Chris Widger

Christopher Jon Widger (born May 21, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher. He played in MLB from 1995 to 2006 with the Seattle Mariners, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles. In January 2020, after a few seasons as a minor league bench coach, he was named the manager of the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Chris Widger
Catcher
Born: (1971-05-21) May 21, 1971
Wilmington, Delaware
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 23, 1995, for the Seattle Mariners
Last MLB appearance
September 15, 2006, for the Baltimore Orioles
MLB statistics
Batting average.238
Home runs55
Runs batted in222
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Career

A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Widger graduated from Pennsville Memorial High School in Pennsville Township, New Jersey, and George Mason University, where he played college baseball.[1] In 1991, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2]

A third round pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Widger played for the Seattle Mariners (1995-1996, 2000), Montréal Expos (1997-2000), New York Yankees (2002), St. Louis Cardinals (2003), Chicago White Sox (2005-2006), and Baltimore Orioles (2006). On July 23, 2006, he was placed on waivers by the White Sox, who had acquired Sandy Alomar, Jr. to replace him as their backup catcher. On August 4, 2006, Widger was signed by the Orioles to a contract for the rest of the 2006 season.

Widger played 10 years in MLB. He established himself as an everyday player during his tenure with the Expos, who acquired him, along with Matt Wagner and Trey Moore in a trade that saw Jeff Fassero and Alex Pacheco go to the Seattle Mariners. After playing the 2004 season with the independent Camden Riversharks, Widger made it back to the MLB with the Chicago White Sox as a backup where he won a World Series in 2005. He played catcher, but also played at first base, third base, and once in the outfield.

He served as the Camden Riversharks pitching coach from 2012 to 2014, before being named the team's manager on December 5, 2014.[3] In 2016, he became the Bench Coach for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, the Advanced-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals.[4] He was named Wilmington's manager in January 2020.[5]

References
  1. Minnick, Kevin. "A story straight out of Hollywood: S.J. Sports Figure of the Year", Courier-Post, December 30, 2005. Accessed August 18, 2007.
  2. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  3. "Sharks Name Widger New Manager". Camden Riversharks. December 5, 2014. Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  4. "Chris Widger Adds to the Mason-to-Royals Pipeline." Chris Widger Adds to the Mason-to-Royals Pipeline - George Mason University Athletics. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
  5. Greene, Sean. "Wilmington-born Chris Widger named Blue Rocks' new manager". WDEL 101.7FM.


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