Stephen James Susdorf (born March 28, 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 ...
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 ...
, who 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
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 ...
briefly, in . He batted and threw left-handed.
Career
Minor League career
Susdorf was drafted in the 27th round of the
2007 MLB draft
The 2007 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "l ...
by the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
, but he did not sign, instead returning to
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...
for his senior season. The
2008 Fresno State Bulldogs won the
College World Series
The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...
, and Susdorf was drafted in the 19th round of the
2008 MLB draft by 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 ...
. Susdorf was assigned to Short Season
Williamsport, but also played 2 games for Single-A
Lakewood. In 50 total games, he hit .295 with 5 HR and 35 RBI.
Susdorf began 2009 with Lakewood, but after about a month, he was promoted to A-Advanced
Clearwater. After a month and a half with Clearwater, he was promoted to the Double-A
Reading Phillies
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch.
For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...
. In 85 total games, he hit .324 with 7 HR and 44 RBI. After the season, Susdorf played with the
Scottsdale Scorpions
The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco G ...
of the
Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...
.
Susdorf spent 2010 with Clearwater, where in 128 games, he hit .278 with 11 HR and 77 RBI. Susdorf began the 2011 season with Reading, but his season came to a close at the end of July, after he dislocated his left shoulder and later required surgery to repair his right knee while trying to beat a grounder. Susdorf began the 2012 season with Reading, but was promoted to the Triple-A
Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and they are named in reference to pig iron, used ...
in mid-May. In 117 total games, he hit .286 with 2 HR and 41 RBI.
Susdorf began the 2013 season with Lehigh Valley, but after 70 games, he was promoted to Philadelphia. At the time, he was hitting .335 with 1 HR and 25 RBI and 8 SB.
Major League career
Philadelphia Phillies
On July 25, 2013, Susdorf was called up by the Phillies to replace
Domonic Brown
Domonic Larun Brown (born September 3, 1987), is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the Philadelphia Phillies in , after being named the Phillies' top prospect in and the top ...
, who was placed on the 7-day disabled list with a concussion. He made his major league debut that day as a pinch-hitter, grounding into a double play. His first hit, a double off of
Rick Porcello
Frederick Alfred Porcello III (born December 27, 1988) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets.
Selected by the Tigers in the 2007 ML ...
of the
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...
, came in his first start. On July 30, Susdorf was designated for assignment to make room for
Cody Asche. On July 10, 2014, the Phillies released him from their Triple–A affiliate.
References
External links
Steve SusdorfFresno State Bulldogs biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Susdorf, Steve
1986 births
Living people
Clearwater Threshers players
Fresno State Bulldogs baseball players
Lakewood BlueClaws players
Lehigh Valley IronPigs players
21st-century American sportsmen
Leones del Caracas players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball outfielders
Baseball players from Santa Clarita, California
People from Valencia, Santa Clarita, California
Philadelphia Phillies players
Reading Phillies players
Scottsdale Scorpions players
Williamsport Crosscutters players