8 seasons.

Sources

• 2013 Braves Media Guide
• UCLA
• Cape Cod League
• Baseball Cube