Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Nate Schierholtz was an employee for whom in Apr 2015?
Nate Schierholtz Nathan John Nate Schierholtz ( born February 15 , 1984 ) is an American former professional baseball right fielder . He played in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the San Francisco Giants ( 2007–2012 ) , Philadelphia Phillies ( 2012 ) , Chicago Cubs ( 2013–2014 ) , and Washington Nationals ( 2014 ) . He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball ( NPB ) for Hiroshima Toyo Carp ( 2015 ) . Schierholtz was a second-round draft pick by the Giants out of Chabot College in 2003 . He reached the major leagues in 2007 , batting over .300 in limited playing time . He spent most of 2008 in the minor leagues but again hit over .300 when he was called up in September . Schierholtz also represented the United States of America at the Summer Olympics that year . In 2009 , he spent the whole season with the Giants , appearing in over 100 games and getting starts in right field . Schierholtz was the Giants starting right fielder for portions of 2010 but ended the year as a defensive substitution for Pat Burrell . He won his first World Series as the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers for their first World Series title in 56 years . In 2011 , he was the Giants starting right fielder for most of the year , until a broken foot sidelined him at the end of August . Though used as the starting right fielder some in 2012 , Schierholtz said in an interview in July that Giants manager Bruce Bochy did not think of him as an everyday player . Shortly afterwards , he was traded to the Phillies , with whom he finished the year . The Giants won the World Series again and gave him a World Series ring for his earlier contributions . In 2013 , Schierholtz signed with the Cubs and received the most playing time of his career , hitting a career-high 21 home runs . He batted .192 with the Cubs the next season and was released mid-season . The Nationals picked him up soon after , and he reached the playoffs with them . In 2015 , Schierholtz attempted to make the Rangers roster out of spring training . Faced with a demotion to the minor leagues , he opted instead to spend a season in Japan with the Toyo Carp . He signed with the Detroit Tigers organization in 2016 and played some games in the minor leagues before getting released in May . Later in the season , Schierholtz failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs , resulting in an 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball . High school and college . Schierholtz was born February 15 , 1984 , in Reno , Nevada . His parents were Vai , Sr. , and Karen Schierholtz , and he was the oldest of four children ( Cainan ; Vai , Jr. ; and Sophia ) . He attended San Ramon Valley High School in Danville , California , the same high school as future San Francisco Giants teammate Randy Winn . At San Ramon Valley , he served as the team captain . Following high school , Schierholtz played for Chabot College , a community college located in Hayward , California . He spent the 2003 season with Chabot , starting at third base . In his lone season at Chabot , he was named an All-American . Professional career . San Francisco Giants . Minor leagues . Schierholtz was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round ( 63rd overall ) of the 2003 Major League Baseball ( MLB ) Draft . He began his minor league career that year as a third baseman with the rookie Arizona League Giants , batting .400 in 11 games before getting promoted to the Single-A short season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Northwest League . In 35 games for Salem-Keizer , he hit .306 with 38 hits , three home runs , and 29 runs batted in ( RBI ) . He began the 2004 season with the Single-A Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League , earning All-star game honors for that league . He batted .296 with 53 RBI in 58 games and was leading the league in home runs ( 15 ) and extra-base hits ( 37 ) before getting promoted to the Single-A advanced San Jose Giants of the California League . At San Jose , though still receiving significant playing time as a third baseman , he began to play the outfield as well . In 62 games with San Jose , he batted .295 with three home runs and 31 RBI . He was second on the team with nine triples after not hitting any with Hagerstown . He was third among Giants prospects with 18 home runs and ranked second with 84 RBI in 2004 . In 2005 , Schierholtz remained at San Jose , where he became an everyday right fielder . Over 128 games , he batted .319 ( fifth in the California League ) with 160 hits ( tied with Chris Lubanski , Seth Smith , and Clay Timpner for fifth ) , 37 doubles ( tied with Danny Putnam for eighth ) , eight triples ( tied with Wladimir Balentien , Danny Richar , and Joe Gaetti for third behind Timpners 12 and Anthony Websters 11 ) , 15 home runs , and 86 RBI . He batted .333 in the playoffs , helping San Jose win the California League championship . Schierholtz moved up to the Double-A Connecticut Defenders of the Eastern League in 2006 . In 125 games , he batted .270 with 127 hits , 14 home runs , and 54 RBI . He led the Defenders in most major batting categories and finished sixth in the Eastern League with seven triples . Entering the 2007 season , Schierholtz was ranked the eighth-best prospect in the Giants organization by Baseball America . That year , he was assigned to the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League . He spent most of the season with them . In 109 games , he had 137 hits , 31 doubles , 16 home runs , and 68 RBI . He finished third in the league in batting average ( .333 , behind Geovany Sotos .353 and Delwyn Youngs .337 ) and triples ( seven , tied with Scott Seabol behind Reggie Abercrombies and Jeff Salazars nine ) . 2007 . Giants manager Bruce Bochy considered calling up Schierholtz in May 2007 when Dave Roberts started suffering elbow problems , but an injury to Schierholtz prevented that . On June 11 , Schierholtz was called up to replace Dan Ortmeier and try to give the Giants some offensive help . He made his major league debut that day , against the Toronto Blue Jays as a defensive replacement . He got his first hit the next night , against A . J . Burnett in his first career at bat in a 3–2 victory over Toronto . During this stint , Schierholtz received most of the starts in right field . On June 23 , at AT&T Park against the New York Yankees , he blooped an RBI single into center field against Scott Proctor in the bottom of the 13th inning to win the game 6–5 for the Giants . Despite a .325 batting average in 40 at bats , Schierholtz was sent down at the start of July to make room for Rich Aurilia , who was returning from the disabled list . He was recalled in September , and he received most of the starts in right field that month . In 39 games ( 112 at bats ) , he batted .304 with 34 hits , five doubles , three triples , 10 RBI , and two walks . In 2008 , Baseball America ranked Schierholtz the fourth-best prospect in the Giants system . He attended spring training with the Giants but started the season in Fresno . Schierholtz was batting .314 with fifteen home runs and 65 runs batted in for the Grizzlies when his minor league season ended as a result of his being selected for the 2008 USA Olympic Baseball Team . In the sixth inning of a preliminary round game against China , he collided with China backup catcher Yang Yang at the home plate on a sacrifice fly , a play that resulted in a near brawl between the teams and saw Chinese manager Jim Lefebvre ejected from the game . Schierholtz played nine games with the Americans , batting .216 with four doubles , one home run , and six RBI as the United States earned a bronze medal . Schierholtz was again called up in September 2008 , as the Giants roster expanded , and he was used as the Giants starting right fielder for the remainder of the year . On September 3 , he recorded four hits in a game for the first time in a 9–2 victory over the Colorado Rockies . Three days later , he hit his first career home run against Jesse Chavez in a 7–6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates . In 19 games ( 75 at bats ) in 2008 , Schierholtz hit .320 with 24 hits , eight doubles , one triple , one home run , and five RBI . 2009 . Schierholtz started the 2009 season as a pinch hitter . In June , he saw his playing time increase as Randy Winn , the Giants right fielder , began playing left field frequently in place of Fred Lewis . On June 14 , he had an inside-the-park home run , only the fourth in AT&T Park history , in the third inning against Brett Anderson of the Oakland Athletics in a 7–1 victory . He had four hits on June 28 in a 7–0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers . From July 28 through August 12 , he was on the disabled list with a bruised left hip , which he suffered after running into a chain-link fence at Turner Field . He saw his playing time reduced in September as Winn moved back to right field to give Eugenio Vélez and John Bowker opportunities in left . In a career-high 116 games ( 285 at bats ) in 2009 , Schierholtz batted .267 with 76 hits , five home runs , and 29 RBI . He had the third-highest batting average for a pinch hitter in the majors ( .371 , behind Seth Smiths .472 and Hideki Matsuis .381 ) . 2010 . Schierholtz was expected to be the Giants Opening Day right fielder in 2010 , but Bowker won the position after hitting six home runs in spring training . Bowker , however , only held the job for 10 games before Schierholtz replaced him on April 17 . In his first 16 games in the role , he batted .393 , but over his next 19 , he batted .154 . When Buster Posey was called up in late May , Aubrey Huff moved from first base to right field , leaving Schierholtz on the bench . After Bengie Molina was traded , Posey switched from first base to catcher , but Travis Ishikawa began getting some starts at first base , creating a platoon between Schierholtz and Ishikawa , with Huff covering first base or right field depending on who was playing . When José Guillén was acquired on August 13 , Schierholtz was relegated to the role of pinch-hitter and late-inning defensive substitution for the rest of the year . In 137 games ( 227 at bats ) , Schierholtz batted .242 with 55 hits , 13 doubles , three triples , three home runs , and 17 RBI . Schierholtz received regular playing time throughout the postseason as a defensive replacement for starting outfielder Pat Burrell . Whenever the Giants held a lead in the sixth inning or later , Bochy would remove Burrell from the game , shift Cody Ross from right field to left field , and place Schierholtz in right field . This strategy was meant to provide the Giants with the best possible defensive outfield and , thus , the best chance of holding the lead and winning the game . Schierholtz ultimately appeared in 11 of San Franciscos 15 playoff games , accumulating 13 plate appearances and recording an RBI in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series against the Texas Rangers . In Game 4 , a night when Bochy chose to start several of his backups , he got his first start of the postseason , playing right field in the Giants 4–0 victory . The Giants won the World Series in five games , their first World Series victory since 1954 . 2011 . Schierholtz hit a 467-foot home run at Coors Field on April 18 , 2011 , against Esmil Rogers in an 8–1 victory over the Rockies . At the start of May , Schierholtz took over the Giants right field job , due to a slump by Burrell . He hit a game-tying , two-run pinch-hit home run against Grant Balfour on May 22 in an 11-inning , 5–4 victory over Oakland . Ten days later , he had a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning against Fernando Salas and a game-winning RBI single in the 11th inning against Ryan Franklin in a 7–5 victory over the St . Louis Cardinals . On July 6 , against the San Diego Padres , Schierholtz recorded his first multi-home run game . In the bottom of the 14th inning of that game , he hit a walk-off home run against Pat Neshek that secured a 6–5 victory for the Giants . Two days later , he had a splash hit home run against R.A . Dickey in a 5–2 loss to the New York Mets . Following the acquisition of Carlos Beltrán on July 28 , Schierholtz began playing some left field for the first time in his career . He broke his right foot after hitting a foul ball off it against the Atlanta Braves on August 15 . Schierholtz appeared in five more games after the injury , but it became too severe to play through , and he was placed on the disabled list on August 27 ( retroactive to August 22 ) , and , though initially expected to return , he missed the rest of the season . In 115 games ( 335 at bats ) , Schierholtz hit .278 with 93 hits , 22 doubles , nine home runs , and 41 RBI . He said of his 2011 season , I was able to contribute to the team this year . That was a positive thing I can take from the season . 2012 . In 2012 , Schierholtz started the season as a bench player but soon became the Giants everyday right fielder . On April 23 and 24 , he had back-to-back three-hit games against the Mets . He batted .372 over his first 14 games but hit just .048 over his next seven . When May started , Bochy benched him in favor of Gregor Blanco . On July 18 , in an interview with Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle , he said that Bochy had told him in May that he did not view him as an everyday player . He said that , while he did not ask for a trade , I think whatever the best fit for the team and me is would be ideal . I cant really make those decisions . Its all up to them . Whether Im here or not Im going to give my best effort every day and bust my tail . That weekend , he started three games against the Philadelphia Phillies in right field , partly because Blanco and Ángel Pagán had been struggling . On July 22 , Schierholtz hit two home runs against Joe Blanton , the second of which forced the game into extra innings . However , the Giants would lose 4–3 in 12 innings . In 77 games ( 175 at bats ) , Schierholtz hit .251 with 44 hits , four doubles , five triples , five home runs , and 16 RBI . At the trade deadline on July 31 , Schierholtz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with minor league catcher Tommy Joseph and minor league pitcher Seth Rosin for outfielder Hunter Pence . Philadelphia Phillies . Upon Schierholtzs arrival in Philadelphia , manager Charlie Manuel said he wanted to give Schierholtz everyday playing time for the rest of the year , in order to assess him . In the transition , Schierholtz changed his number from 12 to 22 . In his debut , Schierholtz homered against Edwin Jackson in a 3–2 victory against the Washington Nationals . However , Schierholtz was sent to the disabled list on August 13 after fouling a ball off his right big toe in a game against the Cardinals . He remained on the disabled list until September 1 . On September 7 , he delivered a game-ending RBI single against Will Harris , giving the Phillies a 3–2 win over Colorado . Schierholtz appeared in 33 games with the Phillies , batting .273 with 18 hits , four doubles , one home run , and five RBI . In 114 games ( 241 at bats ) with Philadelphia and San Francisco , he batted .257 with 62 hits , eight doubles , five triples , six home runs , and 21 RBI . After the season , the Phillies non-tendered Schierholtz , making him a free agent . They chose to non-tender him because they were only projecting him as a fifth outfielder , and Schierholtz was due for a pay raise . Despite being traded to the Phillies , Schierholtz received his second World Series ring from the Giants due to his contributions during the first half of the 2012 season with the team . Chicago Cubs . On December 5 , 2012 , Schierholtz signed a $2.25 million , one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs . He was the Cubs starting right fielder for most of the 2013 season . From June 4 through 18 , he set a career-high with a 10-game hitting streak . On June 14 , he had two triples in a game for the first time in his career in a 14-inning , 6–5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds . On June 22 , he set a career-high with his 10th home run of the season in a 4–3 loss to the Houston Astros . He batted .286 with 11 home runs through June 30 but saw his average sink to .218 for the rest of the season , although he would hit 10 home runs . On July 24 , he had a career-high five RBI , including a game-winning RBI double against David Hernandez in the 12th inning of a 7–6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks . Three days later , he hit a home run against Sergio Romo in a 1–0 victory over the Giants . Schierholtz reset his career-high in RBI with six on August 19 , including home runs against Jordan Zimmermann and Fernando Abad in an 11–1 victory over the Washington Nationals . In 137 games ( 462 at bats ) , Schierholtz batted .251 with career-highs in hits ( 116 ) , doubles ( 32 ) , home runs ( 21 ) , runs scored ( 56 ) , and RBI ( 68 ) . Defensively , he posted a .988 fielding percentage . On January 17 , 2014 , Schierholtz signed a $5 million , one-year deal to remain with the Chicago Cubs . On June 3 , he had a game-ending RBI single against Scott Rice , giving the Cubs a 2–1 victory over the Mets . He was designated for assignment by the Cubs on August 6 , 2014 . Chicago released the veteran on waivers after he had a .192 batting average and six home runs over 99 games . Washington Nationals . On August 18 , 2014 , Schierholtz signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals , and was assigned to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of the International League . The Nationals selected Schierholtzs contract on August 23 and used him as a reserve outfielder . On September 21 , he tripled home a run against Nate Eovaldi , then scored on a double by Anthony Rendon in a 2–1 victory over the Miami Marlins . In 23 games ( 40 at bats ) with the Nationals , Schierholtz batted .225 with one home run . His combined totals were a .195 average , 69 hits , seven home runs , and 37 RBI in 122 games with Chicago and Washington . Schierholtz reached the playoffs with Washington as they won the National League East . He appeared in all four games of the 2014 National League Division Series , getting a hit and three walks in four plate appearances for a 1.000 on-base percentage as the Nationals were defeated by the Giants . After the season , he became a free agent . Texas Rangers organization . On February 6 , 2015 , Schierholtz signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers . He competed for an outfield spot but was released on March 28 before the season started . Hiroshima Toyo Carp . After his release from Texas , Schierholtz went to Japan , signing a one-year deal with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball ( NPB ) . During the 2015 season , he hit .250 ( 58-for-232 ) , with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 65 games . It was definitely an interesting experience and I learned a lot . I enjoyed living with the Japanese culture and learning some of their ways and values . The fans are very kind to the American foreign players and it was a great experience , Schierholtz summarized his time in Japan . Detroit Tigers organization . On December 23 , 2015 , Schierholtz signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers , and was invited to 2016 spring training . Failing to make the club , he played 31 games for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens of the International League , batting .246 with 29 hits , three home runs , and 13 RBI before his release on May 22 . On August 5 , 2016 , Schierholtz received an 80-game suspension from Major League Baseball for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug . Personal life . Schierholtz married Kate Eveland , a former guard on the San Diego State basketball team on December 3 , 2011 . Cainan , his younger brother , was arrested on a DUI in 2004 and was charged with another DUI and felony hit-and-run on August 1 , 2010 . Nate said , Obviously , its very upsetting.. . Its just something very irresponsible and hes going to have to do some decent time for what hes done . Ill stick by him and support him to get the counseling he needs . Vai , Jr. , his youngest brother , attended the Air Force Academy and played baseball for the Falcons . His mother lives in Alamo , California ; her house burned down in 2009 but was rebuilt . Schierholtz used to bat without batting gloves , one of the few Major Leaguers to do so , but since 2011 has used batting gloves .