Brett Alexander Wallace (born August 26, 1986) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. He is currently the hitting coach for the

California Golden Bears baseball The California Golden Bears baseball team represents the University of California, Berkeley in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with most other California athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Th ...

team, competing in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

High school

A 2005 graduate of

Justin-Siena High School Justin-Siena High School is a Catholic preparatory school in the Lasallian tradition, located in Napa, California, within the Diocese of Santa Rosa. The school was created when Justin High School for males, sponsored by the Christian Brothers ...

Napa, California Napa is the largest city and county seat of Napa County, California, Napa County and a principal city of Wine Country in Northern California, United States. Located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the Bay Area, th ...

, Wallace earned four varsity baseball letters for head coach Allen Rossi. He helped lead Justin-Siena to a 97–9 record during his prep career, including a perfect 27–0 senior season. He broke nine school records during his prep career and holds single-season school records for walks, runs, hits, RBI, home runs and slugging percentage. Among his numerous accolades, Wallace was named a Collegiate Baseball/

Louisville Slugger Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

All-American and 2005 first-team All-State (CalHiSports.com) and 2005 California Small Schools Player of the Year. He was also a four-time All-Marin County Athletic League selection, 2004 and 2005 All-Napa County Offensive Player of the Year.

College career

Wallace was a two-time

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

Player of the Year (2007 & 2008) and a two-time Triple Crown Winner at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. He was the 12th Sun Devil to win the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, and the first since

Dustin Pedroia Any addition of 2018 will be reverted. Only players who were on a winning team's active roster during a World Series are listed as "World Series champions" in this context. Note that this is the same criterion as is used by Baseball-reference.com ...

shared the award in 2003. Wallace played 3B for the Sun Devils, teaming with now

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

first baseman

Ike Davis Isaac Benjamin Davis (born March 22, 1987) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 2010 through 2016, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, and New York Ya ...

at 1B and now

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

second baseman

Jason Kipnis Jason Michael Kipnis (born April 3, 1987; nicknamed "Kip") is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs. He attended Glenbrook North High School i ...

in center field. The 2008 ASU squad also featured former

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

pitcher Mike Leake and former

pitcher

Josh Spence Joshua Patrick William Spence (born 22 January 1988) is an Australian former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres. Playing career Spence enrolled at Central Arizona College, and playe ...

. In 2006, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Falmouth Commodores The Falmouth Commodores are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Commodores play their home games at Arnie All ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star.

Professional career

Early career

The

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

selected Wallace in the 42nd round of the

2005 MLB Draft The 2005 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...

, but he did not sign with the team. After his collegiate career, he was picked by the

as their first round (13th overall) selection of the 2008 MLB draft out of Arizona State University. After his performance at Single-A

Quad Cities The Quad Cities is a region of five cities (originally Tri-Cities, later four, see #History, History) in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois: Davenport, Iowa, Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, Bettendorf (the fifth to be included) in southeaster ...

, Wallace skipped High-A Palm Beach and was promoted immediately to the Double-A

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They are members of the Texas League's North Division and serve as the Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Springfield Cardinals began pl ...

. He began 2009 playing for Springfield before being promoted to the Triple-A

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 Redbird ...

. During his career in the minor leagues, Wallace split time between

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. On July 24, 2009, Wallace was traded to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

as part of a package for

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 catch ...

Matt Holliday Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2004 to 2018 for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, and New York ...

. On December 15, 2009, Wallace was dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays for Michael Taylor, who was obtained by the Blue Jays from the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

as part of a trade for Roy Halladay.

Houston Astros

On July 29, 2010, the Blue Jays traded Wallace to the

, in exchange for minor league outfielder

Anthony Gose Anthony Robert Gose (; born August 10, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher and outfielder in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, ...

, who had just been obtained by the Astros from the Phillies as part of a trade for

Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texa ...

. Wallace was sent to the Triple-A affiliate, the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, for one day and did not appear in a game before being called up by the Astros on July 31, 2010 after

Lance Berkman William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the former head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Hu ...

was traded to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Wallace made his MLB debut against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

the same day, and went 0–4. On August 1, he got his first MLB career hit, a single, against Brewers' pitcher

Randy Wolf Randall Christopher Wolf (born August 22, 1976), nicknamed "Wolfie", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres, Houston Astro ...

. On September 7 Wallace hit his first MLB career home run off

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

pitcher Carlos Silva, tying the game. On August 1, 2011, Wallace was sent back to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

club. Wallace started the 2012 season with the RedHawks, and was recalled by Houston on June 3 when

Carlos Lee Carlos Noriel Lee (born June 20, 1976), nicknamed "El Caballo", is a Panamanian former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2012 with the Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, ...

was placed on the disabled list. He returned to Oklahoma City on June 17 when Lee was re-activated. Wallace was recalled again on July 30 when

Brian Bixler Brian Joseph Bixler (born October 22, 1982) is an American former professional baseball shortstop and outfielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals and Houston Astros as well as for the ...

was optioned to Oklahoma City. Wallace began the 2013 season with the Astros. However, due to a slow start in which he batted .042 in 17 games, he was optioned to Oklahoma City on April 18. On June 25, he was called back up to start against the

. On February 6, 2014, the Astros designated Wallace for assignment to make room for Jerome Williams. He was released on March 12.

Baltimore Orioles/Toronto Blue Jays

Wallace signed a minor league contract with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

on March 23, 2014. He played for the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's loc ...

before being traded to the Blue Jays on July 14 for cash considerations. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. On August 24, 2014, Wallace clubbed a walk-off

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

in the 12th inning to cap a three home run, six RBI game, as the Bisons rallied for a 10–6 victory over visiting

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

. Wallace joined Fernando Martínez (2012) and

Marco Scutaro Marcos Scutaro, better known as Marco Scutaro, (; born October 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. He bats and throws right-handed. Scutaro made his major league debut with the New York Mets in 2002, and subsequentl ...

(1999) as the only Bisons to hit walk-off grand slams at Coca-Cola Field. It was also the sixth three-homer game in franchise history and the first since May 19, 2012, when

Vinny Rottino Vincent Antonio Rottino (born April 7, 1980) is an American former professional baseball utility player and current television analyst for FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin covering the Milwaukee Brewers. He has played positions including catcher, ...

achieved the feat against the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

San Diego Padres

On December 13, 2014, Wallace signed a minor league contract including an invitation to major league spring training with the

. On June 19, 2015, the Padres called Wallace up. He finished the season with a .302/.374/.521 slash line in 107 plate appearances for the Padres. The following off season, the Padres and Wallace avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $1 million contract for 2016. Wallace was given the starting third base job when Yangervis Solarte was placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury. Wallace failed to repeat his 2015 production in 2016, finishing the season with a .189/.309/.318 slash line in 256 plate appearances. On November 18, 2016, Wallace was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to the Triple–A

El Paso Chihuahuas The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team based in El Paso, Texas. The Chihuahuas compete in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Sou ...

after multiple prospects were added to the roster. He subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency. On December 24, 2016, Wallace signed a new minor league contract with the Padres. On April 2, 2017, he was released. Wallace ended his career following the 2017 season.

Coaching career

On August 1, 2024, Wallace was hired as the hitting coach for the

team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Brett 1986 births Living people All-American college baseball players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players El Paso Chihuahuas players Falmouth Commodores players Houston Astros players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Escogido players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball first basemen Memphis Redbirds players Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Sportspeople from Sonoma, California Baseball players from Sonoma County, California Baseball coaches from California Peoria Saguaros players Quad Cities River Bandits players Sacramento River Cats players San Diego Padres players Springfield Cardinals players United States national baseball team players Baseball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball Arizona State Sun Devils baseball coaches California Golden Bears baseball coaches