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, born on November 15, 1971, is an American professional baseball coach. He used to play as a left and right fielder. Steverson played for the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres. He also coached for the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox. All these teams are part of Major League Baseball, which is often called MLB. When he played, Steverson threw and batted with his right hand. He was about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed around 194 pounds.
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Todd Steverson's Early Baseball Days
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 baseball for the Sun Devils team while he was at Arizona State University.
Getting Drafted by MLB Teams
The St. Louis Cardinals first picked Steverson in the 1989 MLB draft. But he decided not to sign with them. In 1991, he played summer baseball for the Chatham A's in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was drafted again in 1992 by the Toronto Blue Jays. This time, he signed with them and received $450,000.
Playing in the Minor Leagues
Steverson spent three years playing in the Blue Jays' minor league system. He was a fast player, stealing 23 bases in 1992 with the St. Catharines Blue Jays. However, he also struck out a lot. For example, in 1993, he struck out 118 times in 413 tries with the Dunedin Blue Jays. His batting average was not very high, only .209 in 1992.
In 1994, the Tigers picked him in the Rule 5 Draft. Even though his minor league career was not super impressive, he joined the main Tigers team by April 1995.
Todd Steverson's Major League Career
Steverson made his first MLB appearance on April 28, 1995. He was 23 years old and played against the Seattle Mariners. In his only turn at bat that game, he hit a fly ball that was caught.
Playing for the Detroit Tigers
In 1995, Steverson played in 30 games for the Tigers. He got 11 hits in 42 turns at bat, which gave him a .262 batting average. He also played nine games in the minor leagues that year, but his batting average there was only .107.
Steverson hit two home runs in 1995. These home runs happened in two games right after each other. He hit one off Eddie Guardado of the Minnesota Twins on June 10. The very next day, he hit another off Dave Stevens, also from the Twins. His best game that season might have been on June 15 against the New York Yankees. In that game, he got three hits in four tries. He also helped two runs score and scored one run himself. These were the last hits of his playing career.
Moving to the San Diego Padres
Even though his first season was short but decent, the Tigers traded him. Before the 1996 season started, the Tigers traded Steverson, along with Cade Gaspar and Sean Bergman, to the Padres. In return, the Tigers received Raul Casanova, Richie Lewis, and Melvin Nieves. This trade pretty much marked the end of his time in the major leagues. His last MLB game was on April 3, 1996. He was called in to bat for pitcher Joey Hamilton. He struck out in his final turn at bat, with Turk Wendell getting the strikeout.
Todd Steverson's Coaching Career
After his playing days, Steverson continued to play in the minor leagues until 1998. Then, he became a baseball coach and manager in the minor leagues.
Minor League Coaching and Managing
He coached the Potomac Cannons in 1999, 2001, and 2002. He also coached the Peoria Chiefs in 2000, the Palm Beach Cardinals in 2003, and the Vancouver Canadians in 2004. He managed the Stockton Ports in 2005 and 2006. In 2007, he was set to manage the Midland RockHounds. In 2008, he managed the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
In December 2008, Steverson was hired to be the first base coach for the Oakland Athletics.
A Unique Coaching Decision
On June 23, 2012, while he was acting manager for the Modesto Nuts, Steverson made an unusual decision. He told his pitcher to intentionally make a mistake (called a balk). This allowed the winning run to score in the 18th inning of a game against the Stockton Ports. He explained his choice by saying he did not want to risk hurting any of his pitchers or other players.
Returning to MLB Coaching
After coaching for the Oakland Athletics in MLB for two seasons (2009–2010), he went back to minor league baseball. He became the hitting coach for the River Cats in 2011. Then, from 2012 to 2013, he was a special hitting instructor for all the minor league teams in the Athletics' system.
On October 25, 2013, the White Sox announced they hired Steverson as their new hitting coach. He took over from Jeff Manto. Steverson left his position with the White Sox in October 2019. As of 2020, Steverson is the hitting coach for the Las Vegas Aviators. This team is the Triple-A team for the Oakland Athletics.
