Todd Steverson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Todd Steverson |
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Steverson as a coach for the Chicago White Sox in 2016
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| Outfielder | |||
| Born: November 15, 1971 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| April 28, 1995, for the Detroit Tigers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| April 3, 1996, for the San Diego Padres | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .256 | ||
| Home runs | 2 | ||
| Runs batted in | 6 | ||
| Teams | |||
As Coach
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Todd Anthony Steverson was born on November 15, 1971. He is an American professional baseball coach. He used to play baseball as an outfielder. He played for the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. Later, he became a coach for the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox. All these teams are part of Major League Baseball (MLB).
As a player, Steverson threw and batted right-handed. He was about 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall. He weighed around 194 pounds (88 kg).
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Early Life and College Baseball
Todd Steverson was born in Los Angeles, California. He went to Culver City High School. His cousin, Ron LeFlore, was also a baseball player for the Tigers.
Steverson played college baseball for the Sun Devils. He attended Arizona State University. The St. Louis Cardinals first picked him in the 1989 baseball draft. But Steverson decided not to sign with them.
In 1991, he played summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He played for the Chatham A's. The Toronto Blue Jays then drafted him in 1992. This time, he signed with the team. He received a signing bonus of $450,000.
Minor League Journey
Steverson spent three years playing in the Blue Jays' minor league teams. His stats were not amazing. He was fast and stole many bases. In 1992, he stole 23 bases with the St. Catharines Blue Jays.
However, he also struck out a lot. In 1993, he struck out 118 times with the Dunedin Blue Jays. His batting average was also not very high. In 1992, it was .209.
In 1994, the Detroit Tigers picked him in the Rule 5 Draft. Even though his minor league career was not super impressive, he joined the Tigers' main team in April 1995.
Playing in Major League Baseball
Todd Steverson made his MLB debut on April 28, 1995. He was 23 years old. His first game was against the Seattle Mariners. In his only turn at bat, he hit a fly ball.
He played in 30 games for the Tigers in 1995. He got 11 hits in 42 turns at bat. This gave him a batting average of .262. He also played nine games in the minor leagues that year.
Steverson hit two home runs in 1995. Both of them came in back-to-back games. On June 10, he hit a home run against the Minnesota Twins. The next day, he hit another one against the Twins.
His best game that season might have been on June 15. He played against the New York Yankees. He got three hits in four turns at bat. He also helped two runs score and scored one run himself. These were the last hits of his playing career.
The Tigers did not keep him for more than one season. Before the 1996 season, they traded him. He went to the San Diego Padres with two other players. This trade basically ended his time in the big leagues. His last MLB game was on April 3, 1996. He was called out on strikes in his final turn at bat.
Coaching Career
After his time in Major League Baseball, Steverson continued playing in the minor leagues until 1998. When he stopped playing, he became a baseball coach and manager in the minor leagues.
He coached several teams:
- The Potomac Cannons in 1999, 2001, and 2002.
- The Peoria Chiefs in 2000.
- The Palm Beach Cardinals in 2003.
- The Vancouver Canadians in 2004.
He also managed the Stockton Ports in 2005 and 2006. He was set to manage the Midland RockHounds in 2007. In 2008, he managed the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
In December 2008, the Oakland Athletics hired him. He became their first base coach. After two seasons with the Athletics' main team (2009–2010), he returned to their minor league system. He was a hitting coach for the River Cats in 2011. Then, he became a traveling hitting instructor for the team's minor league players from 2012 to 2013.
On October 25, 2013, the Chicago White Sox hired Steverson. He became their new hitting coach. He stayed with the White Sox until October 2019. As of 2020, Steverson is the hitting coach for the Las Vegas Aviators. This team is a Triple-A team for the Oakland Athletics.
