| Troy Glaus | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Glaus with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008 | |||||||||||||||
| Third baseman | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1976-08-03)August 3, 1976 (age 49) Tarzana, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| July 31, 1998, for the Anaheim Angels | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| October 1, 2010, for the Atlanta Braves | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .254 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 320 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 950 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Troy Edward Glaus (/ˈɡlɔːs/; born August 3, 1976) is an American former professionalbaseballthird baseman andfirst baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) with theAnaheim Angels (1998–2004),Arizona Diamondbacks (2005),Toronto Blue Jays (2006–2007),St. Louis Cardinals (2008–2009), and theAtlanta Braves (2010). Glaus lettered in baseball while attendingUCLA. He won a bronze medal inbaseball at the 1996 Summer Olympics as a member of theU.S. national baseball team.[1] He was a four-timeAll-Star and wonWorld Series MVP honors in2002.
In 13 seasons, Glaus hit .254 with 320home runs and 950RBI in 1537 games. In 19 postseason games, he hit .347 with nine home runs and 16 RBI. Glaus was selected to fourAll-Star Games, three with the Angels and one with the Blue Jays.
Glaus began his career with the Angels in 1998 and was installed as the team's starting third baseman in 1999. He had a breakout season in 2000, becoming the all-time single season home run leader in Angels history with 47 while leading third baseman in adjusted range factor (2.95) in 2000. Glaus participated in the2001 MLB All-Star Game and posted his second consecutive 40 home run season with 41 on the year.
In 2002, Glaus failed to reach the 40 home run club for the first time since the 1999 season, but he managed to hit thirty home runs in helping the Angels make the playoffs for the first time in 16 years. The Angels beat theSan Francisco Giants in seven games in the2002 World Series to win their first world championship title in team history. Glaus was awarded theWorld Series MVP award as he hit .385 with three home runs and eight RBIs and hit a go-ahead double in Game 6 to finish a five-run comeback for the Angels. Glaus had another All-Star year in2003.
Glaus missed much of the 2004 season with a shoulder injury. 2004 was the last year of his contract with the Angels. As an established veteran, he was in demand on thefree agent market and able to field lucrative offers for long-term contracts. Although Glaus had spent his entire career an Angel, and was a fan favorite, the team decided not to pursue Glaus' return. Amid concerns about Glaus' future health after his injury, the team decided to go with the much lower-priced alternative of turning the third base position over to young prospectDallas McPherson, who they felt had a good chance to soon become as productive as Glaus had been.
Glaus ultimately signed with theArizona Diamondbacks for $45 million over four years. He worked through his back problems in the 2005 season with the Diamondbacks, hitting 37 home runs with 97 RBIs. He also led the league in adjusted range factor (2.92), but his 24errors tied him withDavid Wright for the most errors by a third baseman in the Major Leagues, and he had a Major League-low .946 fielding percentage at third.
After the 2005 season, Glaus was traded to theToronto Blue Jays in the off-season along with minor league shortstopSergio Santos. The trade sent pitcherMiguel Batista and second basemanOrlando Hudson to the Diamondbacks. The Jays badly needed a power bat a year after letting go ofCarlos Delgado, however the emergence of Hudson at second base gave the statistical advantage of this trade to the Diamondbacks.[2] Although Glaus was converted fromshortstop tothird base in the minors (and played 10 games at shortstop for the Angels), he started atshortstop for the Toronto Blue Jays against theChicago White Sox on May 26,2006, due to the demotion of shortstopRuss Adams.[3] Glaus was not expected to do much fielding due to the fact the pitcher that day was known to induce manyfly balls, instead of ground balls.[4] This defensive alignment didn't affect his hitting, collecting two hits with a home run. Glaus made several starts at shortstop for the Blue Jays, usually when Toronto was facingNational League opponents at their home ballpark, where there was noDH.
After hitting 38 home runs and 104 RBI in the 2006 season, Glaus earned a single 10th place vote for the 2006American LeagueMVP Award.[5] In 2006, Glaus had the lowest zone rating of any Major League third baseman (.741). In2007 Glaus' production was hampered all year by foot injuries and his production fell. On December 13, 2007, he was cited in theMitchell Report.[6]
Glaus was traded to theSt. Louis Cardinals in exchange for fellow third basemanScott Rolen on January 14, 2008. This worked out well for the Cardinals, as Glaus did about as well as, or better than, his career rates in most offensive categories.[7] Furthermore, Glaus committed only seven errors in 146 games and led the league with a .982 fielding percentage at 3B.
On September 3, 2008, he hit his 300th career home run offDoug Davis of theArizona Diamondbacks in the third inning. He underwentarthroscopic right shoulder surgery on January 21,2009.[8] The Cardinals initially expected him to be ready around the start of 2009 season, but after a setback in his rehabilitation he was placed on the 15-dayDL;[9] after another reassessment the Cardinals announced that they did not expect him to return until June 2009.[10] On July 11, 2009, he was assigned to the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League on a rehabilitation assignment. He returned September 2, against the Brewers in the bottom of the 6th inning.
After an injury-shortened 2009 season with theSt. Louis Cardinals, Glaus signed a one-year $1.75 million contract with the Atlanta Braves, a deal that allowed him to earn an additional $2.25 million in performance and roster bonuses.[11] He became the starting first baseman in 2010. After a rough April in which he hit below theMendoza Line, Glaus rebounded to become Player of the Month in May, hitting .330 with six home runs and 28 RBI. As of August 9, Glaus was hitting .242 with 14 home runs and 63 RBI.
Glaus's production faltered in July and August. After Atlanta acquiredDerrek Lee on August 18 to play first base, Glaus was placed on the DL with knee fatigue. Glaus had a few setbacks, but returned to Atlanta in a back-up role behind Derrek Lee and rookieFreddie Freeman.
Glaus made only one appearance at third base during the regular season, but was used at third base in Game 2 of theNLDS against theSan Francisco Giants, starting a key double play. Glaus then started Game 4 of the series at third base.
On June 3, 2025, Glaus was announced as a coach for theUnited States national under-18 baseball team's development program inCary, North Carolina.[12]
Glaus and his wife, Ann, moved to San Diego in 2020[13] and they have a son, Ty.[14] Troy Glaus appeared in a game for theSavannah Bananas on May 30, 2025 at Angel Stadium as a pinch hitter where he got a base hit single into left field.[15] In July 2025, he served as a coach for theUnited States national under-18 baseball team's development program inCary, North Carolina.[16]
