David J. Sappelt (born January 2, 1987) is a former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs. On June 9, 2015, the Boston Red Sox signed Dave to a Minor League contract. He is and weighs . He bats and throws right handed. He graduated from Southern Alamance High School in Burlington, NC. Sappelt played college baseball at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, it became an in ...

. He resides in Graham, NC.

Professional Baseball

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds drafted him in the 9th round of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first ro ...

. He played 2008 for the rookie class

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler ...

. He hit .299 with 7 homers and 35 RBI in 254 at-bats. Sappelt had 301 at-bats for Single-A

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

in 2009, hitting .269 with 3 homers and 25 RBI; in 251 at-bats for the single-A advanced

Sarasota Reds The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. However team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city ...

he hit .295 with 4 homers and 21 RBI. Sappelt started 2010 with the Single-A advanced

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

. He hit .282 with 0 homers and 4 RBI in 71 at-bats. He was promoted to Double-A Carolina, and hit .361 with 9 homers and 62 RBI in 330 at-bats. He was a mid- and post-season All-Star in the Southern League for the Mudcats, and was named Southern League Most Valuable Player. His performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, where he hit .324 with 1 homer and 8 RBI in 108 at-bats for the Bats. His season totals for 2010 were 509 at-bats, .342 average, 10 homers, and 74 RBI. He was named Reds Minor League Hitter of the Year. His season performance earned him a trip to the prestigious

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

, where he hit .292 in 72 at-bats with 0 homers and 10 RBI. He also played in the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, batting .305 with 1 homer and 10 RBI in 118 at-bats. He received a non-roster invitation to spring training for 2011. Sappelt was invited to the major league spring training camp in 2011 as a

non-roster invitee A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

. He backed up his award as Reds Minor League Hitter of the Year by hitting .564 (22-for-38), along with three homers and 12 RBI. However, Sappelt was cut from the Reds roster late in spring. Manager

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the Lo ...

said that a lot of the decision had to do with the fact that Sappelt was not on the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

, which at the time was full. Sappelt went back to Louisville for the 2011 season, and continued hitting. Through his first 74 games as the Bats' center fielder, he hit .313 with seven homers and 29 RBI, including a .358 average against lefties. After

Chris Heisey Christopher J. Heisey (born December 14, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Washington Nationals in Major League Baseball (MLB). Early life Heisey graduated fr ...

injured his oblique in batting practice and was placed on the 15-day DL, Sappelt was called up to the majors for the first time on August 7, 2011. He made his Major League Debut vs the Chicago Cubs, leading off and playing left field.

Chicago Cubs

On December 23, 2011, Sappelt was traded with

Travis Wood Travis Alan Wood (born February 6, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals, and San Diego Padres. Amateur career Born and raise ...

and Ronald Torreyes to the Chicago Cubs for Sean Marshall. On May 6, 2013, Sappelt was optioned to the Iowa Cubs. He was designated for assignment on September 3, 2013.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 18, 2013, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Sappelt to a minor league contract, that included a spring training invitation.

Boston Red Sox

On June 9, 2015, Sappelt signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

. He elected free agency on November 6, 2015.

Mexican League (2014-2017)

Sappelt played in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

for the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. Their home ballpark is Estadio de Béisbol Monclova, which has a capacity of 11,000 people. The Ace ...

and Rojos del Águila de Veracruz in 2014, the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Venu ...

in 2015 and 2016, the Sultanes de Monterrey in 2016, and the

Olmecas de Tabasco The Olmecas de Tabasco (English: Tabasco Olmecs) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico. Their home ballpark is the Estadio Centenario 27 de Febrero. The Olmecas won their only Mexican L ...

and

Rieleros de Aguascalientes The Rieleros de Aguascalientes (English: Aguascalientes Railroaders) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Aguascalientes, Mexico. History Baseball arrived in Aguascalientes in hand with the railroad at the beginning o ...

in 2017. He has also played in the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule ru ...

for the

Águilas de Mexicali The Águilas de Mexicali ( en, Mexicali Eagles) are a professional baseball based in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico. They compete in the Mexican Pacific League (LMP), a Mexican winter league. The team plays at Estadio Nido de los Águilas als ...

and the

Yaquis de Obregón The Yaquis de Obregón ( en, Obregón Yaquis) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. The “Yaquis” are the only team in league history to have won three consecutive league championship ...

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs

On May 27, 2018, Sappelt signed with the

Southern Maryland Blue Crabs The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs are an American professional baseball team based in Waldorf, Maryland. They are members of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseb ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released on June 7, 2018.

Winnipeg Goldeyes

On June 13, 2018, Sappelt signed with the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of the Norther ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

Tigres de Quintana Roo

On July 15, 2018, Sappelt signed with the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Quintana Roo Tigers (), formerly known as the Mexico (City) Tigers () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve champio ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. He was released on July 30, 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sappelt, Dave 1987 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players African-American baseball players Águilas de Mexicali players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Billings Mustangs players Bravos de Margarita players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Caribes de Anzoátegui players Carolina Mudcats players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Coastal Carolina Chanticleers baseball players Dayton Dragons players Iowa Cubs players Louisville Bats players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball outfielders Mexican League baseball outfielders Olmecas de Tabasco players People from Graham, North Carolina Peoria Saguaros players Piratas de Campeche players Portland Sea Dogs players Rieleros de Aguascalientes players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Sarasota Reds players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Tigres de Quintana Roo players Winnipeg Goldeyes players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people