Kevin Joseph Witt (born January 5, 1976) is an American 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 ...

player. Witt spent parts of five seasons in the major leagues, appearing with the Blue Jays,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, Detroit Tigers and

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

, most often as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. He also played parts of two seasons in Japan, spending time with the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

and

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping ...

Early life

Witt was born in High Point, North Carolina, to Daniel Melvin Witt and his wife, Jean Marie Mechlinski Witt. He has two older brothers, Daniel Melvin Witt, Jr. and David Michael Witt. He attended

Bishop Kenny High School Bishop Kenny High School (commonly referred to as Bishop Kenny or BKHS) is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational Catholic high school in Jacksonville, Florida. It is located in and administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of St. August ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

Career

Witt was drafted in the first round, 28th overall, by the Toronto Blue Jays in the

1994 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players * Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did no ...

. Originally a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

, he was converted to first base while in the minors. He made his major league debut with the Blue Jays as a September call-up in 1998, collecting one hit in seven at-bats. In 1999, he collected seven hits in 34 at-bats, good for only a .206 batting average. He also hit his first Major League home run. He spent 2000 in the minors with the Syracuse SkyChiefs (AAA). He was granted free agency on October 15, 2000. On December 22, 2000, Witt signed with the

. In limited playing time in 2001, Witt hit .185, with two home runs and five runs batted in. On October 6, 2001, Witt pinch-ran for

Tony Gwynn Anthony Keith Gwynn Sr. (May 9, 1960 – June 16, 2014), nicknamed "Mr. Padre", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played 20 seasons (1982–2001) in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. The left-handed hit ...

, who had recorded his final Major League hit with a double. He was granted free agency on October 15, 2001. On November 15, 2001, he signed with the Cincinnati Reds. He spent the entire season in the minors with the Louisville Bats(AAA), then was granted free agency on October 15, 2002. On February 3, 2003, he signed with the Tigers. His only significant playing time came with the Tigers in 2003, when he batted .263 in 93 games while splitting his time between

, first base, and

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. He also hit 10 home runs and drove in 26 runs, while also stealing his first and only career base. He was granted free agency on October 15, 2003. On November 19, 2003, he signed with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. He spent the entire season in the minors with the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. He was granted free agency on October 15, 2004. After spending the 2004 season back in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

, Witt signed with the BayStars in 2005. He returned to North America the next season, and earned International League Most Valuable Player honors after leading all of minor league baseball with 36 home runs, while setting a Triple-A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

franchise record and a Rays' organization record. That earned him one last major league stint, where he batted .148 in 19 games for the Devil Rays. He returned to Japan in 2007 for Rakuten, but hit just .174 in 40 games in what turned out to be his final professional season.

As Coach

Witt has spent most of his coaching career in the Miami Marlins organization. He was named as the hitting coach for the

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans, ...

(Marlins' AAA) for the 2017 season, the hitting coach for the

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

(Marlins' AA) for the 2018 season, and the hitting coach for the

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

(Marlins' High A) for the 2019 season.

Personal life

Witt and his wife Lori (nee Long) live in Texas and have four sons: Tanner, Preston, Cullen and Ripken, and a daughter, Skyler. Tanner was an MLB Draft prospect in 2020, but after not being selected in the slimmed-down five round draft, decided he would go on and play for the

Texas Longhorns baseball The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I intercollegiate men's baseball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference. The University of Texas began varsity interc ...

squad. Preston began his playing career at

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

. Tanner was drafted in the 18th round in

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

but chose to return to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

for his senior season.

Sources

External links

Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Witt, Kevin 1976 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball coaches from North Carolina Baseball players from High Point, North Carolina Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Bishop Kenny High School alumni Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Detroit Tigers players Dunedin Blue Jays players Durham Bulls players Hagerstown Suns players International League MVP award winners Knoxville Smokies players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball first basemen Medicine Hat Blue Jays players Memphis Redbirds players Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays players Yokohama BayStars players