Lance Zawadzki

Lance Frederick Zawadzki

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 195 lb.
• School Lee University, San Diego State University
• High School St. John's High School (Shrewsbury)
• Debut May 2, 2010
• Final Game June 20, 2010
• Born May 26, 1985 in Framingham, MA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Lance Zawadzki was the first Lee University alumnus to make the major leagues.

Zawadzki began his collegiate career with San Diego State University, hitting .287/.333/.411 in 2004. On March 11, he got a double in a San Diego State-Houston game that opened Petco Park - it was the first hit at the new ballpark. He improved to .335/.401/.548 with 53 runs and 53 RBI in 57 games as a sophomore. He was picked as one of four All-Mountain West Conference third basemen in a six-school conference. In the Cape Cod League, he batted .240/.310/.337 but with 26 errors in 44 games in the middle infield. In his junior year, Lance fell to .243/.332/.379. He then transferred to Lee University. The San Diego Padres chose him in the 4th round of the 2007 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Ash Lawson and made his pro debut that summer.

Zawadzki split the summer of 2007 between the AZL Padres (13 for 30, 3 2B, 3 BB, HR) and the Eugene Emeralds (.267/.339/.386 in 25 G). He fielded under .900 at shortstop at both stops, though. In 2008, the Massachusetts native hit .273/.352/.399 for the Fort Wayne Wizards and was 1 for 3 for the San Antonio Missions. He improved his fielding percentage to .920 at short and also fielded .965 as the club's backup second baseman. He stole 28 bases in 31 tries for the year.

Lance batted at a .276/.360/.552 clip with 10 homers and 34 RBI in 36 games for the 2009 Lake Elsinore Storm and .289/.372/.416 for San Antonio, making major strides. Overall, he fielded over .950 at short, .950 at third and .973 at second, continuing to improve his glovework as well. He was 17-for-19 in swipes.

He was a non-roster invitee to spring training with the Padres in 2010. The switch-hitter began 2010 with the Portland Beavers, where his batting line was a weak .162/.240/.176 after 17 games with only two steals in five tries while he had 3 errors afield. He then was surprisingly called up to San Diego when Everth Cabrera went on the disabled list. In his MLB debut, Zawadzki hit 8th and played second base. He singled off Randy Wolf in his first at-bat and came home on a hit by Tony Gwynn Jr., the son of his former college coach. Lance went 0 for 2 with a walk the rest of the day and played error-free ball.

Zawadzki returned to the minors after his major league stint and stayed there through 2013. He then spent 2014-2016 with the Lancaster Barnstormers and 2017 with the Sugar Land Skeeters. Both of those teams play in the independent Atlantic League.

Zawadzki became a coach with the Lowell Spinners in 2018 and the hitting coach for the Salem Red Sox in 2019. He was scheduled to be hitting coach of the Portland Sea Dogs in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to Covid-19. During the 2020 season he worked as a hitting coach at the Boston Red Sox alternative training site. He was hitting coach of Portland in 2021. In 2024, he received his first major league coaching assignment as assistant hitting coach of the Detroit Tigers.

Related Sites

• Lance Zawadzki on mlb.com