Ed Sprague (third baseman)

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Edward Nelson Sprague, Jr. (born July 25, 1967 in Castro Valley, California) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. He played 11 seasons in the major leagues from 1991 to 2001, with six different teams.

Sprague was an NCAA standout where he played third base helping Stanford win College World Series championships in 1987 and 1988. He then collected an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1988 Olympics on the men's baseball team. (However, because baseball was a demonstration sport that year, the medals were unofficial and did not count towards respective countries' medal counts.)

Ed was drafted in the first round of the 1988 draft by the Toronto Blue Jays.

Sprague made his debut in 1991 for the Toronto Blue Jays and was a part of the 1992 and 1993 World Series championships. He is particularly remembered for hitting the game-winning home run in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 1992 Series against the Atlanta Braves. His best individual year came in 1996 when he hit .247 with 36 home runs and 101 runs batted in.

Sprague was a regular with Toronto until 1998, when he was traded to the Oakland Athletics. He was granted free agency at the end of 1998, and then played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1999, for which he made his only All-Star game appearance. That year he hit .267 with 22 homers, 81 RBI and a .352 on base percentage, the best of his career as a regular player.

In 2000, Sprague played for the San Diego Padres and Boston Red Sox. After becoming a free agent at the end of the year, he signed with the Seattle Mariners for the 2001 season, playing in 45 regular season games. He signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers in early 2002, but did not return to the major leagues.

Sprague had something of a knack of getting hit by pitches, leading the league twice in this category and finishing with a career total of 91.

Sprague's final career totals include 1203 games played, 506 runs, 1010 hits, 225 doubles, 12 triples, 152 home runs, 558 runs batted in, a .247 batting average, a .318 on-base average, and a .419 slugging average.

He is currently the head baseball coach at University of the Pacific.

Ed is involved with the Canadian production company, Rocco's Jobbers, where he has participated with his wife,Kristen Sprague, in many projects over the years.^{[citation needed]}

According to a report in the Stockton Record, Sprague said he used performance-enhancing substances later banned by Major League Baseball and admitted hitting a home run with a corked bat. Many Sprague fans and Blue Jays fans in general were disheartened by the news.

[edit] Facts

• His father, Ed Sr., pitched in the majors from 1968 through 1976.
• His wife, Kristen Sprague, is an Olympic Gold Medalist in synchronized swimming.
• He has four children, with their ages ranging from 2-13, as of April 11th, 2008.

[edit] See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of second generation MLB players

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• ESPN
• Sprague admits use of Andro
• Glory Jay admits to steroid use