Kevin Stocker

Kevin Stocker
Shortstop
Born: (1970-02-13) February 13, 1970 (age 54)
Spokane, Washington, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 7, 1993, for the Philadelphia Phillies
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 2000, for the Anaheim Angels
MLB statistics
Batting average.254
Home runs23
Runs batted in248
Teams

Kevin Douglas Stocker (born February 13, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch hitter. Stocker played with the Philadelphia Phillies (1993–1997), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998–2000) and Anaheim Angels (2000).

A 1988 graduate of Central Valley High School in Spokane Valley, Stocker attended the University of Washington in Seattle, where he played college baseball for the Huskies from 1989–1991.[1] Stocker was also a member of the fraternity Lambda Chi Alpha.

Stocker was selected by Philadelphia in the 1991 MLB draft, taken in the second round with the 54th overall selection. He made his major league debut in 1993 on July 7 at Veterans Stadium in a marathon game that lasted 6 hours and 10 minutes. Stocker played all 20 innings in the defeat of the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6. Stocker was credited with a game-saving play in the tenth inning when he made a miraculous throw to home-plate for a force-out.[citation needed] Stocker had nine plate appearances in the game, the most by any player in his Major League debut. As of 2020, no other player has had more than seven.[2]

In his rookie season, Stocker batted .324 with two home runs and 31 RBI in 70 games. He was the regular Phillies shortstop through the 1997 season. In 1997 he enjoyed his best season, compiling career-highs in games played (149), runs (51), doubles (23) and stolen bases (11), adding five triples, four homers and 41 RBI.

During the 1997 expansion draft, Stocker was traded to Tampa Bay in exchange for Bobby Abreu. After two-plus seasons, he was released and signed with Anaheim. In an eight-season career, Stocker batted .254 with 23 home runs and 248 RBI. He now owns an Emerald City Smoothie franchise in Washington.[3]

  1. ^ "University of Washington Baseball Players Who Made It to a Major League Baseball Team". Baseball-Almanac.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2005. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
  2. ^ "Batting Game Finder". Stathead.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Wasson, Juli (October 25, 2008). "Emerald City Smoothie Has Drink to Fit Your Needs". Spokesman.com. Spokane, Washington, USA: The Spokesman-Review. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved August 21, 2012. And nowadays inside you can find former Philadelphia Phillies and Central Valley High School shortstop Kevin Stocker fielding nutritional advice instead of pop flies.