Adam David Piatt (born February 8, 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 professiona ...
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 ...
who played for the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...
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 ...
of
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) from 2000 to 2003.
Career
Piatt played baseball at
Bishop Verot High School
Bishop Verot High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Fort Myers, Florida. It is located in the Diocese of Venice, Florida.
History
Bishop Verot Catholic High School was established in 1962 as Fort Myers Central Catholic High Scho ...
,
followed by a successful college career at
Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...
(MSU), helping lead the Bulldogs to multiple
NCAA Tournament appearances. Piatt led the MSU team in 1996 with a .370 batting average. Piatt played mostly at third base for MSU and was named to the second team All-Southeastern Conference unit in 1997, when the Bulldogs reached the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divis ...
. He chose to leave school early after that, and signed a professional contract. Piatt finished his education at MSU, earning Cum Laude honors from MSU's Business School.
Piatt's best year was 1999 when he won the triple crown and minor league player of the year award at third base. He became an outfielder because of the A's present third baseman,
Eric Chavez
Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010), New York Yankees (2011–2012), and Arizona Diamondb ...
, and that was the only opening on the A's. He hit .299 in 60 games in 2000 with 5 home runs and 5 triples. In 2001, he got
viral meningitis
Viral meningitis, also known as aseptic meningitis, is a type of meningitis due to a viral infection. It results in inflammation of the meninges (the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord). Symptoms commonly include headache, fever, sensit ...
, but survived. He was designated for assignment by the A's in August 2003 and was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay. In 2004, he went to Cleveland, but retired before the season.
Piatt was once featured in a commercial for
K-Swiss
K-Swiss, Inc. is an American athletic shoe brand based in Downtown Los Angeles and currently owned by Xtep.
History
K-Swiss was founded in 1966 in Los Angeles by Swiss brothers, Art and Ernie Brunner. They became interested in tennis after em ...
shoes.
In the
Mitchell Report
The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the res ...
, Piatt admitted to having used
steroids
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...
. Piatt said that former A's teammate
F. P. Santangelo
Frank-Paul Santangelo (born October 24, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played Major League Baseball from 1995 to 2001 for the Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics. He also s ...
had told him about a man who could give Piatt human growth hormone (HGH). Piatt (who was trying to come back from viral meningitis) received HGH and testosterone from Kirk Radomski and used them in the 2002–2003 off-season. After using them, he said he "did not love the game when he used them" and that he had learned a life lesson. Piatt told all of this to Mitchell during their meeting. Former Senator George Mitchell commended Piatt for his honesty, and for being one of the few players to come forward to discuss the league's performance-enhancing drug use.
Piatt now lives in Cape Coral, Florida.
See also
*
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piatt, Adam
1976 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baseball players from Chicago
Major League Baseball outfielders
Midland RockHounds players
Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players
Modesto A's players
Oakland Athletics players
Sacramento River Cats players
Southern Oregon Timberjacks players
Tampa Bay Devil Rays players
Vancouver Canadians players
Anchorage Bucs players
Bishop Verot High School alumni