Major League Baseball Players Born in West Virginia

The state of West Virginia has produced quite a few professional baseball players over the last 50 years. The following MLB players were born in West Virginia:

David Augustine-was from Follansbee, West Virginia and played two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1973-74. He played a total of twenty games in the Major Leagues. He had a career batting average of .207 during his stint with the Pirates. He attended Miami-Dade Community College and was drafted in 1968 in the 33rd round of the draft.

Jon Adkins-was from Huntington, West Virginia and played college ball at Oklahoma State University. He has played with the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres, New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds as a pitcher. He still plays in the Minor Leagues with the Reds. He was drafted in the 9th round in 1998.

Herbert Barna-was born in Clarksburg, West Virginia and had the nickname of "Babe". He attended West Virginia University and played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Giants and the Boston Red Sox from 1937-1943. He had a career batting average of .232 during his career with 12 homeruns.

George Baumgardner-was born in Barboursville, West Virginia in 1891. He played for the St. Louis Browns from 1912-1916. He played pitcher and had a career MLB record of 36-47.

John Blake-was born in Ansted, West Virginia and had the nickname of the "sheriff". He attended West Virginia Wesleyan College. He played MLB from 1920-1937 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Browns and St. Louis Cardinals during his career. He had a career pitching of 87 wins and 102 losses during his career in the Majors.

Bob Bowman-was born in Keystone, West Virginia in 1910. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and Chicago Cubs during 1939-1942. He had a career win/loss record of 26-17 during his time in the Majors.

George Brett-was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia in 1953. He is one of the most notable players to ever come from West Virginia to play in the Majors. Actually, he was raised in California but was born in West Virginia. He played at El Camino Junior College and was drafted in the 2nd round in 1971 MLB draft. He played his entire career with the Kansas City Royals from 1973-1993. He had a career batting average of .305 with 317 homeruns during his career. He made the All-Stars ten times during his career and had a batting average of .292 in those ten All-Star games.

Larry Brown-was born in Shinnston, West Virginia in 1940. He played from 1963-1974 during his Major League career. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers during his career and had a career batting average of .233 with 47 homeruns.

Dick Brown-was born in Shinnston, West Virginia in 1935 and attended Florida State University. He played with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles from 1957-1965. He had a career batting average of .244 with 62 homeruns.

Scott Bullett-was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia in 1968. He signed as an undrafted free agent in 1991. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs during his MLB career. He played in a total of 247 games during his 4-year career. He had a .233 career batting average with 6 homeruns.

Lew Burdette-was born in Nitro, West Virginia in 1926. He attended the University of Richmond. During his 18-year career he played for the New York Yankees, Boston Braves, Milwaukee Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and the California Angels from 1950-1967. He had a career win/loss record of 203-144 as a pitcher and an era of 3.66 during his career.

Jesse Burkett-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1868 and was known as "The Crab". During his 16-year career he played for the New York Giants, Cleveland Spiders, St. Louis Perfectos, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Browns and the Boston Americans from 1890-1905. He had a career win/loss record of 3-11 and a batting average of .338 with 75 homeruns. He pitched for 3 seasons during his career and played the outfield the majority of his career.

Arley Cooper-was born in Bearsville, West Virginia in 1892. He played for 15 years in the Major Leagues and played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers. He had a career win/loss record of 216-178 during his playing career.

Kane Davis-was born in Ripley, West Virginia in 1975. He was drafted in the 13th round in 1993. He has played for a total 5 years in the Majors and has a 4-10 win/loss record. He has played for the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies during his 5 year career.

Howard Edwards-was born in Red Jacket, West Virginia in 1936. He played in the Majors for 5-years from 1962-1970 with stints in the minor leagues. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies. He had a career MLB batting average of .238 with 15 homeruns.

Stanley Fansler-was born in Elkins, West Virginia in 1965. He was drafted in the 2nd round of the MLB draft in 1983. He played one year of professional baseball for a total of 5 games. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and had a career batting average of .167 while playing in the Majors.

Eugene Freese-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1934. He attended West Liberty State College. Freese played a total of 12 years in MLB and had a career batting average of .254 with 115 homeruns. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros during his career.

James Fridley-was born in Philippi, West Virginia in 1924. He attended West Virginia University and had the nickname of "Big Jim". He played a total of 3 seasons in the Majors in 154 games. Fridley had a career batting average of .248 with 8 homeruns. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Redlegs.

Dellos Gainer-was born in Montrose, West Virginia in 1886. He played a total of 10 seasons in the Majors and had a career batting average of .272 with 14 homeruns. He played for the Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals during his career.

John Glassrock-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1857. He played for 17 years and had a batting average of .290 with 27 homeruns during this time. Glassrock played for the Cleveland Blues, Cincinnati Outlaw Reds, St. Louis Maroons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, New York Giants, St. Louis Browns, Pittsburgh Pirates, Louisville Colonels and the Washington Senators.

Danny Ray Godby-was born in Logan, West Virginia in 1946. He attended Bowling Green University and was an undrafted free agent. He played one season in the Majors with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1974. He had a total of 13 at-bats with 2 hits for a career average of .154.

Joe Goddard-was born in Beckley, West Virginia in 1950. He attended Marshall University and was drafted in the 8th round in 1971. He played a total of one season in the Majors in 1972 with the San Diego Padres as a catcher. He played in a total of 12 games and had a career batting average of .200 during his short career.

Colbert Harrah-was born in Sissonville, West Virginia in 1948. He attended college at Ohio Northern and was an undrafted free agent. He played for 17 years in the Majors and had a career batting average of .264 with 195 homeruns during his career. He played for the Washington Senators, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees.

Greg Keatley-was born in Princeton, West Virginia in 1953. He attended the University of South Carolina and was a 5th round draft pick in the 1976 MLB draft. He played in two games during the 1981 season for the Kansas City Royals. He never batted in the Majors and was never heard of again after that season.

John Kruk-was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1961. He attended Allegany Community College and was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1981 draft. Kruk played for 10 seasons and had a career batting average of .300 with 100 homeruns during his career. He played for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox before walking away from the game. Kruk is a staple now as a baseball analyst on ESPN.

Charles Manuel-was born in Northfork, West Virginia in 1944. He played in the Majors for six years and has a career batting average of .198 with 4 homeruns. Manuel played for the Minnesota Twins and the Los Angeles Dodgers during his professional career. Charlie Manuel is best-known to be the current head coach of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Bill Mazeroski-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1936. He played a total of 17 years in the Majors and finished his career with a .260 batting average with 138 homeruns. For his entire career, Mazeroski played for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Seth McClung-was born in Lewisburg, West Virginia in 1981. He was drafted in the 5th round of the 1999 MLB draft. Currently, he is in the minor leagues trying to make a comeback to the Majors. So far, McClung has a total of 6 years of MLB experience. He has a win/loss record of 26-24 with a 5.46 era. He has played for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.

Dustin Nippert-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1981. Nippert played college ball at West Virginia University and was drafted in the 15th round during the 2002 MLB draft. Currently, Nippert is still playing baseball and has 6 years of service in the Majors. He has a win/loss record of 10-11 with an era of 5.58.

Joe Pettini-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1955 and attended Mercer University. He was signed to a MLB contract via an undrafted free agent. He played for four years in the Majors and has a career batting average of .203 with 1 homerun. He played his entire professional career with the San Francisco Giants.

Paul Popovich-was born in Flemington, West Virginia in 1940 and attended West Virginia University. He played 11 years in the Majors and has a career batting average of .233 with 14 homeruns. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Rick Reed-was born in Huntington, West Virginia in 1964 and attended Marshall University. He was drafted in the 26th round of the 1986 MLB draft. Reed played a total of 15 years in the Majors and has a career win/loss record of 93-76 with an era of 4.03. Reed played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and the Minnesota Twins during his career.

Andy Seminich-was born in Pierce, West Virginia in 1920. He played 15-years in the Majors and had a career batting average of .243 with 164 homeruns. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and the Cincinnati Redlegs.

David Vineyard-was born in Clay, West Virginia in 1941. He played one year of professional baseball in 1964 with the Baltimore Orioles. He has a career win/loss record of 2-5 with an era of 4.17.

Jeff Wallace-was born in Wheeling, West Virginia in 1976. He was drafted in the 25th round of the 1995 MLB draft. He played for 4 seasons in the Majors and has a career record of 3-3 with an era of 4.20. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Tampa Devil Rays during his career.

Anthony Whittington-was born in Charleston, West Virginia and was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 2nd round of the 2003 MLB draft. He played for 5 seasons in the minor leagues never making it to the Majors.

Dana Williams-was born in Weirton, West Virginia in 1963. He attended Enterprise St. Junior College and was an undrafted free agent. He played one season in the Majors with the 1989 Boston Red Sox and only had 5 at-bats with 1 hit for a .200 batting average.

Johnny Wockenfuss-was born in Welch, West Virginia in 1949. He was drafted in the 42nd round of the 1967 MLB draft. He played for twelve seasons with a career batting average of .262 and 86 homeruns. He played for the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies.

Steve Yeager-was from Huntington, West Virginia and was drafted in the 4th round in the 1967 MLB draft. Yeager played for 15 years in the Majors with the following teams that include the Los Angeles Dodgers and Seattle Mariners.

Source:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/