Desi Bernard Wilson (born May 9, 1969) 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 ...

player. He played part of one season 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 ...

for the

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

in 1996, primarily as a

first baseman 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 ...

. He also played one season in Japan with the

Hanshin Tigers The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, next to their main stadium, Hanshin Koshien Stadium. The Tigers are owned by Hanshin Electric Railway Co., ...

in 1998. He is currently the hitting coach of the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

, an affiliate of the

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 ...

Amateur career

Desi Wilson played basketball and baseball for

Fairleigh Dickinson University Fairleigh Dickinson University () is a private university with its main campuses in New Jersey, located in Madison / Florham Park and in Teaneck / Hackensack. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University offers more than 100 degree prog ...

Professional career

Wilson was originally drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 1991 amateur draft. In 1994, he was traded to the Giants, along with

Rich Aurilia Richard Santo Aurilia (; born September 2, 1971) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1995 and 2009 for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnat ...

, for pitcher

John Burkett John David Burkett (born November 28, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He compiled 166 wins against 136 losses, 1,766 strikeouts, and a 4.31 earned run average. He pitched from 1987 to 2003, with the San Francisco Gian ...

. Wilson played part of one season on the 1996 Giants, with a .271 batting average over 41 games. He also played in Japan for the

in 1998. Wilson played in the affiliated minor leagues until 2002, then went on to play in the independent leagues until 2007. Overall, he hit .312 in his minor league career. In 2005, while playing for the

Surprise Fightin' Falcons The Surprise Fightin' Falcons are an inactive professional baseball team based in Surprise, Arizona. They played in the Arizona Division of the independent Golden Baseball League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or' ...

, Desi had a 30-game

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pl ...

and batted .411, setting a

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

record.

Post-playing career

In 2007, Wilson began the season as the

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the

Anderson Joes The Anderson Joes were a minor league baseball club that existed in 2007. The team was based in Anderson, South Carolina and was named after outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, who grew up in the local area. The team played as a member of the indepe ...

of the independent

South Coast League The South Coast League of Professional Baseball (SCL), based in Conyers, Georgia, was a professional, Independent league baseball, independent baseball organization located in the Southeastern United States. It operated in cities not served by ...

. Midway through the season, he left the position of manager and was activated as a player. He was then traded to the

South Georgia Peanuts The South Georgia Peanuts were a short-lived minor league baseball team, based in Albany, Georgia in 2007. The team's home games were held at Paul Eames Sports Complex. History The Peanuts played in the South Coast League and won the league title ...

where he served as a player-coach for the remainder of the season and was part of the club's SCL championship. He joined the Cubs organization in 2009 as a hitting coach, joining Daytona in 2012. He was promoted to the hitting coach of the Tennessee Smokies in 2013.

Personal life

Wilson is the father of basketball player

D. J. Carton Desi Justice Carton (born August 5, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the San Diego Clippers (NBA G League), San Diego Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball, ...

. They have not communicated since Carton was age three or four.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Desi 1969 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American men's basketball players Anderson Joes players Basketball players from New York (state) Butte Copper Kings players Charlotte Knights players Charlotte Rangers players Chico Outlaws players Gulf Coast Rangers players Fairleigh Dickinson Knights baseball players Fairleigh Dickinson Knights men's basketball players Hanshin Tigers players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball first basemen Minor league baseball coaches Minor league baseball managers Pastora de los Llanos players Pastora de Occidente players Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players Shreveport Captains players Sioux City Explorers players Sioux Falls Canaries players Somerset Patriots players South Georgia Peanuts players Sportspeople from Glen Cove, New York Baseball players from Nassau County, New York Surprise Fightin' Falcons players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Sidewinders players Tulsa Drillers players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen Glen Cove High School alumni