| Steve Finley | |
|---|---|
 Finley with the San Francisco Giants | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: (1965-03-12)March 12, 1965 (age 60) Union City, Tennessee, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 3, 1989, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 3, 2007, for the Colorado Rockies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .271 |
| Hits | 2,548 |
| Home runs | 304 |
| Runs batted in | 1,167 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Steven Allen Finley (born March 12, 1965) is an American formercenter fielder inMajor League Baseball who played for eight teams between 1989 and 2007, most notably theHouston Astros,San Diego Padres, andArizona Diamondbacks. He is one of only two players, along withMatt Herges, to play for all fiveNational League West teams. An outstanding all-around player with power, speed, and defensive skill, he is one of only four players since 1945 with 300home runs and 100triples, along withStan Musial,Willie Mays, andGeorge Brett. He is also one of three players, along with Mays andKen Griffey Jr., to have 2,500hits and win fiveGold Glove Awards in center field.
A two-timeAll-Star (1997, 2000), Finley led theNational League (NL) in triples twice, and helped the Diamondbacks win the2001 World Series title,batting .368 in the Series. Hiswalk-offgrand slam in an October game against theSan Francisco Giants clinched the 2004 division title for theLos Angeles Dodgers. Finley's 2,487 career games as an outfielder ranked ninth in major league history when he retired, with his 2,314 games in center field trailing only Mays andTris Speaker; he also ranked seventh among outfielders with 5,664putouts. Since retiring he has worked for the Padres as a broadcast analyst and in player development, and also works forMorgan Stanley, advising athletes as a financial manager.
Finley grew up inPaducah, Kentucky. He attendedPaducah Tilghman High School andSouthern Illinois University, where he earned a degree inphysiology and played for the baseball team from 1984 to 1987.
In1986, Finley was selected by theAtlanta Braves in the 11th round of the draft, but did not sign. He instead chose to remain at SIU, where he was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference performer and a third-teamAll-American in 1986, and was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1987. He is a member of the Saluki Baseball Hall of Fame.[1]
He was a member of the 1986 Team USA squad that won abronze medal during international competition in the Netherlands.
In1987, he was selected by theBaltimore Orioles in the 13th round of the draft, and did sign.
In 919at bats in the minor leagues, Finley batted .309 with 68stolen bases.
On August 29, 2009, Finley was inducted into theRochester Red Wings Hall of Fame.
In a transaction considered by Orioles fans as the worst in team history according toThom Loverro,[2] Finley was traded along withCurt Schilling andPete Harnisch to theHouston Astros forGlenn Davis on January 10, 1991. He joined an Astros organization that was for sale and lightening its payroll by going with younger, inexpensive players.[3] That year he was third in the league in triples (10), sixth in hits (170), ninth in stolen bases (34), and tenth insacrifice hits (10). His 13 outfieldassists tiedBarry Bonds andPaul O'Neill for third in the league.
In1992, he led the NL in games played (162), was second in triples (13), third in stolen bases (a career-high 44) and sacrifice hits (10), and seventh in hits (177).
In1993, he led the league in triples (13). He had been slowed inspring training byBell's palsy, a viral infection of a nerve in his upper neck, resulting in numbness that prevented him from closing his left eye.
In1994, he was second in the league in sacrifice hits (13), and tenth in triples (5). He appeared in only 94 games due to an injury and thestrike-shortened season. He missed nearly a month after beinghit by a pitch in a June 8 road game against theMontreal Expos, breaking the thirdmetacarpal bone in his right hand. In December 1994, he was traded by the Astros withKen Caminiti,Andújar Cedeño,Roberto Petagine,Brian Williams, and minor leaguer Sean Fesh to theSan Diego Padres forDerek Bell,Doug Brocail,Ricky Gutiérrez,Pedro A. Martinez,Phil Plantier, andCraig Shipley.
In1995, Finley batted a career-high .297 and was third in the league inruns (104) and triples (8), and fourth in stolen bases (36) and hits (167). Finley also won his firstGold Glove Award. He was the only National League player to have 100 runs, 10 home runs, and 35 stolen bases. He stole a career-high 4 bases on August 12 vs. theSt. Louis Cardinals. He was in the delivery room on September 1 when son Reed was born, and then headed to the ballpark and played in the 8th and 9th innings of San Diego's 6–3 win over thePhiladelphia Phillies.
He was namedMost Valuable Player in the All-Stars Series between Japan and the United States (Tokyo,1996). Later in 1996, duringRickey Henderson's first season with San Diego, he boarded the team bus and was looking for a seat. Finley said, "You havetenure, sit wherever you want." Henderson looked at Finley and said, "Ten years? Rickey's been playing at least 16, 17 years."[4] That season, Finley was second in the NL in runs (126; a career high) and doubles (45), third inextra base hits (84), fourth in triples (9), and sixth in hits (195). Finley won his second Gold Glove Award and came in tenth in theMVP voting. He established Padres records in runs, doubles, extra base hits, andtotal bases.
In1997, he hit three home runs in a game twice (May 19 and June 23). Finley was voted to the All-Star team, and finished eighth in the league in runs (101).
He hit his firstgame-endinggrand slam on April 10, 1998, for the Padres. The Padres would appear in theWorld Series that year against theNew York Yankees, where they were swept in four games.
In December1998, he signed as a free agent with theArizona Diamondbacks. In1999, he hit three home runs and had 6runs batted in in a game on September 8. That season he had 34 home runs and a career-high 103 RBI, and was seventh in the league in extra base hits (76). Finley also won his third Gold Glove Award.
In2000, he had 35 home runs and a career-high .544slugging percentage, and was ninth in the league insacrifice flies (9). He was voted to the All-Star team. Finley also had 10 outfield assists and won his fourth Gold Glove Award. He was named the team co-Player of the Year withLuis Gonzalez by the Arizona chapter of theBBWAA.
In2001, Finley had a stellar postseason, leading the Diamondbacks with a .421 batting average in theNational League Division Series and 5 RBI in theNational League Championship Series as Arizona went on to win its firstWorld Series. On August 30 of that year, Finley became the Diamondbacks' first position player to serve as arelief pitcher, during a 13–5 loss to the Giants.[5] Finley would win the first and only World Series title of his career in 7 games against the Yankees, the same team he lost to three years prior in 1998 while with the Padres.
In2003, Finley led the league in triples (10), becoming the oldest player in major league history to lead his league in triples.
In July2004, he was traded by the Diamondbacks withBrent Mayne to the Dodgers forKoyie Hill,Reggie Abercrombie, andBill Murphy (minors). On October 2, he hit his second career game-ending grand slam against the Giants, which capped off a seven-run ninth inning and clinched the 2004 NL West division title for the Dodgers. At the end of the season, he was eighth in at bats (628) and plate appearances (706), and ninth in home runs (36; the third-highest total ever for a 39-year-old in the majors, behindBarry Bonds andHank Aaron). Finley also won his fifth Gold Glove Award and tiedPete Rose's record of playing in 162 games at the age of 39.[6]
In December 2004, Finley signed as a free agent with theLos Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In2005, he missed 18 games due to a strained right shoulder, his firstdisabled list stint since 1997. In December 2005, he was traded by the Angels to the Giants forEdgardo Alfonzo.
In2006, at the age of 41, Finley became the oldest player ever to play more than 100 games in center field. He also reached several career milestones during his season with the Giants: On May 8 against Houston, he reached 4,000 total bases with asingle in a 7–5 win. On June 14 in Arizona, he hit his 300th home run offClaudio Vargas to lead off the game, with the Giants going on to win 11–4. On July 23 against San Diego, he reached 2,500 hits with an RBI double and a single in a 12-inning 6–5 loss. And on August 7 in Arizona, he appeared in his 2,500th game, drawing awalk as a late-inning replacement in an 8–4 win. However, he ended the season with just a .246 average, batting only .235 with one home run and 9 RBI after June 25. On November 1, the Giants declined their option on Finley for the 2007 season, which made him a free agent. On February 24, 2007, Finley signed a minor-league contract with theColorado Rockies. After an impressive spring, Finley made their Opening Day roster. On June 5, the Rockies designated Finley for assignment, giving the Rockies 10 days to trade, release, or send him to the minor leagues. Finley had batted .181 (17-for-94) with one home run and two RBIs in 43 games for Colorado.[7] He was released on June 17. At the time of his release, of all active players, he was first in triples (124), third in games (2,583) and at bats (9,397), fourth in hits (2,548), seventh in runs (1,443), eighth in total bases (4,157), and ninth indoubles (449) and stolen bases (320). He was also the sixth-oldest player in the NL.