Sean Kazmar Jr.

Sean Frank Kazmar Jr. (born August 5, 1984) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Atlanta Braves.

Sean Kazmar Jr.
Kazmar with the San Diego Padres in 2008
Infielder
Born: (1984-08-05) August 5, 1984
Valdosta, Georgia
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 13, 2008, for the San Diego Padres
Last MLB appearance
May 5, 2021, for the Atlanta Braves
MLB statistics
Batting average.200
Home runs0
Runs batted in2
Teams

Amateur career

Kazmar attended the College of Southern Nevada. In 2003, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[1][2]

Professional career

Kazmar was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 37th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres drafted Kazmar out of the College of Southern Nevada in the fifth round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft and he signed. Kazmar started 2008 with the Double-A San Antonio Missions and was batting .264 in 111 games when he was called up to the majors on August 12, 2008. He recorded his first Major League hit on August 13, 2008, on the first pitch of his first ever plate appearance from the Milwaukee Brewers' pitcher CC Sabathia. On November 6, 2010, he elected free agency.

Seattle Mariners

On November 17, 2010, Kazmar signed a minor-league deal with the Seattle Mariners. He spent the year with the Tacoma Rainiers and elected free agency on November 2, 2011.

New York Mets

On January 10, 2012 Kazmar signed with the New York Mets to a minor-league deal.[3] He elected free agency on November 2, 2012, after spending the year with the Binghamton Mets and Buffalo Bisons.

Atlanta Braves

On January 19, 2013, Kazmar signed a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves. Since 2013, he has played for the Gwinnett Braves/Stripers minor league baseball team. He elected for free agency after the 2014 season. On November 12, 2014, Kazmar resigned with the Braves organization. He elected for free agency on November 7, 2015. On December 13, Kazmar resigned a minor-league contract. He elected for free agency on November 7, 2016. On November 19, he signed a new minor-league contract to remain with the Braves organization.[4] On November 6, 2017, Kazmar elected free agency. Kazmar was resigned to a minor-league deal on November 16, 2017. Kazmar was invited to Spring Training for the 2019 season but did not make the team. He was again invited to Spring Training for the 2020 season. Kazmar did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] He became a free agent on November 2, 2020. On December 7, 2020, Kazmar again re-signed with the Braves on a minor-league contract. He received an invitation to attend Major League Spring Training on February 15, 2021.

On April 17, 2021, Kazmar was selected to the 40-man roster and promoted to the major leagues for the first time since 2008.[6] That same day he made his first MLB appearance in over 12 years, pinch hitting for Huascar Ynoa, he grounded into a double play in his only at-bat. At a time span of 12 years and 206 days, this is the ninth longest gap for a player between major league appearances in MLB history. On April 24, 2021, he was optioned to the Braves alternate site.[7] After receiving only 2 plate appearances in 3 games, Kazmar was outrighted off of the 40-man roster on May 10, 2021.[8] The Braves would go on to win the World Series, earning Kazmar his first World Series victory.[9]

Kazmar elected free agency on October 14.[10] Kazmar retired from professional baseball on November 12, 2021.[11][12]

Coaching career

On February 23, 2023, Kazmar was hired to serve as the hitting coach for the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels.[13]

References
  1. "Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League" (PDF). capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. "2003 Wareham Gatemen". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved September 23, 2021.
  3. Cerrone, Matthew. "Mets sign Miguel Batista, Fernando Cabrera & Sean Kazmar". MetsBlog.com. Archived from the original on 13 January 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2012.
  4. Eddy, Matt (November 21, 2016). "Minor League Transactions: Nov 12-18". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  5. "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-03-18.
  6. "Braves Make Series Of Roster Moves". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2021-04-18.
  7. Simon, Andrew and Bright, Sterling (April 17, 2021). "Return worth the wait for Braves' 36-year-old". MLB. Retrieved April 18, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Braves Announce Roster Moves".
  9. McCallister, Doreen (3 November 2021). "The Atlanta Braves shut out the Astros 7-0 to become World Series champions". NPR.
  10. "Players Recently Electing Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  11. Friedlander, David (November 12, 2021). "Popular Braves minor-leaguer Sean Kazmar Jr. retiring after 17 pro seasons, 8 in Gwinnett". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  12. Lezotte, Dave (November 12, 2021). "Sean Kazmar Jr., Atlanta Braves' Triple-A Hits King, Calls it a Career". MILB.com. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  13. "Angels Announce Complete 2023 Minor League Coaching Staff". angelsnation.com. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
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