| Willie Bloomquist | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bloomquist with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Utility player | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born: (1977-11-27)November 27, 1977 (age 47) Bremerton, Washington, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 1, 2002, for the Seattle Mariners | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| June 28, 2015, for the Seattle Mariners | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .269 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 18 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 225 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Willie Paul Bloomquist (/ˈbluːmkwɪst/; born November 27, 1977) is an Americanbaseballcoach and formerutility player, who is the current head baseball coach of theArizona State Sun Devils. He playedcollege baseball at Arizona State for coachPat Murphy from 1997 to 1999 and played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons from 2002 to 2015. In 2021, he returned to his alma mater, Arizona State.
TheSeattle Mariners selected Bloomquist in the third round of the1999 MLB draft. He played 14 years primarily anoutfielder andshortstop, with Seattle from 2002 to 2008, theKansas City Royals from 2009 to 2010, theCincinnati Reds in 2010, theArizona Diamondbacks from 2011 to 2013 before returning to Seattle from 2014 to 2015.
Bloomquist was All-State and all-league MVP in baseball atSouth Kitsap High School inPort Orchard, Washington and was an eighth round pick in1996 MLB draft. He was a high school teammate with former MLB playerJason Ellison. He also played quarterback for South Kitsap. In his junior season, the team won the state AAA football championship[1]
He chose to accept a scholarship toArizona State University. In 1998, Bloomquist tied aCollege World Series single-game record with five hits in a game withLong Beach State. He was honored asPac-10 Player of the Year in 1999 and was named first-team All-American byBaseball America. He finished his college career with a .394 (256/649) average over three seasons and was named ASU On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player.[2]
Bloomquist was drafted out ofSouth Kitsap High School inPort Orchard, Washington by theSeattle Mariners in the eighth round (237th overall) of the1996 MLB draft, but was not signed. He was drafted again by the Mariners out ofArizona State University in the third round (95th overall) of the1999 MLB draft and signed.
The Mariners signed Bloomquist to a contract extension through the2008 season worth $1,875,000, in 2006.[3] On June 15,2007, he hit aninside-the-park home run inMinute Maid Park. On June 26, 2007, Bloomquist hit a lead-off home run in the second inning—on what was his 1,000th career at-bat.
On January 9, 2009, Bloomquist signed a two-year deal with theKansas City Royals.[4] He played in 197 games with the Royals over parts of 2 seasons, hitting .265.
On September 13, 2010, Bloomquist was traded to theCincinnati Reds for a player to be named later, or cash.[5] In 11 games with the Reds, he hit .333.
On January 18, 2011, Bloomquist signed a one-year contract with theArizona Diamondbacks.[6] He hit .266 in 97 games with the Diamondbacks in 2011 and re-signed with the team after the season.
On December 5, 2013, Bloomquist signed a two-year deal to return to the Seattle Mariners.[7] On July 2, 2015, Bloomquist was designated for assignment, and shortstop Chris Taylor called up from theTriple-ATacoma Rainiers to take his roster spot.
On March 11, 2016, Bloomquist announced his retirement onTwitter.[8][9]
On June 11, 2021, Bloomquist was named the new head coach of theArizona State Sun Devils baseball team.[10]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State Sun Devils(Pac-12 Conference)(2022–2024) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Arizona State | 26–32 | 13–17 | 8th | Pac-12 Tournament | ||||
| 2023 | Arizona State | 32–23 | 16–13 | 5th | Pac-12 Tournament | ||||
| 2024 | Arizona State | 32–26 | 17–13 | 5th | Pac-12 Tournament | ||||
| Arizona State: | 46–43 | ||||||||
| Arizona State Sun Devils(Big 12 Conference)(2025–present) | |||||||||
| 2025 | Arizona State | 20–9 | 7-2 | ||||||
| Arizona State: | 110–90 | ||||||||
| Total: | 110–90 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
Bloomquist is married and has four daughters, Natalie, Ava, Layla and Sydney. He isRoman Catholic.[11]
