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{{Infobox MLB player |name=John Castillo | |position=[[Centerfielder |team=Minnesota Twins |number=2 |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1992 4 9 |birth_place=[[nagua,dominican republic |debutdate=august 12 |debutyear=2011 |debutteam=Minnesota Twins |statyear=2012 season |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.284 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=106 |stat3label=Triples |stat3value=36 |stat4label=Runs batted in |stat4value=230 |stat5label=Stolen bases |stat5value=90 |teams=

|awards= }} Keiunta Denard Span[1] (born February 27, 1984) is an American Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins. He was selected by the Twins with the 20th overall pick in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft from Tampa Catholic High School. Span turned down just over $2 million from Colorado in an offer for a predraft deal; he fell all the way to the 20th pick and cost himself around $800,000.[2] He bats and throws left-handed and is known as one of the premier leadoff hitters in the AL due to his exceptional on-base percentage.[3]

Professional career[edit]

After being drafted by the Twins in 2002, Span signed with the Twins on August 15, 2002.[4] He started his minor league at Elizabethon, Twins rookie affiliate in 2003.[4] In 2004, he played for the Twins of the Gulf Coast League, only appearing in 5 games[4] and for the Swing of the Quad Cities, now called the Quad Cities River Bandits of the Midwest League. In 2005, he started with Fort Myers Miracle, Twins Advanced A affiliate then was called up to the New Britain Rock Cats, the Twins Double-A affiliate.[4] He spent the 2006 season as a member of the Rock Cats, and 2007 with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.[4]

Minnesota Twins[edit]

2008[edit]

Throughout spring training Span was competing with Carlos Gomez for the starting center field job for the Twins, but Gomez was given the job. On April 6, Michael Cuddyer was placed on the 15-day disabled list and Span was called up and made his Major League debut against the Kansas City Royals. Span played with the Twins for the rest of 2008 season, hitting .294/.387/.432 with 6 HR, 47 RBI, and 7 triples in 93 games.[4] Span was chosen to play in the 2008 Beijing Olympics but because he was called up, he was forced to skip the Olympics.

2009[edit]

Span, unlike 2008, got the nod to start as a left fielder. He also played center field and right field throughout the season. His 2009 stats showed some improvement from 2008, hitting .311/.392/.415 with 8 HR, 68 RBI, and 10 triples in 145 games.[4] He also stole bases 23 times while getting caught stealing 10 times.[4] Span earned the distinction of becoming the player to hit both the first regular season and post season hit at Yankee Stadium in 2009.

2010[edit]

On March 13, Span made a public a five-year deal worth $16.5 million with the Minnesota Twins that included an option for the 2015 season worth $9 million with a $500,000 buyout.[5] This contract effectively bought out all of Span's arbitration years but did not go beyond his available free agency. On March 31, he unintentionally hit his mother, who was sitting in the stands, with a foul ball.[6] On April 2, 2010, Span collected the first hit (a triple) and the first home run in the Twins' new ballpark Target Field in an exhibition game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

On June 29, Denard Span tied the modern-day Major League Baseball record by hitting three triples in one game when he did so against the Detroit Tigers in an 11-4 victory. He became the 29th player since 1900 to accomplish this feat and the second Minnesota Twin (after Ken Landreaux in 1980). On his spectacular night, which also included a single and five runs batted in, Span commented, “Today was a special day for me.” The last time a player hit three triples in one game was by Rafael Furcal of the Atlanta Braves on April 21, 2002.[7][8]

2012[edit]

In a bizarre moment, Span and manager Ron Gardenhire were ejected from the game on April 17, 2012, against the New York Yankees by home plate umpire Greg Gibson. Span showed bunt on the first pitch of his at-bat in the third inning against CC Sabathia, but pulled back in time on a pitch that appeared to be inside. Gibson called the pitch a strike and Span responded by arguing the call for a few seconds. Span appeared to still be arguing the call when he started to get ready for the second pitch of the at-bat, and was then ejected by Gibson. The ejection, which was only the second ejection of Span's MLB career, was quickly followed by Gardenhire approaching Gibson to argue both the call and Span's ejection. Gibson then ejected Gardenhire. Tensions were already high, as Gibson called Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano for a balk in the second inning of that game.[9]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ http://twins.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=452655
  2. ^ Talent emerging from 2002 draft," by Keith Law from Scouts, Inc. accessed on ESPN.com, accessed 2007-06-04
  3. ^ http://espn.go.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/2685/how-denard-span-became-denard-span
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spande01.shtml
  5. ^ Twins reward Span with five-year contract," by Kelly Thesier from MLB.com. accessed on MLB.com, accessed 2010-03-13
  6. ^ http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100331&content_id=9026878&vkey=news_min&fext=.jsp&c_id=min
  7. ^ Maggio, Anthony (June 29, 2010). "Triple threat: Span's big night helps Twins coast". Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  8. ^ ESPN.com (June 29, 2010). "Span's outburst helps starter Blackburn get first win since May". Retrieved June 30, 2010.
  9. ^ http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7825964/minnesota-twins-denard-span-ron-gardenhire-ejected-new-york-yankees

External links[edit]

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Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Minnesota Twins players Category:African-American baseball players Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Baseball players from Florida Category:Major League Baseball outfielders Category:Elizabethton Twins players Category:Gulf Coast Twins players Category:Quad Cities River Bandits players Category:Fort Myers Miracle players Category:New Britain Rock Cats players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:All-Star Futures Game players

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