David Newhan: Difference between revisions

David Matthew Newhan (born September 7, 1973, in Fullerton, California) is a Jewish-American baseball player who plays for the New York Mets.

He bats left-handed and throws right-handed. He is known for his hustle, scrappiness, speed, fundamentals, and versatility.^[1]

Newhan's father is Ross Newhan, a Hall of Fame baseball writer for the LA Times, and the 2000 recipient of the Hall of Fame's J.G. Taylor Spink Award.^[2]

Newhan was an infielder in Esperanza High School in Anaheim, California.^[3] He starred in high school, but only received scholarship offers at the Division II level.^[4]

Newhan attended Cypress College, a junior college, in 1992. His coach experimented by putting Newhan at first base, a position that seemed peculiar for a 5' 10" player. To prepare him, the coach had Newhan put on catcher's gear, and hit grounders at him. Eventually Newhan became so adept at first base that he played the position for the entire year.^[3]

After a season at Cypress, Newhan was recruited to play second base alongside star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra at Georgia Tech in 1993. Head coach Jim Morris had lied to him about the position, however, and he ended up playing first base.^[3]

He therefore transferred to Pepperdine University the following year. At Pepperdine he hit .313 with 15 home runs and 71 RBIs in 103 games in 1994 and 1995.^[5] He was All-West Coast Conference as a left fielder in 1995, after leading the league in slugging and home runs. He graduated from Pepperdine in 1995 with a business administration degree.

Newhan was drafted by the Oakland Athletics as an outfielder in the 17th round of the 1995 amateur draft.

He was primarily considered an outfielder until his 2nd pro season in 1996, when then Class A Modesto manager Jim Colborn, now the Los Angeles Dodgers pitching coach, found himself in need of an infielder after the team's second baseman was injured. The night of the injury, Colborn walked through the team's parking lot and noticed a car with the license plate: "LV2TRN2." The next day Colborn asked the team which player had that particular license plate. Newhan raised his hand. "Get your infield glove, you're going to be a second baseman," Colborn said.^[3] Newhan hit .301 that season, with a .538 slugging percentage, 25 home runs, and 17 stolen bases in 117 games.

In 3 years in Athletics minor league system, Newhan never made his way higher than Oakland's Single-A team, and despite signs of improvement, was traded to the San Diego Padres organization in November 1997.

Newhan batted .277 over 2 seasons with San Diego's AA team. He was promoted to the Padres' AAA team before the 1999 season where, over 98 games, he batted .286 with 22 stolen bases.

During 1999 he made his major league debut.

Newhan started the 2000 season as the second baseman for the San Diego Padres, hitting .150. He was then demoted to AAA. While in the minors, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in August 2000.

The Phillies briefly kept him at AAA, before calling him up to the Majors.

He was then traded back to the Padres, who then traded him back to the Phillies before the 2001 season.

During the 2001 season, Newhan appeared in 7 games for the Phillies, going 2-6 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored before injuring his shoulder making a play in the outfield. "I ran into a wall, and it didn't move," he said.^[4] He had season-ending shoulder surgery on May 25.

In October 2001 Newhan was released by the Phillies.

He was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in February 2002, but was released in October 2002.

Newhan signed with the Colorado Rockies in May 2003, and played in their minor league system, hitting .348 with a .392 obp in AAA. He became a free agent in October 2003.

Newhan signed with the Texas Rangers in November 2003.

In his deal with the Rangers, he had a clause pursuant to which the team was required to release him by June 15 of 2004 if he were not on the team. June 15 came and he was released.

The Baltimore Orioles signed Newhan in June 2004. He was hitting .328, with a .557 slugging percentage and 10 stolen bases in 10 attempts, in AAA when the Orioles called him up.

In 2004 with the Orioles he had 42 hits through 100 at bats, and were it not for a pinch hit appearance in which he flied out he would have had a 21-game hit streak. He finished with a .311 batting average, 7 triples (7th in the AL), 8 home runs, 54 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 12 attempts. He hit .343 with runners in scoring position, and .400 with runners in scoring postion and 2 out. One of his more exciting hits was an inside-the-park home run off of Pedro Martinez with a runner on base on a drive off of the center field wall on July 20 against the Red Sox in Fenway Park.^[6]

2005 was a disappointment for Newhan. Due to the fact that there were so many "everyday" starters on the Orioles, Newhan was relegated to the bench. He saw very limited action and struggled at the plate. Rarely playing on consecutive days, he claimed it was impossible to be consistent offensively. He was briefly demoted to AAA, where he hit .366.

During spring training of 2006 he batted .400. While the Orioles had planned to use him as a backup, they started him in 7 of their first 10 games due to his spring stats. He had 7 runs, 2 home runs, and 3 stolen bases. On his 3rd stolen base, he slid awkwardly and had to leave the game with a broken right fibula on April 17. Newhan was placed on the Disabled List and was out until the end of August. He finished the season with a .252 average, with 4 home runs.

Newhan signed a free agent 1-year contract with the New York Mets on January 5, 2007, turning down an offer from the Chicago Cubs.^[7][8] The contract pays Newhan $575,000 if he makes the major league team in spring training, and $175,000 if he is sent to the minors.^[7] As of February 2007, he was the favorite to make the team as a bench player.[1]

Newhan hits pitchers from both sides of the rubber equally well, though he generates more power against righthanders. His swing is compact and level, mostly generating line drives and groundballs.

Newhan can play all infield positions except shortstop, as well as all outfield positions. Through 2006 he played in 4 games at first base (1 start), 28 games at second base (14 starts), 28 games at third base (16 starts), 56 games in left field (50 starts), 51 games in center (47 starts), and 62 games in right (36 starts). His range is average both in the infield and outfield, and he throws accurately.^[7]

• Also known as the man with happiest Jumbotron smile.^{[citation needed]}

• Nicknamed "Son of Scribe," because his father is a long-time baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times.^[2]

• Is a member of the Pepperdine Waves Hall of Fame.^[9]

• Although he was a solid student while growing up California, and later at Pepperdine, David never considered following in his father's journalistic footsteps. "Playing seemed a lot more fun than writing," he says. "My dad writes at home, and one thing I've seen a lot of is his cussing up a storm, yelling at the laptop. I understand what the sportswriter goes through. I don't think anyone has to worry about me pulling an Albert Belle."^[10]

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