Steven Wayne Scarsone (born April 11, 1966) is an American former professional baseball
infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...
and former
minor league
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 N ...
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
. He serves on 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 ...
' Player Development staff as travelling minor league instructor. He played all or parts of seven seasons 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) between 1992 and 1999 for the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...
,
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 ...
,
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
,
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 h ...
, and
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...
.
Playing career
Scarsone attended
Canyon High School in his native Anaheim. He went on to attend
Rancho Santiago College in
Santa Ana, California.
He was drafted by the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...
in the 2nd round of the 1986 MLB January Draft. His professional career began that year with the Class A (Short Season)
Bend Phillies
The Bend Phillies were a minor league baseball team located in Bend, Oregon. The Phillies were members of the Class A Short Season Northwest League from 1979 to 1986. Prior to 1981 the team was named the Central Oregon Phillies.
History
Professio ...
. In 1987, he played for the Class A
Charleston Wheelers. His 1988 season was spent with the Class A
Clearwater Phillies Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to:
Places Canada
* Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta
* Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta
* Clearwater, Britis ...
. In 1989, Scarsone was promoted to the Double-A
Reading Phillies
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling) ...
. He split the 1990 season between Clearwater and Reading. He played part of the 1991 season at Reading, but played the majority with the Triple-A
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...
. He began the 1992 season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but was called up to the Phillies where he made his major league debut on May 15. He recorded his first big league hit in the game against the
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...
. He played in seven games before returning to Triple-A.
Scarsone was traded to 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 ...
for
Juan Bell
Juan Bell Mathey (March 29, 1968 – August 24, 2016) was a Dominican professional baseball player, who played Major League Baseball from to , primarily as an infielder.
MLB career
Early career
Bell originally signed with the Los Angeles Dod ...
on August 11, 1992. He played 11 games with Baltimore, but also played with their Triple-A
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...
. On March 20, 1993, he was traded to the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...
for
Mark Leonard. Scarsone played for both San Francisco and their Triple-A
Phoenix Giants that year. He spent the entire 1994 to 1996 seasons with San Francisco. In 1995, he had a .266
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average i ...
with 11
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...
s in 80 games played. Scarsone was promoted to starting early in the 1996 season but struggled at the plate; the Giants released him after the season ended.
He signed as a free agent 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 h ...
in 1997. He appeared in five games with the major league team, but also played with the Triple-A
Louisville Redbirds
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.
...
. He was released on May 17, and signed a minor league contract with the
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 penna ...
on May 20. He played the rest of the campaign with the Triple-A
Las Vegas Stars. He was granted free agency after the season, and signed with the
Anaheim Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
for 1998, playing the entire year with the Triple-A
Vancouver Canadians
The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium ...
. In 1999, Scarsone signed as a free agent with the
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...
. He played 18 games with the Triple-A
Omaha Golden Spikes and 46 with Kansas City, including his final major league game on September 8, 1999.
In total, Scarsone appeared in 350 major league games, making 148 appearances at
second base, 86 at
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 ...
, 36 at
first base, and 19 at
short stop.
Managerial career
After retiring from playing, Scarsone became manager of the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...
' Class A affiliate, the
South Bend Silver Hawks
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...
of the
Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...
, in 2001. He was promoted to their Class A-Advanced
Lancaster JetHawks
The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...
of the
California League in 2002.
In 2009, he began managing in 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 ...
organization. Scarsone led the Class A
Kane County Cougars
The Kane County Cougars are an independent professional baseball team located in Geneva, Illinois and are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball (MLB). They play their h ...
to win the Midwest League's first-half title. His 2010
Stockton Ports
The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at ...
(Class A-Advanced California League) captured the second-half title. Both the Cougars and Ports lost in their league's quarterfinals. Scarsone managed the Double-A
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...
's
Midland RockHounds
The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whi ...
in 2011 and 2012. With the
Triple-A Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...
's
Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...
, Scarsone's teams missed the playoffs by only two game in both 2013 and 2014. From 2015 to 2016, he managed the Triple-A
Nashville Sounds
The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry, ...
, who became the Athletics' Triple-A farm club in 2015. Scarsone led the 2016 Sounds to win the American Southern Division title, and he won the
PCL Manager of the Year Award.
From 2017, he will serve on the A's Player Development staff as traveling minor league instructor.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarsone, Steve
1966 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Baltimore Orioles players
Baseball players from Anaheim, California
Bend Phillies players
Charleston Wheelers players
Clearwater Phillies players
Kansas City Royals players
Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players
Louisville Redbirds players
Nashville Sounds managers
Omaha Golden Spikes players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Phoenix Firebirds players
Reading Phillies players
Rochester Red Wings players
San Francisco Giants players
Santa Ana Dons baseball players
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players
St. Louis Cardinals players
Vancouver Canadians players