Scott Podsednik

Scott Eric Podsednik

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 170 lb.
• High School West (TX) High School
• Debut July 6, 2001
• Final Game October 3, 2012
• Born March 18, 1976 in West, TX USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Scott Podsednik played a decade in the majors, stealing over 300 bases. He previously played almost a decade in the minors for several different organizations before making it to the majors for good.

Scott was selected by the Texas Rangers in the third round of the 1994 amateur draft. After the 1995 season, he was traded to the Florida Marlins organization and played two years in their farm system. He was reacquired by the Rangers in the minor league phase of the 1997 Rule V Draft. Podsednik missed most of 1999 with injuries and was granted his free agency after the 2000 season. He was signed by the Seattle Mariners organization, and he finally made his big league debut in 2001. After several cups of coffee with the Mariners, he was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers in late 2002. In 2002, he batted .467 with 11 doubles during the Puerto Rican Winter League.

Podsednik had a breakout season with the Brewers in 2003. The team's regular centerfielder, he hit .314 and stole 43 bases and was named NL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News and Baseball Digest. He hit his first home run with the Brewers on April 18th. Although his batting average dropped 70 points the following year, he stole 70 bases in 2004 to lead the majors.

After the season, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox. He became the Sox's regular leftfielder and hit .290 with 59 steals in 129 games in 2005. He was on track to steal around 100 bases until he was injured and when he came back he cut down on the running. Podsednik did not hit a single home run during the regular season, but in the postseason he hit a pair of dingers, including a 9th inning game-winner in Game 2 of the World Series.

The White Sox released Podsednik on November 28, 2007, and he was signed by the Colorado Rockies later that off-season.

He was hitting over .300 with 30 steals for the Kansas City Royals in 2010 when traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who were hoping to stay in contention for the stretch run but were dealing with an injury to regular left fielder Manny Ramirez. He was hitting .310 in 95 games for the Royals, after hitting .307 for the White Sox in 2009, then hit .262 in 39 games for the Dodgers. He was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays for the 2011 season but failed to make the team because of a foot injury and played briefly in the minors before being released on May 11th; the Philadelphia Phillies then signed him, but he played only 17 games between the GCL Phillies and the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs, being sidelined for most of the year by a stress fracture in his right foot, compounded by a strain on his other foot when he tried to work himself back into shape. He did come back in time to play in the International League playoffs though.

Podsednik was back at Lehigh Valley at the start of 2012, but hit only .197 in 23 games. However, he lucked out when the Boston Red Sox, stricken with a number of injuries to their outfielders, purchased him on May 22nd and put him back in the big leagues as a back-up outfielder. He hit .387 in 19 games (24 for 62), although with only 3 extra-base hits and 2 walks, and was sent down to AAA in mid-June when some the Sox's injured outfielders returned to action. He hit .281 in 25 games for the Pawtucket Red Sox, then on July 31st was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with P Matt Albers in return for P Craig Breslow. However, he did not get to play in any games for his new team, was soon assigned to AAA and refused to go, thus becoming a free agent. On August 9th, the Red Sox signed him again, and returned him to the major league roster, to take the place of Ryan Kalish who had gone only 3 for 19 in the role of fifth outfielder.

Podsednik is married to former Playmate Lisa Dergan.

Notable Achievements

• 2003 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• AL All-Star (2005)
• NL Stolen Bases Leader (2004)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 1 (2003)
• 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 2 (2004 & 2005)
• Won a World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005

Related Sites

• Scott Podsednik on mlb.com