Tagged: Nate Schierholtz

19 Days Till Opening Day

19 Days Till Opening Day

Closer and closer…#FGOpeningDay is now 19 days away! Nate Schierholtz, who wore jersey number 19 with the Grizzlies, helps bring the 2013 opener closer to reality.

The Reno, Nevada native donned a Grizzlies uniform between 2007 and 2009, with his ’09 appearance being an MLB Rehab stint. In his first year at Triple-A, Schierholtz batted .333 with 31 doubles, 7 triples, 16 home runs, 68 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 109 games. The right fielder eventually made his Major League debut in the same season as his Triple-A debut, playing in 39 games with the Giants in 2007.

In 2008, Schierholtz proved his worth at the Triple-A level again, batting .320 with 22 doubles, 10 triples, 18 home runs, 73 RBI, and 9 steals in 93 games.

On the Grizzlies’ all-time career records list, Schierholtz is tied with Fred Lewis for the second-most triples with 17.

Schierholtz also holds the claim to be the first Grizzlies player to hit for the cycle. He turned the trick on May 26th, 2008 at Las Vegas.

Schierholtz is a Bay Area native as he grew up Danville, California, which is about 35 minutes from AT&T Park in San Francisco. After one year at Chabot College, Schierholtz was drafted by the Giants in the second round of the 2003 Draft.

Schierholtz was a third baseman coming out junior college. He played 134 of his first 166 professional games at third base before beginning his switch to the outfield in 2004.

“Nate the Great” signed with the Chicago Cubs this past offseason. Through 13 Spring Training games, the left-handed hitter was batting .344/.389/.563 with 2 doubles, a triple, a home run, and 6 RBI.

Grizzlies Alumni Report: Nate Schierholtz

By: Cody Turner


Who: Nate Schierholtz

When He Was a Grizzly: Played in 202 games from 2007-2008, and five games on MLB Rehab in 2009.

Fresno Highlights:

  • Became the first Grizzlies player to hit for the cycle on May 26, 2008
  • Was a member of Team USA at the 2008 All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium
  • Was awarded PCL Player-of-the-Week honors for the week ending May 7, 2007.
  • Tallied 10 triples over the course of the 2008 season – second most for a single season in Grizzlies franchise history.

Where He Went From Here: After making his MLB debut on June 11, 2007, Schierholtz played parts of the 2007 and 2008 seasons with the Giants before making the Opening Day roster in 2009.

SchierholtzAtBat.JPG

Where He Is Now: Nate is currently finishing up his second full season with the Giants.


Career Highlights:         

  • Had a pinch-RBI single in the sixth inning of the September 28th game against the Diamondbacks, breaking a 2-2 tie en route to a 4-2 Giants win.
  • Delivered a two-run triple in the top of the 11th inning on September 6, 2010 to propel the Giants to a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
  • Participated on the United States Olympic Team during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
  • Hit an inside-the-park home run on June 14, 2009 – just the fourth in AT&T Park history.   

Hope Spring(s) Eternal

It’s another beautiful weekend in the Valley of the Sun. Former and future Grizzlies alike are mixed among veterans and the practice fields are full of players as the teams have yet to make their first round of cuts, when they will send players back to minor league camp.

The Giants hold their Spring Training at Scottsdale Stadium, a beautiful complex with a capacity close to that of Chukchansi Park. Of course, the stadium itself is not quite as big (no upper deck), but has a grass berm that stretches across most of the outfield.

Scottsdale Stadium.jpg

On Saturday the house was completely stuffed as the A’s came to town. I know this because the official attendance was exactly 12,000, the fire marshall-mandated capacity at the ballpark. It was a nice preview of this year’s Highway 99 rivalry, as rising prospects from both organizations were on hand. When you look at the depth of both of the organizations, it’s easy to see how Sacramento and Fresno could be battling all year for the PCL Pacific Southern Division crown.
Matt Cain, who won 10 games as a starter for the Grizzlies in 2005, was on the hill for San Francisco Saturday. He was shaky early and dug the Giants in a hole, but the offense pitched in and made things interesting. Buster Posey went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI as the team closed the gap to 8-7, but they came up short.
Today’s game sees a Brewers squad very light on Major League talent facing off against Jonathan Sanchez. Former Grizzly Fred Lewis is in left and Nate Schierholtz is in right, in what’s shaping up to be a high-scoring affair with the wind gusting straight out to center field.
Bud Selig literally just stepped into the press box in the middle of me posting this article, and is now addressing the media, so I’m going to sign off for now. More to come in the next week from Arizona including interviews with Cain, Posey and legendary Giants broadcaster Jon Miller.