Jack Wilson (infielder)

Wilson was originally selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1998 amateur draft, but was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000 for Jason Christiansen.

Wilson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2000 for Jason Christiansen. He made his major league debut a year later.

Wilson had almost identical seasons in 2002 and 2003, hitting .252 with 22 doubles in 147 games and .256, 21, 150, respectively.

Wilson enjoyed the finest season of his career in 2004 as he set career highs in almost every category. He posted a .308 average, shared the league lead in triples with 12 (along with Jimmy Rollins), scored 82 runs, hit 41 doubles with 11 home runs and 49 RBI, and collected 201 hits (3rd in the league) in 157 games, including 56 multi-hit games. To cap it off he ended the year with a season-high 12-game hitting streak (17-for-46, .370). After hitting eighth in the batting order for most of his career, he became a fixture in the second slot.

With his 201 hits, Wilson became just the ninth National League shortstop to collect 200 hits in a season; the franchise's first player since Dave Parker (1977), and the first Pirates shortstop since Hall of Famer Honus Wagner (1908). Wilson also became the first Pirates player to collect 10 or more doubles, triples and home runs in the same season since Andy Van Slyke (1992).

Defensively, Wilson led National League shortstops in assists (492), putouts (234), and total chances (743); his 129 double plays led all major league shortstops and broke the club record of 128 — set by Gene Alley in 1966 — and went 31 straight contests without making an error. Wilson was named for the 2004 All-Star Game and won the Silver Slugger at shortstop. He was also the Pirates' representative in the Roberto Clemente Award balloting.

In December 2004, Wilson was hospitalized for an appendectomy. Despite the setback, he was optimistic at spring training 2005. At 6-foot, 175-pound, Wilson had regained six of the 15 pounds he lost. However, he started the season poorly, hitting just .163 in April and .227 for the first half of the season, and acknowledged that he had not been fully recovered when the season started. Late season improvements to his hitting brought his cumulative season numbers to near his career averages, but still well below the standards he had set in 2004. He finished the year with a .257 batting average, a .299 on-base percentage, and a .363 slugging percentage, compared to his career highs of .308, .335, and .459 respectively the year before.

His defense, however, did not seem to suffer. For the second straight year he led all shortstops in the National League (and, in fact, all of baseball) in assists (523), total chances (783), and double plays (126). Largely because of Wilson and fellow defensive standout second baseman José Castillo, the Pirates turned more double plays in 2005 than any National League team save the Cardinals.

Wilson rebounded offensively yet never to the same level as in 2004. Most notably, in 2007, he hit .296 with a career high 12 home runs despite only playing in 135 games. He had frequently been the subject of trade rumors.[2][3][4]

On July 29, 2009, Wilson was traded to the Seattle Mariners along with Ian Snell for Ronny Cedeño and Minor League players Jeff Clement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and Nate Adcock.[5] Wilson was reportedly shocked to find out he had been traded to Seattle saying,

A shock. I really don't know what to feel. I'm definitely going to miss it. I definitely loved it there — aside from the record. The city of Pittsburgh is a perfect place to raise my family.

— Jack Wilson, Associated Press: July 30, 2009.[6]

He won a Fielding Bible Award for his defensive excellence at shortstop during the season.[7]

On November 2009, Jack Wilson re-signed with the Seattle Mariners for 2-years, $10 million.[8]

On August 31, 2011, Wilson was traded to the Atlanta Braves for a player to be named later.[9] On January 13, 2012 the Braves announced they re-signed him to a 1-year 1M plus 500K bonuses for games played.

On August 31, 2012, the Braves released Wilson.

Wilson announced his retirement on September 25, 2012.[10]