Blake DeWitt

Infobox MLB player


width =
caption = DeWitt with the Dodgers in 2008
name=Blake DeWitt
position=Third Baseman

position=Second Baseman
team=Los Angeles Dodgers
number=33
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1985|8|20
birthplace=city-state|Sarasota|Florida
debutdate=March 31
debutyear=2008
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
statyear=August 29, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.262
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=9
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=44
teams=
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|2008-present)

Blake Robert DeWitt (born August 20, 1985 in Sarasota, Florida) is a second and third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers in Major League Baseball.

As a senior shortstop at Sikeston High School in Missouri he batted .558 with 15 home runs, 11 doubles and 48 RBI and was named to Baseball America's High School All-America first team, the Associated Press Class 3 all-state first team, and the Missouri High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 3 all-state first team. DeWitt is one of the few players in Missouri baseball history to be named first team all-state four times. In addition to his hitting prowess, DeWitt was an effective pitcher, winning a Missouri high school record 27 consecutive games and losing only one. Along with current University of Missouri career home run leader Jacob Priday, DeWitt led the Sikeston Bulldogs to three state championship appearances in his four years. DeWitt broke eight Missouri high school records in batting and pitching according to the state's governing athletic association, the Missouri State High School Athletic Association.

He was scheduled to attend Georgia Tech but he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1st round of the June 2004 MLB draft and chose to play professional ball. He was rated as the best high school pure hitter entering the draft.

He began his professional career as the starting third baseman for the Ogden Raptors in 2004 and was tabbed by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Pioneer League as well as the eighth best prospect in the Dodgers organization.

In 2005 he hit for the cycle on June 5 while playing with the Columbus Catfish, and went on to lead the Catfish in hits, doubles, and total bases. He was rated as the "Best Hitter for Average" in the Dodgers farm system while hitting .333 for Columbus.

In 2006 with the Vero Beach Dodgers he was again ranked as the Dodgers 8th best prospect by both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star team while hitting .339 with 18 homers and 61 RBI for Vero Beach. He played for the North Shore Honu of the Hawaii Winter Baseball League following the season.

He began 2007 with the Inland Empire 66ers and hit .298 with 8 homers and 46 RBI in 83 games, leading to a promotion to the Jacksonville Suns. He hit .281 in 45 games with the Suns the rest of the season.

During spring training in 2008, injuries to Nomar Garciaparra, Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu, the team's top three projected third basemen, led to DeWitt getting a chance to play with the big league club. He became the Dodgers opening day starting third baseman and in his first at bat he singled off San Francisco Giants pitcher Barry Zito and went 5 for 9 with 3 walks in the 3 game series. Dewitt hit his first career home run off of Óliver Pérez of the New York Mets on May 5, 2008. The following night, he hit his second, a rare inside the park home run off of the Mets' Nelson Figueroa. The inside the park home run was the first for the Dodgers in 5 years. A local radio station, 1520 KRHW-AM, in DeWitt's hometown of Sikeston, Missouri became part of the Dodgers Radio Network so that residents of that town could follow his Major League Baseball career.

DeWitt was optioned to the Dodgers' AAA minor league team in Las Vegas on July 26, 2008, immediately following the team's acquisition of third basemen Casey Blake from the Cleveland Indians. However with Jeff Kent sidelined, DeWitt was recalled to Los Angeles to start at second base prior to the September 1st expansion of the rosters.

References