Steve Pearce

Steven Wayne Pearce (born April 13, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox.

Pearce is only the second player in MLB history to have played for every team in the American League East, the first being Kelly Johnson.

He is also the first and only player to have hit two walk-off grand slams in the span of a single week.

Pearce graduated in 2001 from Lakeland High School in Lakeland, Florida, where he was a three-year letterman in baseball and posted a career .383 batting average.

Pearce's father, also named Steve, was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, south of Boston.

As a result, Pearce became a fan of the Boston Red Sox growing up, a team he would eventually play for.

“I was brainwashed as a kid.

Had no choice.”

Pearce played two seasons (2002–2003) at Indian River Community College in Fort Pierce, Florida, leading Indian River in batting average both seasons and hitting a total of 17 home runs.

Pearce was selected twice in the MLB draft, but did not sign; in the 45th round in the 2003 MLB draft by the Minnesota Twins, and in the 10th round in the 2004 MLB draft by the Boston Red Sox.

Pearce played for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in the summer of 2004, hitting .277 with one home run and seven RBIs in 24 games.

Pearce transferred to the University of South Carolina and led the team in batting average, home runs and RBIs in 2004 and 2005, hitting 42 home runs in his two seasons with the Gamecocks, to become the first player in school history to reach the 40-homer plateau that quickly.

As a transfer junior in 2004, he hit .346 with 21 home runs and 70 RBI, helping to lead the Gamecocks to their third consecutive appearance in the College World Series.

Pearce was named the team's Rookie of the Year and was selected to both the NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team and the College World Series All-Tournament Team.

He set a South Carolina school record with a 1.000 fielding percentage (416 putouts, 22 assists, 0 errors) in 50 games at first base.

Pearce was named to the watch lists for both the Golden Spikes Award (USA Baseball's top amateur baseball player) and the Dick Howser Trophy (top collegiate baseball player) prior to the 2005 season.

As a senior in 2005, he hit .358 with 21 home runs and 63 RBIs, and was a Second-Team All-SEC selection, a Baseball America Second-Team All-American and the NCBWA District IV Player of the Year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Pearce in the eighth round of the 2005 MLB draft.

In 2005, Pearce played for the Class A Short Season Williamsport Crosscutters, batting .301 with seven home runs and 52 RBIs in 72 games.

In 2006, he then spent with the Class A Hickory Crawdads and the Class A-Advanced Lynchburg Hillcats, batting a combined .273 with 26 home runs and 98 RBIs in 131 games played.

In 2007, he began the season with Lynchburg, then move on to the Double-A Altoona Curve, and the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

During his 2007 run in the minors, Pearce had 31 home runs, 113 RBIs, and a .333 average in 134 games played.

On September 1, 2007, he made his MLB debut for the Pirates, against the Milwaukee Brewers, starting in right field and going 2-for-4 at the plate where both of his hits were off Dave Bush.

He would go on to play 23 games with the 2007 Pirates, batting .294 with six RBIs.

In 2008, Pearce spent the majority of the year with Triple-A Indianapolis, but made several appearances for the Pirates.

On September 2, he was recalled again when the roster expanded.

With the 2008 Pirates, Pearce batted .248 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 37 games played.

In 2009, Pearce failed to make the Pirates opening day roster after spring training, and began the year in Triple-A.

With the recent addition of outfield prospects in the organization, Pearce was moved back to playing first base.

He was recalled on June 20.

Pearce joined the Pirates on July 23 to become the starting first baseman following the trade of Adam LaRoche.

He ended a poor season for the 2009 Pirates with a slash line of .206/.296/.370 in 60 games played, with four home runs and 16 RBIs.

He also had 13 doubles, one triple, and one stolen base.

Pearce started the 2010 season with the Indianapolis Indians, but was eventually called up by the Pirates due to his .345 batting average in Triple-A.

With the 2010 Pirates, Pearce played in 15 games, batting 8-for-29 (.276) with five RBIs.

The 2011 season marked the first time that Pearce won a roster spot out of spring training, as he'd never spent Opening Day in MLB.

He had a .283 batting average during spring training with five doubles among his 13 hits.

Pearce was inducted to the Indian River Pioneer Athletic Hall of Fame on April 16, 2015.

Pearce was instrumental in Boston's 2018 World Series triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers, displaying key outbursts of power en route to being named the World Series Most Valuable Player.