Tyrone Woods
Encyclopedia
Tyrone Woods is a Nippon Professional Baseball first baseman
who is currently a free agent
. He was the 5th pick of the Montreal Expos
in the MLB draft as a high school third baseman
. His debut year showed no indication of the heights he would reach as a pro player. He fielded .882, making 10 errors
in 32 games for the GCL Expos
and batted
just .121. He hit just 2 home run
s in 149 at-bats and walked
7 times while whiffing
47 times. He was also caught stealing
four times in six tries, completing the struggles defensively, offensively and on the basepaths.
Woods was promoted to the Jamestown Expos
in . In Single-A, Woods hit .263; he continued to strike out frequently (58 times in 209 AB), but his walks were up (20) and his average and power (9 homers) were also improved. In , Woods regressed. With the Rockford Expos, the 20-year-old third baseman hit just .242, but it was still well above the team average (.226). He also led the team in doubles
(27), homers (8) and strikeouts (121). His OBP was about .310 and he slugged .363. Woods made it to High-A in and he hit just .220 for the West Palm Beach Expos
, which was still tolerable in a pitching-friendly environment. He also was moved from third base to the outfield
that year.
was a busy year for Woods. He hit .291 for Rockford and even stole 15 bases in 21 tries. He hit .286 for West Palm Beach and struck out in 3 of his 4 at-bats in his first Double-A exposure with the Harrisburg Senators
.
In , Woods returned to Harrisburg and at age 23 did fine for his age at Double-A, batting .252, playing a solid supporting role on one of the greatest Double-A teams in modern minor league history. A year later, Woods split the year between Harrisburg (.316) and the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx
(.224). On November 18, the Expos gave up on Woods and released him.
Woods found a home with the Baltimore Orioles
' Rochester Red Wings
farm club in and hit .261 as a 1B/DH
/OF. A year later, Woods was in another system, joining the Boston Red Sox
and playing for the Trenton Thunder
. At 26, he was getting old for a prospect, but he had his best year yet, hitting .312, though he was outshown by his teammate, another long-time minor-leaguer, Adam Hyzdu
. He tied for 5th in the league in homers (25) and was among the leaders in average, OBP and slugging.
In , Woods spent his 10th and final season in a US
-based league. He knocked the cover off the ball in Triple-A with the Pawtucket Red Sox
hitting .352. He homered 9 times and drove in 28 in 29 games but didn't play for the parent Boston team. He also played that year for the Minatitlan Potros of the Mexican League, homering 18 times in 85 games for 27 homers that year and 101 runs (73 RBI in 85 games for the Potros). Woods hit .342. His walk total (59) had now surpassed his K total (49).
found Woods in the Korea Professional Baseball at the relatively young age of 28. He became the first foreign player to hit a home run and the first to be ejected from a game by an umpire in the league's first year integrating outsiders. Playing for the Doosan Bears
, he set a new KBO record with 42 homers and won the MVP award. As of , he is the only foreigner to have won the Korea Baseball Organization MVP. Two years later, he hit .315 with 39 homers and 111 RBI and lost the home run race by one to Park Kyung-wan
. He had another big year in , winning MVP honors in the All-Star game, playoffs and Korean Series
, in which be blasted 4 homers in 6 games for Doosan. In , Woods started slowly and hit just .256; he struck out 123 times in 407 AB though he did blast 25 homers. Overall in five years in Korea, he hit 174 homers, driven in 510 and batted .294. Woods left Korea with the longest career of any foreign player in the history of the KBO. In , Jay Davis broke his mark.
Woods left the Bears to try his hand in Japan
in , signing with the Yokohama BayStars
. Nippon Pro Baseball fans were quite critical of the move, alleging that Woods was on the decline. Woods proved the skeptics to wrong as he hit .273 and tied for the home run lead with Alex Ramirez
with 40. He was 6th in the Central League
in slugging, 4th in walks (66) and 5th in RBI (87) though he also led the league with 132 K's. Woods became the first man to lead a league in homers in both Korea and Japan.
Woods improved in his second year with Yokohama, hitting .298. He made the Best Nine at first base, tied Tuffy Rhodes
for the home run lead with 45, was third in walks (74) and tied for third in RBIs (103). He was also 5th in slugging and 4th in OBP and OPS. He struck out 142 times, which ranked him third in that category.
After the season, he signed with the defending CL champion Chunichi Dragons
and hit .306 with 38 homers. He was third in OPS
and homers, 5th in slugging, 4th in OBP, tied for 4th with 103 RBI and ground into the most double play
s (24) as the Dragons' 1B and cleanup hitter. Woods missed 10 games due to a suspension he served after charging the mound when Shugo Fujii threw high and inside during an at-bat. Woods was also fined 500,000 yen. It was the harshest penalty given to any player in Japan in five years.
After the season was completed, Woods had hit 421 homers in his pro career.
In , Woods put together an MVP caliber season by batting .310 with a league-leading 47 homers and 144 RBI. However, the MVP award that season went to his teammate, Kosuke Fukudome
. To clinch the title for Chunichi, he hit grand slam
s in back-to-back games, the first Central Leaguer to do so since Fumio Fujimura
53 years earlier. He also set a new team record for home runs. He played for the Dragons until 2008.
In addition to playing baseball, Woods worked for a time for the Brooksville Fire Department.
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
who is currently a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
. He was the 5th pick of the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
in the MLB draft as a high school third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
. His debut year showed no indication of the heights he would reach as a pro player. He fielded .882, making 10 errors
Error (baseball)
In baseball statistics, an error is the act, in the judgment of the official scorer, of a fielder misplaying a ball in a manner that allows a batter or baserunner to reach one or more additional bases, when such an advance would have been prevented given ordinary effort by the fielder.The term ...
in 32 games for the GCL Expos
GCL Expos
The GCL Expos was a Gulf Coast League baseball team that was based in multiple cities throughout its history: Sarasota, Florida, USA , Bradenton, Florida , West Palm Beach, Florida , Jupiter, Florida and Melbourne, Florida...
and batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
just .121. He hit just 2 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in 149 at-bats and walked
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
7 times while whiffing
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
47 times. He was also caught stealing
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
four times in six tries, completing the struggles defensively, offensively and on the basepaths.
Woods was promoted to the Jamestown Expos
Jamestown Expos
The Jamestown Expos were a minor league baseball franchise of the Montreal Expos, located in Jamestown, New York. The team lasted from 1977 to 1993, although Jamestown was affiliated with Montreal in 1970 and 1971, at the time the team was called the Falcons...
in . In Single-A, Woods hit .263; he continued to strike out frequently (58 times in 209 AB), but his walks were up (20) and his average and power (9 homers) were also improved. In , Woods regressed. With the Rockford Expos, the 20-year-old third baseman hit just .242, but it was still well above the team average (.226). He also led the team in doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
(27), homers (8) and strikeouts (121). His OBP was about .310 and he slugged .363. Woods made it to High-A in and he hit just .220 for the West Palm Beach Expos
West Palm Beach Expos
The West Palm Beach Expos were a Florida State League minor league baseball team that existed from 1969 to 1997. Located in West Palm Beach, Florida, they were affiliated with the Montreal Expos and they played their home games at West Palm Beach Municipal Stadium. They were one of the longest...
, which was still tolerable in a pitching-friendly environment. He also was moved from third base to the outfield
Outfield
The outfield is a sporting term used in cricket and baseball to refer to the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield...
that year.
was a busy year for Woods. He hit .291 for Rockford and even stole 15 bases in 21 tries. He hit .286 for West Palm Beach and struck out in 3 of his 4 at-bats in his first Double-A exposure with the Harrisburg Senators
Harrisburg Senators
The Harrisburg Senators are a minor league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals....
.
In , Woods returned to Harrisburg and at age 23 did fine for his age at Double-A, batting .252, playing a solid supporting role on one of the greatest Double-A teams in modern minor league history. A year later, Woods split the year between Harrisburg (.316) and the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx
Ottawa Lynx
The Ottawa Lynx were a minor league baseball team that formerly competed in the Triple-A International League from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over the team's 15 seasons, it was the Triple-A Minor League affiliate of the Montreal Expos , Baltimore...
(.224). On November 18, the Expos gave up on Woods and released him.
Woods found a home with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
' Rochester Red Wings
Rochester Red Wings
The Rochester Red Wings are a minor league baseball team based in Rochester, New York. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major-league club. The Red Wings play in Frontier Field, located in downtown Rochester.The Red Wings were an...
farm club in and hit .261 as a 1B/DH
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...
/OF. A year later, Woods was in another system, joining the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
and playing for the Trenton Thunder
Trenton Thunder
The Trenton Thunder are an American Minor League Baseball team and are the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Thunder play in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League, and are the two-time defending league champions...
. At 26, he was getting old for a prospect, but he had his best year yet, hitting .312, though he was outshown by his teammate, another long-time minor-leaguer, Adam Hyzdu
Adam Hyzdu
Adam Davis Hyzdu is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed.In Major League Baseball, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, , Boston Red Sox , San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers .-Biography:Hyzdu attended Moeller High School...
. He tied for 5th in the league in homers (25) and was among the leaders in average, OBP and slugging.
In , Woods spent his 10th and final season in a US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-based league. He knocked the cover off the ball in Triple-A with the Pawtucket Red Sox
Pawtucket Red Sox
The Pawtucket Red Sox are the minor league baseball Triple-A affiliates of the Boston Red Sox and belong to the International League...
hitting .352. He homered 9 times and drove in 28 in 29 games but didn't play for the parent Boston team. He also played that year for the Minatitlan Potros of the Mexican League, homering 18 times in 85 games for 27 homers that year and 101 runs (73 RBI in 85 games for the Potros). Woods hit .342. His walk total (59) had now surpassed his K total (49).
found Woods in the Korea Professional Baseball at the relatively young age of 28. He became the first foreign player to hit a home run and the first to be ejected from a game by an umpire in the league's first year integrating outsiders. Playing for the Doosan Bears
Doosan Bears
The Doosan Bears are a professional baseball team based in Seoul, South Korea. They are a member of the Korean Baseball Organization....
, he set a new KBO record with 42 homers and won the MVP award. As of , he is the only foreigner to have won the Korea Baseball Organization MVP. Two years later, he hit .315 with 39 homers and 111 RBI and lost the home run race by one to Park Kyung-wan
Park Kyung-Oan
Park Kyung-Wan is a South Korean baseball catcher who currently plays for SK Wyverns in the Korea Baseball Organization and Olympic bronze medalist.-1998-2002:...
. He had another big year in , winning MVP honors in the All-Star game, playoffs and Korean Series
Korean Series
The Korean Series is the championship series of the Korea Baseball Organization. It has been held since the KBO's first season in and is the final series of in the post-season play-offs. From , the winner of the Korean Series goes on to play in the Asia Series....
, in which be blasted 4 homers in 6 games for Doosan. In , Woods started slowly and hit just .256; he struck out 123 times in 407 AB though he did blast 25 homers. Overall in five years in Korea, he hit 174 homers, driven in 510 and batted .294. Woods left Korea with the longest career of any foreign player in the history of the KBO. In , Jay Davis broke his mark.
Woods left the Bears to try his hand in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in , signing with the Yokohama BayStars
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Home field is the Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The clubhouse is located near the stadium....
. Nippon Pro Baseball fans were quite critical of the move, alleging that Woods was on the decline. Woods proved the skeptics to wrong as he hit .273 and tied for the home run lead with Alex Ramirez
Alex Ramírez
Alexander Ramón Ramírez is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who currently plays for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates...
with 40. He was 6th in the Central League
Central League
The or is one the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consists of six teams from around the country,The Central League...
in slugging, 4th in walks (66) and 5th in RBI (87) though he also led the league with 132 K's. Woods became the first man to lead a league in homers in both Korea and Japan.
Woods improved in his second year with Yokohama, hitting .298. He made the Best Nine at first base, tied Tuffy Rhodes
Tuffy Rhodes
Karl Derrick "Tuffy" Rhodes is a professional baseball player. He played six years in Major League Baseball in the US, and eleven years in Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan....
for the home run lead with 45, was third in walks (74) and tied for third in RBIs (103). He was also 5th in slugging and 4th in OBP and OPS. He struck out 142 times, which ranked him third in that category.
After the season, he signed with the defending CL champion Chunichi Dragons
Chunichi Dragons
The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chubu region of Japan. The team is in the Central League. They won the 2007 Japan Series and 2007 Asia Series.-History:...
and hit .306 with 38 homers. He was third in OPS
On-base plus slugging
On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...
and homers, 5th in slugging, 4th in OBP, tied for 4th with 103 RBI and ground into the most double play
Double play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
s (24) as the Dragons' 1B and cleanup hitter. Woods missed 10 games due to a suspension he served after charging the mound when Shugo Fujii threw high and inside during an at-bat. Woods was also fined 500,000 yen. It was the harshest penalty given to any player in Japan in five years.
After the season was completed, Woods had hit 421 homers in his pro career.
In , Woods put together an MVP caliber season by batting .310 with a league-leading 47 homers and 144 RBI. However, the MVP award that season went to his teammate, Kosuke Fukudome
Kosuke Fukudome
is a Japanese professional baseball outfielder.Prior to arriving in the United States, Fukudome played nine seasons for the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese Central League...
. To clinch the title for Chunichi, he hit grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
s in back-to-back games, the first Central Leaguer to do so since Fumio Fujimura
Fumio Fujimura
was a Japanese right-handed pitcher for the Osaka Tigers in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.In the 1933 National High School Baseball Championship, Fujimura's team reached the quarterfinals but his opponent Masao Yoshida pitched a shutout in the game. In the final of 1934 National High School...
53 years earlier. He also set a new team record for home runs. He played for the Dragons until 2008.
In addition to playing baseball, Woods worked for a time for the Brooksville Fire Department.