- Mike Sharperson
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Mike Sharperson Infielder, Outfielder Born: October 4, 1961
Orangeburg, South CarolinaDied: May 26, 1996 (aged 34)
San Bernardino, CaliforniaBatted: Right Threw: Right MLB debut April 6, 1987 for the Toronto Blue Jays Last MLB appearance July 15, 1995 for the Atlanta Braves Career statistics Batting average .280 Home runs 10 RBI 123 Teams Career highlights and awards - All-Star (NL): 1992
Michael Tyrone Sharperson (October 4, 1961 – [1] May 26, 1996) was an infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1987), Los Angeles Dodgers (1987–1993) and Atlanta Braves (1995). Sharperson batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
In an eight-season career, Sharperson posted a .280 batting average with 10 home runs and 123 RBI in 557 games.
Sharperson was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (11th pick) of the 1981 amateur draft. He made his debut with Toronto in 1987 and was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in midseason.
A member of the Dodgers 1988 World Series championship team, Sharperson was part of the group of utility players known as "The Stunt Men", for their ability to play many different positions and roles. While mostly used at third base and second, Sharperson also played shortstop, first base and right field.
In 1990, Sharperson hit .297 with career-highs in hits (106) and games (129). His most productive season came in 1992, when he hit .300 with 21 doubles and 48 runs (all career-highs), and made the National League All-Star team.
Released by the Dodgers before the 1994 season, Sharperson signed with the Red Sox, then with the Cubs, but did not play for them. He appeared in seven games with the Atlanta Braves in 1995 and became a free agent at the end of the season. He then signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres.
In 1996 Sharperson played for the Triple-A Las Vegas Stars. He was driving to San Diego to join the Padres than in Montreal against the Expos after being recalled, when he died in a one-car crash at the Interstate 15 and Interstate 215 interchange on the Cajon Pass in San Bernardino County, California. Local law enforcement who arrived at the scene of the accident claimed Sharperson had been ejected through his car's sunroof during the accident. He was 34 years old.
References
- ^ Most reliable sources give Sharperson's date of birth as 1961 but Social Security records available from Rootsweb show his year of birth as 1960.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Baseball Almanac
Categories:- 1960s births
- 1996 deaths
- National League All-Stars
- African American baseball players
- Atlanta Braves players
- Los Angeles Dodgers players
- Toronto Blue Jays players
- Major League Baseball infielders
- Baseball players from South Carolina
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