Chase Headley

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Chase Headley
Headley with the San Diego Padres
Third baseman
Born: (1984-05-09) May 9, 1984 (age 40)
Fountain, Colorado, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 15, 2007, for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
May 11, 2018, for the San Diego Padres
MLB statistics
Batting average.263
Home runs130
Runs batted in596
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Chase Jordan Headley (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional

switch-hitter, Headley made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut with the San Diego Padres in 2007, and also played for the New York Yankees
.

Headley played

runs batted in (RBIs) and was honored for his hitting with a Silver Slugger Award. He also won a Gold Glove Award
for his defense. The Padres traded Headley to the Yankees during the 2014 season, and he was eventually dealt back to San Diego following the 2017 season.

High school and college

Headley graduated as valedictorian from

National Baseball Congress World Series. In basketball, he was named to the All-Conference squad for two seasons.[1]

Headley enrolled at the

sports management.[3] In 2004, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4][5]

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

Headley batting for the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2005

The San Diego Padres drafted Headley in the second round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft.[3]

Headley first played professionally with the

Class AA league before.[9]

The

San Diego Union-Tribune called Headley the Padres' best eventual prospect to fill the third base position, though it theorized it would take two years.[10]

Headley says:

I try to do as much as I can to mentally prepare myself every day, mainly because I'm not quite as physically gifted as some of the guys I play against. I'm trying to get every advantage mentally as I can – keeping track of what different pitchers have done to me in the past, or what other hitters do in certain situations against our guys, so I can position myself better – I just try to apply myself and see if I can't pick something up and use it to benefit what I'm trying to do.[11]

Headley was named the 2007

Texas League Player of the Year
, after hitting .330/.437/.580 with a 1.016 OPS and leading the league in many fielding stats for third basemen. He did strike out 114 times, though, in just 443 at bats.

Headley hit well in spring training in 2008, .371 with a team-leading 12 RBIs, but was sent to the

Class AAA Pacific Coast League
to get more experience playing left field. In 65 games in Portland, he hit 13 home runs and 24 doubles, batted .305/.383/.556, and was then called up to the Padres.

San Diego Padres (2007–2014)

2007–2011

Headley with the San Diego Padres

On June 15, 2007, after hitting .357 for the San Antonio Missions of the Double-A Texas League, Headley was brought up for 8 games because of an injury to Padres third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff. He made his major league debut against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. His first major league hit came on June 17; a single to center field in the second inning against the Cubs. Headley finished the season in the majors.[citation needed]

Headley was again called up on June 17, 2008, and went 2–4 with two strikeouts against the

Yankees at Yankee Stadium. He picked up his first major league home run the following night, an eighth inning shot off Kyle Farnsworth. Headley batted .269/.337/.420, with nine home runs and 104 strikeouts in 331 at bats that year.[citation needed
]

Headley began the 2009 season as the Padres' starting left fielder. On July 10, he was the only player to reach base during Jonathan Sánchez's no-hitter, reaching on an error by Juan Uribe, and ending the perfect game bid after 22 straight retirements. He finished the season with a .262 batting average, 12 home runs, 64 RBIs and a .734 OPS. Headley also had the second-highest Range Factor/Game as LF.[citation needed]

In early January 2010, the Padres traded third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff to the Oakland Athletics, moving Headley back to third base, his original position. On April 16, Headley hit a walk-off three-run home run off Diamondbacks pitcher Juan Gutierrez, snapping the Padres two-game losing streak. Headley finished the season with a .264 batting average, 11 home runs, 17 stolen bases and a .702 OPS. He led the National League in games played at third base and appeared in the top 10 for defensive WAR (1.5), games played (161), at bats (610), plate appearances (674), singles, assists at third base, and fielding percentage at third base (.966).[citation needed]

Headley had multiple career bests in 2011, batting .289/.374/.399 with a .773 OPS. But an injury limited Headley to only 4 home runs in 381 at bats. He also led the National league in putouts at 3B.[citation needed]

2012

During spring training in

NL Player of the Month for August, becoming the first Padre to be so honored since Tony Gwynn won the award in May 1997. Headley that month was tied for the major league lead in home runs (10) and led the majors with 31 RBIs. He hit .306 (33-for-108) in August with 20 runs scored and a .611 slugging percentage (SLG).[14] He earned a second consecutive Player of the Month honor in September after hitting .324 that month with nine homers, 30 RBIs, a .410 OBP, and a .645 SLG. He was the second Padre to win Player of the Month in consecutive months, the first being third baseman Ken Caminiti in August and September of 1996.[15] He became the first Padre to ever have more than one 30-RBI month. Over the final 57 games of the season, he batted .313 with 19 homers, 44 runs scored and 63 RBIs.[12]

Headley was unanimously voted the Padre Player of the Year by the San Diego chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) after hitting .286 and leading the league in RBIs with 115.[15][16] He joined Winfield (118 in 1979) as the only Padres to lead the league in RBIs. Headley set career highs in hits (173), runs (95), home runs (31), walks (86), RBIs, total bases (301), OBP (.376) and SLG (.498) and matched career highs in games played (161), doubles (31), and steals (17). He reached base in 146 games, breaking the Padres record held by Gwynn (144 in 1987)[15][17]

Headley won a

This Year in Baseball award for "MLB Breakout Hitter of the Year".[21]

After making $3.475 million in 2012, Headley was under team control for the following two seasons with San Diego but eligible for

salary arbitration.[12]

2013–2014

On January 30, 2013, Headley signed a one-year contract worth $8.575 million with San Diego.

arthroscopic surgery on his knee during the offseason.[25]

In 77 games with the Padres in 2014, Headley batted .229 with a .296 OBP.[26]

New York Yankees (2014–2017)

Headley batting for the New York Yankees in 2015

On July 22, 2014, the Padres traded Headley to the New York Yankees in exchange for Yangervis Solarte and Rafael De Paula.[27][28] Later that same day, Headley drove in the winning run for the Yankees with a walk-off single in the bottom of the 14th inning to seal a 2–1 victory over the Texas Rangers. [29] On September 4, 2014, Headley hit a walk-off solo home run off Red Sox closer Koji Uehara to give the Yankees a come from behind 5–4 victory. On September 11, 2014, Headley was hit in the face with a 97 m.p.h. fastball. He was able to walk off the field under his own power, although he required stitches on his chin.[30] In 58 games with the Yankees, he had a .371 OBP, which was the fifth highest among third basemen over that span.[26]

On December 15, Headley returned to the Yankees, agreeing to a reported four-year, $52 million contract.[26] On July 3, 2015, Headley got his 1,000th career hit.[31] In 2015, Headley batted .259 with 11 home runs and 62 RBIs. 2015 was a poor season defensively for Headley, as he committed a career-high 23 errors.[32]

Headley began the 2016 hitting .150 in April. He did not get his first extra-base hit until May 12, a two-run home run against the Kansas City Royals.[33] Headley finished 2016 batting .253 with 14 home runs and 53 RBIs. 2016 was a much better season defensively for Headley, as he committed only 10 errors.

Headley with the New York Yankees in 2017

Headley began the 2017 season batting .301 with 10 extra-base hits in April. However, he then batted .165 in the month of May. On May 12, Headley was ejected by Adrian Johnson for having a heated exchange. Headley fouled a ball off after trying to pull back a bunt attempt, in which the ball seemingly hit his hand. After a brief standout from the batter's box, umpire Adrian Johnson unexpectedly accused Headley for being out of the box for too long, leading to the argument.[34]

With the Yankees' acquisition of third baseman Todd Frazier from the Chicago White Sox, it was announced that Headley would move to first base.[35]

Second stint with the Padres (2018)

On December 12, 2017, the Yankees traded Headley and Bryan Mitchell to the San Diego Padres for Jabari Blash.[36] He began the 2018 season batting 1-for-28 (.036) and began to lose playing time to Christian Villanueva and Cory Spangenberg.[37] On May 12, the Padres designated Headley for assignment. In 58 plate appearances, Headley had a .115 batting average and a .233 on-base percentage.[38][39] He was released on May 18.[40]

Personal life

He and his wife Casey married on November 15, 2008. The couple has three sons together.[41]

References

  1. ^ a b "Player Bio: Chase Headley" Archived June 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Official website of the University of Tennessee Volunteers
  2. ^ Branam, Amanda (August 31, 2006). "Headley has 'makeup' to be a star". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 4, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Czerwinski, Kevin T. (June 17, 2005). "Vols' duo on way to Padres system". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 14, 2025.
  4. ^ "Yankees re-sign ex-Kettleer Headley for four years, $52M". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  5. ^ "2004 Cotuit Kettleers". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  6. ^ "Padres Prospect Interview: Chase Headley", by John Conniff, August 29, 2005, Scout.com
  7. ^ "Headley headlining Arizona Fall League", by Benjamin Hill / Special to MLB.com, October 13, 2006
  8. ^ "Headley named to AFL 'Rising Star Showcase'" Archived October 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine, by MadFriars.com, October 24, 2006, Scout.com
  9. ^ "Q&A with Padres' Prospect Chase Headley", By Denis Savage, September 19, 2006, Scout.com
  10. San Diego Union-Tribune
    , August 7, 2006
  11. ^ "Daily Dish: July 5" by Chris Kline, July 5, 2006, Baseball America
  12. ^ a b c Center, Bill (October 4, 2012). "Headley extension major question facing Padres". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014.
  13. ^ Paris, Jay (October 4, 2012). "PARIS: Progress, but Padres could come to regret decision on Headley". North County Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012.
  14. ^ Center, Bill (September 4, 2012). "Headley named NL Player of the Month". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on September 19, 2016. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  15. ^ a b c Center, Bill (October 2, 2012). "Headley wins second straight Player of the Month award". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Center, Bill (November 8, 2012). "Headley has silver bat to go with Gold Glove". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on December 16, 2014.
  17. ^ Center, Bill (October 3, 2012). "Padres win finale behind bullpen, Headley". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on July 13, 2014.
  18. ^ Jenkins, Chris (October 30, 2012). "Headley wins Gold Glove". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016.
  19. ^ Brock, Corey (November 15, 2012). "Headley adds Silver Slugger to growing trophy case". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 11, 2012.
  20. ^ Gilbert, Steve (November 15, 2012). "Headley finishes fifth in NL MVP voting". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013.
  21. ^ Brock, Corey (December 4, 2012). "Headley's breakout season now includes GIBBY". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  22. ^ "Padres' Chase Headley gets $8.6M". ESPN.com. January 30, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2013.
  23. ^ Center, Bill (March 19, 2013). "Forsythe and Gyorko among Padres' options at 3B while slugger recovers from fracture to tip of thumb". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013.
  24. ^ Center, Bill (April 17, 2013). "Padres celebrate Dodgers sweep". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on October 18, 2013.
  25. ^ Eymer, Rick (September 29, 2013). "Headley played through knee pain, will have surgery". MLB.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013.
  26. ^ a b c Casella, Paul (December 15, 2014). "Yankees bring back Headley on 4-year pact". yankees.mlb.com. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
  27. ^ Kramer, Daniel (July 22, 2014). "Padres send Headley to Yankees for Solarte, prospect". MLB.com. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  28. ^ "Yankees acquire 3B Chase Headley from Padres". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 22, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  29. ^ Waldstein, David (July 22, 2014). "Yankees' Newest Upgrade Drives in the Game Winner". The New York Times. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  30. ^ Diamond, Dan (September 11, 2014). "Giancarlo Stanton, Chase Headley Hit In Head. Is Baseball Keeping Its Sluggers Safe?". Forbes. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  31. ^ "Eye on MLB, July 3: Tigers win, but lose Miguel Cabrera to injury". CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  32. ^ "Headley rebounds from 2015 fielding slump". Newsday. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  33. ^ Marron, Brian. "Chase Headley Records 1st Extra-Base Hit of 2016 Season with Home Run vs. Royals". Bleacher Report. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  34. ^ Martell, Matthew. "Chase Headley ejected after heated argument". MLB. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  35. ^ "Yankees' Chase Headley to move to first base". Major League Baseball. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  36. ^ Hoch, Bryan (January 20, 2016). "Yankees trade Chase Headley, Bryan Mitchell". MLB.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  37. ^ "Chase Headley adjusting to less playing time". MLB.com.
  38. ^ Acee, Kevin (May 12, 2018). "Padres' Chase Headley experiment is over". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  39. ^ Cassavell, AJ (May 12, 2018). "Chase Headley designated; Spangenberg back". MLB.com. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  40. ^ Adams, Steve (May 19, 2018). "Padres Release Chase Headley". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  41. ^ "Chase Headley's wife Casey Headley". PlayerWives.com. March 4, 2013. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
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