Tyrone Woods facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tyrone Woods |
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Woods with the Chunichi Dragons
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| First baseman | |||
| Born: August 16, 1969 Brooksville, Florida, U.S. |
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| Professional debut | |||
| NPB: March 23, 2003, for the Yokohama BayStars | |||
| KBO: 1998, for the OB Bears | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| NPB: October 25, 2008, for the Chunichi Dragons | |||
| KBO: 2002, for the Doosan Bears | |||
| NPB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .289 | ||
| Home runs | 240 | ||
| Runs batted in | 616 | ||
| KBO statistics | |||
| Batting average | .294 | ||
| Home runs | 174 | ||
| Runs batted in | 510 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
NPB
KBO
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Walter Tyrone Woods, born on August 16, 1969, is an American professional baseball player. He played professional baseball for many years. He spent five seasons in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). He then played six more seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) in Japan. He mostly played as a first baseman.
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Tyrone Woods' Baseball Journey
Starting in the Minor Leagues
The Montreal Expos picked Tyrone Woods in the 1988 Major League Baseball draft. He started as a third baseman right out of high school. In his first year, he played for the GCL Expos.
In 1989, Woods moved up to the Jamestown Expos. He started to hit better and hit more home runs. By 1990, he was playing for the Rockford Expos. He led his team in doubles and home runs.
Woods moved to High-A baseball in 1991. He also changed positions from third base to the outfield. He played for the West Palm Beach Expos and later the Harrisburg Senators. He continued to improve his hitting.
In 1993 and 1994, Woods played for Harrisburg and the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx. After many years in the minor leagues, the Expos released him. He then played for the Baltimore Orioles' farm team, the Rochester Red Wings, in 1995.
A year later, Woods joined the Boston Red Sox organization. He played for their Double-A team, the Trenton Thunder. He had a great year, hitting .312 and tying for fourth in home runs in the league.
In 1997, Woods played his last season in a United States-based league. He hit very well for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. He also played in the Mexican League that year. He hit 18 home runs in 85 games there.
Playing in Korea
In 1998, Tyrone Woods moved to Korea Professional Baseball (KBO). He played for the OB Bears (Doosan Bears). He was the first foreign player to hit a home run in the league. He also set a KBO record with 42 home runs. Woods became the first foreign player to win the MVP award.
In 2000, he hit .315 with 39 home runs. In 2001, he was named MVP in the All-Star game and the Korean Series. He hit four home runs in six games during the Korean Series for Doosan. He played five years in Korea. During that time, he hit 174 home runs and had 510 RBIs. He batted .294 overall. Woods had the longest career of any foreign player in KBO history for a while.
Success in Japan with Yokohama
In 2003, Woods signed with the Yokohama BayStars in Japan. He hit .273 and tied for the home run lead with 40. He was one of the top players in the Central League for slugging and RBIs. Woods became the first player to lead a league in home runs in both Korea and Japan.
He played even better in his second year with Yokohama in 2004. He hit .298 and tied for the home run lead again with 45. He was also among the top players for RBIs. He earned a spot on the Best Nine team as a first baseman.
Joining the Chunichi Dragons
After the 2004 season, Woods joined the Chunichi Dragons. They were the champions of the Central League. In 2005, he hit .306 with 38 home runs. He was a key player for the Dragons, often batting cleanup. He missed 10 games due to a suspension after an incident on the field.
By the end of the 2005 season, Woods had hit 421 home runs in his professional career.
In 2006, Woods had an amazing season. He batted .310 and led the league with 47 home runs and 144 RBIs. He hit grand slams in back-to-back games to help the Dragons win the league title. This was a rare achievement in the Central League. He also set a new team record for home runs. He continued to play for the Dragons until 2008.
Life Outside Baseball
Besides playing baseball, Tyrone Woods also worked for the Fire Department in Brooksville, Florida.
