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Scott Spiezio

St. Louis Cardinals — No. 26
Third base
Born: September 21, 1972 (1972-09-21) (age 35)
Bats: Both	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 14, 1996 for the Oakland Athletics
Selected MLB statistics (through August 7, 2007)
Batting average	.255
Home runs	118
RBI's	545
OBP	.329
Teams
Oakland Athletics (1996-1999) Anaheim Angels (2000-2003) Seattle Mariners (2004-2005) St. Louis Cardinals (2006-present)

Scott Edward Spiezio (born September 21, 1972 in Joliet, Illinois) is a Major League Baseball player with the St. Louis Cardinals. He is the son of former Cardinal Ed Spiezio. He is well-known for his time as a member of the Anaheim Angels, when he hit a 3-run home run in Game Six of the 2002 World Series against the San Francisco Giants, sparking the Angels to a dramatic come-from-behind victory. He has also played for the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners.

In addition to his pivotal moment helping the Angels win the World Series in 2002, Spiezio's most productive overall season also came with the Angels in 2003, when he hit .265 with 16 home runs and 83 RBI. Spiezio was a utility player on the St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series championship team.

Contents 1 Playing career 1.1 Substance abuse 2 Personal life 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

Scott Spiezio attended high school at Morris High School in Morris, Illinois and went to college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He made the All-Big 10 Team in baseball in 1992 and 1993. Scott was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 1993 player draft and signed later that year. He made his debut with the 1996 A's and established himself as a classic utility player, making starts at first base, second base, and third base during his time with the A's. Spiezio is a switch hitter who hits for more power when batting left-handed.^[1]

Spiezio signed as a free agent with the Anaheim Angels after the 2000 season. During his years with the Angels, he made appearances in left field and right field, as well as first, second, and third base. In 2002 he had a career year. Playing every day, he set career highs for batting average, on-base-percentage and runs batted in. It was in the postseason that he had his greatest success. Spiezio batted 18 for 55 (.327) for Anaheim in the playoffs that year. In Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, with Anaheim trailing three games to two in the series, trailing 5-0 in the seventh inning of the game, and facing a Series loss, Spiezio hit a three-run homer off of Felix Rodriguez to pull his team to within two runs. Another three-run homer by Troy Glaus in the next inning won the game, and the Angels would go on to win their first ever World Series championship. Spiezio tied Sandy Alomar Jr.'s postseason RBIs with 19 in 1 postseason that was set back in 1997 while playing for the Indians.

After the 2003 season Spiezio became a free agent and signed a contract with the Seattle Mariners. The next two seasons were the worst of his career. He hit .215 in 2004 for the Mariners and played only 29 games the next year (compiling an .064 average) before the Mariners released him on August 19, 2005.

On February 18, 2006, Spiezio signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals with an invitation to that club's spring training. Spiezio played well enough during the Cardinals' exhibition to secure a roster spot with the team as a reserve infielder entering the 2006 season. This move would reunite Spiezio with his former Angels teammate, shortstop David Eckstein.

Spiezio, used as a pinch-hitter and all-around reserve player as well as the primary backup to Scott Rolen at third base, had his best season since 2002 for the 2006 Cardinals, hitting 13 home runs and driving in 52 runs despite only getting 276 at-bats. He would have another dramatic moment in the playoffs. With the Cardinals trailing 6-4 in the seventh inning of Game 2 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, Spiezio hit a two-run triple to tie the score. The Cardinals went on to win the game and the series in seven games, then proceeded to win the 2006 World Series, earning Spiezio his second championship ring.

On November 16, 2006, Spiezio signed a two-year contract to return to the Cardinals until the end of the 2008 season, with a club option for 2009. The deal is worth an estimated $4.5 million^[2].

On June 15, 2007, Spiezio took the mound as a relief pitcher in the bottom of the 8th inning of a lopsided loss against the Athletics. His fastball was clocked as high as 87 mph. He pitched one inning, giving up 1 walk, no hits, no runs, and no strikeouts. After having pitched in one game Spiezio has played six positions in his career (seven counting designated hitter), missing catcher, shortstop and center field.

On August 7, 2007, Spiezio suffered a physical breakdown during the Cardinals' game against the San Diego Padres. Suffering from an elevated heart rate and "sweating profusely", Spiezio was placed on an IV. He was described as being "irritable and anxious". Spiezio disconnected the IV and left the stadium rather than seek medical attention.^[3] On August 9, 2007, the Cardinals placed him on the restricted list. ^[4] The Cardinals stated that Spiezio would be seeking treatment for an unspecified substance abuse problem.^[5] On September 14, 2007, Spiezio was removed from the restricted list after 36 days and also re-activated to play in that evening's home game. ^[6]

Spiezio has three children from his marriage to his first wife, Amy. Scott Spiezio's other love, besides baseball, is music. He was part of a band, SandFrog, playing guitar and singing lead vocals. Spiezio has said that he left the band after his divorce, citing the awkwardness of the situation given that his ex-wife's brother is a member of the band.

Scott is known for his signature goatee, a style known as an imperiale and dyed red, and his tattoo depicting his second wife, Jenn.^[7]

Also known as "Spazzio" during his time with the Angels.^{[citation needed]}

Scott along with his wife Jennifer, enjoy the quite life in a high rise apartment living in Orange County

• List of second generation MLB players

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Scott Spiezio page at stlcardinals.scout.com
• Minor and major league stats at The Baseball Cube

v • d • e Anaheim Angels 2002 World Series roster

1 Bengie Molina | 2 Adam Kennedy | 3 Orlando Palmeiro | 6 Chone Figgins | 10 Benji Gil | 15 Tim Salmon | 16 Garret Anderson | 17 Darin Erstad | 18 Alex Ochoa | 20 Brad Fullmer | 22 David Eckstein | 23 Scott Spiezio | 25 Troy Glaus | 27 Kevin Appier | 28 José Molina | 36 Ramón Ortiz | 40 Troy Percival | 41 John Lackey | 44 Shawn Wooten | 53 Brendan Donnelly | 56 Jarrod Washburn | 57 Francisco Rodríguez | 60 Scott Schoeneweis | 62 Scot Shields | 77 Ben Weber Manager 14 Mike Scioscia

v • d • e St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series roster

3 Preston Wilson | 4 Yadier Molina | 5 Albert Pujols | 7 Ronnie Belliard | 12 Aaron Miles | 15 Jim Edmonds | 16 Chris Duncan | 22 David Eckstein World Series MVP | 23 Anthony Reyes | 26 Scott Spiezio | 27 Scott Rolen | 28 Gary Bennett | 29 Chris Carpenter | 32 Josh Hancock | 34 Randy Flores | 36 Jeff Weaver | 37 Jeff Suppan | 41 Braden Looper | 43 Juan Encarnación | 48 Brad Thompson | 50 Adam Wainwright | 52 Josh Kinney | 53 John Rodriguez | 61 Tyler Johnson | 99 So Taguchi Manager 10 Tony La Russa