| Jack Wilson | |
|---|---|
 Wilson with the Atlanta Braves | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1977-12-29)December 29, 1977 (age 48) Westlake Village, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 3, 2001, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 13, 2012, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 61 |
| Runs batted in | 426 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Jack Eugene Wilson (born December 29, 1977) is an American former professionalbaseballshortstop and current coach. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for thePittsburgh Pirates,Seattle Mariners, andAtlanta Braves. After his playing career, he became a coach and is the manager of theGreeneville Flyboys in the collegiateAppalachian League.
Wilson played high school baseball forThousand Oaks High School inThousand Oaks, California. He later played for two seasons atOxnard College, the same baseball program that produced major leaguersTerry Pendleton,Josh Towers, andPaul McAnulty. He was coached by Pat Woods,[1] Jon Larsen, Roger Frash, and Buster Staniland.
TheSt. Louis Cardinals selected Wilson in the1998 MLB draft. The Cardinals traded Wilson to thePittsburgh Pirates in2000 forJason Christiansen.
Wilson made his MLB debut in 2001. He had almost identical seasons in2002 and2003, hitting .252 with 22doubles in 147 games and .256, 21, 150, respectively.
In 2004, Wilson set career highs in almost every category. He posted a .308 average; shared theleague lead intriples with 12 (Jimmy Rollins); scored 82runs; hit 41 doubles and 11 home runs; and collected 49 RBI. His 201hits were 3rd in the league and included 56 multi-hit games. To cap it off he ended the year with a season-high 12-game hitting streak (17-for-46, .370). After hitting eighth in thebatting order for most of his career, he became a fixture in the second slot.
He became just the ninth National League shortstop to collect 200 hits in a season; the franchise's first player sinceDave Parker (1977), and the first Pirates shortstop sinceHall of FamerHonus Wagner (1908). Wilson also became the first Pirate to collect 10 or more doubles, triples, and home runs in the same season sinceAndy Van Slyke (1992).
Defensively, Wilson led National League shortstops inassists (492), putouts (234), andtotal chances (743). His 129double plays led all major league shortstops and broke the club record of 128 set byGene Alley in1966. He went 31 straight contests without making anerror. Wilson was named to the2004 All-Star Game and won theSilver Slugger at shortstop. He was also the Pirates candidate for theRoberto Clemente Award.
In December 2004, Wilson was hospitalized for an appendectomy. Despite the setback, he was optimistic atspring training2005. At 6-foot, 175-pound, Wilson had regained six of the 15 pounds he lost. However, he started the season poorly, hitting just .163 in April and .227 for the first half of the season, and acknowledged that he had not been fully recovered when the season started. Late season improvements to his hitting brought his cumulative season numbers to near his career averages, but still well below the standards he had set in 2004. He finished the year with a .257 batting average, a .299on-base percentage, and a .363slugging percentage, compared to his career highs of .308, .335, and .459 respectively the year before.
His defense, however, did not seem to suffer. For the second straight year he led all shortstops in the National League (and, in fact, all of baseball) in assists (523), total chances (783), and double plays (126). Largely because of Wilson and fellow defensive standoutsecond basemanJosé Castillo, the Pirates turned more double plays in 2005 than any National League team save the Cardinals.
Wilson rebounded offensively yet never to the same level as in 2004. Most notably, in 2007, he hit .296 with a career high 12 home runs despite only playing in 135 games. He had frequently been the subject of trade rumors.[2][3][4]
On July 29, 2009, the Pirates traded Wilson andIan Snell to theSeattle Mariners forRonny Cedeño and minor leaguersJeff Clement,Nate Adcock, Aaron Pribanic, and Brett Lorin.[5][6] He won aFielding Bible Award for his defensive excellence at shortstop in 2009.[7]
In November 2009, Jack Wilson re-signed with the Seattle Mariners for two years and $10 million.[8]
On August 31, 2011, Wilson was traded to theAtlanta Braves for aplayer to be named later.[9]
On January 13, 2012, the Braves announced they had re-signed him to a 1-year $1 million contract plus 500K bonuses for games played. On August 31, 2012, the Braves released Wilson.[10]
Wilson announced his retirement on September 25, 2012.[11]
Wilson was the head coach at his alma mater, Thousand Oaks High School, from 2017 to 2021 where he went 98–30–1.
He has held several positions coaching amateur players withUSA Baseball.
Wilson was the hitting coach for theMankato MoonDogs for the 2021 season.
Wilson was named an assistant coach atGrand Canyon University on July 10, 2022, under new head coachGregg Wallis.[12] Wilson stepped down from the role on June 30, 2023.[13]
Wilson was named the head coach ofGreeneville Flyboys for the 2024 season and returned to theAppalachian League team in 2025.[14]
Jack married his wife Julie in 1999. They have three children.[12] Their sonJacob plays in MLB for theAthletics.[15]
