Landon Powell
Encyclopedia
Landon Reed Powell is a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

 and first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...

 for the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

.

Powell attended the University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...

. In 2002, his first season playing for them, he had a .292 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 with 12 home runs and was part of the team that went to the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...

. They went all the way to the finals and lost to the Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns baseball
The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.The Texas Longhorns are the winningest program in college baseball history in terms of win percentage with .740 and ranks second all-time in total wins to the...

. Powell continued to play for the University of South Carolina and was third on the team in batting average in 2003 (.339) and 2004 (.328). Both those years, he helped his team to the playoff
Playoff
The playoffs, postseason, or finals of a sports league are a game or series of games played after the regular season by the top competitors, usually but not always with a single-elimination system, to determine the league champion or a similar accolade.In the U.S...

s, but did not get as far as the first time.

Powell led Apex High School
Apex High School
Apex High School is located in Apex, North Carolina in the United States. It is part of the Wake County Public School System and is on a 4x4 Block Schedule.- Athletics :Apex High School fields varsity teams for the following sports:...

 in Apex, North Carolina
Apex, North Carolina
Apex is a town in Wake County, North Carolina and a suburb of Raleigh. The population was 37,476 according to the 2010 census., wakegov.com-Geography:Apex is located at ....

 to the 2000 4-A state championship as a junior. Because he was already 18 years old, he was eligible to enter the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft
2000 Major League Baseball Draft
-First Round Selections:-Compensation picks:- Background :The Florida Marlins made Adrian Gonzalez of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, CA the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft...

 and did so. However, he went undrafted because his agent, Scott Boras
Scott Boras
Scott Boras is an American sports agent, specializing in baseball. He is the founder, owner and president of the Boras Corporation, a sports agency based in Newport Beach, Calif. that represents roughly 175 professional baseball clients, including many of the game's highest-profile players...

, did not inform teams he was available. This made Powell a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

, but he chose to attend college after failing to receive an acceptable offer from an MLB club. This loophole in the drafting system was later closed due to this incident and one a year later involving current Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

 Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Bonderman
Jeremy Allen Bonderman is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher who currently is a free agent. Bonderman is six feet and two inches tall and weighs 220 pounds. He bats and throws right-handed...

.

After three seasons with the Gamecocks, Powell was drafted by the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

 in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft
2003 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2003 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 3 and 4. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams.Source: -First round selections:...

 as the 733rd overall pick in the 25th round. He did not sign with the Cubs and opted instead to play another season with the University of South Carolina. After his final season there, he entered the draft again in 2004
2004 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2004 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams...

 and the switch hitting catcher was taken in the 1st round by the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 as the 24th overall pick and was the Athletics' first overall pick.

Upon signing with the Athletics on July 22, 2004, he was assigned to play for the Single-A Vancouver Canadians
Vancouver Canadians
The Vancouver Canadians are a minor league baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Canadians are the Northwest League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The C's have previously affiliated with the Oakland Athletics between 2000-2010. They are the only Canadian team in the...

. He played in 38 games and hit just .237. Teammate Kurt Suzuki
Kurt Suzuki
is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Oakland Athletics.-College career:Suzuki played at Cal State Fullerton. Cal State Fullerton captured the 2004 College World Series championship, thanks to Suzuki's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Titans a 3-2 win over the...

, also taken in the 2004 draft, got more playing time as he played in 46 games and hit .297. Both were the organizations catchers of the future and only time would tell who would reach the majors first. Powell's chances were ruined when in , he was out for the entire season when he underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL. After a lost year, he played again in , playing for the Single-A Stockton Ports
Stockton Ports
The Stockton Ports are a baseball team in Stockton, California. The Ports play in the Northern Division of the Class A – Advanced California League and are a Minor League affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. Their home field is Banner Island Ballpark which seats over 5,000 people and opened in...

 and the Double-A Midland RockHounds
Midland RockHounds
The Midland RockHounds are a minor league baseball team based in Midland, Texas, USA. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Citibank Ballpark, located in Midland. Opened in 2002, the stadium seats...

.

Powell began the season playing for the Rockhounds. In 60 games with them, he hit .292 with 11 home runs. He was promoted to play with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats
Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats is a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. The team plays in the Pacific Coast League and is the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics....

 on June 28. He played just 4 games for the River Cats before reaggravating the same knee that forced him to sit the 2005 season. Powell missed the rest of the 2007 season and probably will miss most of the season as well. He was considered as a possibility to split the catching duties for the major league club in 2008 but with his injury, it does not seem possible.

On November 20, 2007, the Athletics purchased his contract, protecting him from the Rule 5 Draft
Rule 5 draft
The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to...

.

In 2010, Powell was named to the NCAA World Series Legends Team. He and Ryan Garko
Ryan Garko
Ryan Francis Garko is a professional baseball outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter, who plays for the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization. In college, he was a catcher. He has played for the Cleveland Indians, the San Francisco Giants, and the Texas Rangers in Major...

 (Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

) were named as catchers, Garko is now a first baseman http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20100506&content_id=9843706&vkey=pr_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak

Major league career

Powell made his major league debut for the Athletics on April 11, 2009. In his first major league at-bat, Powell doubled in the second inning off the Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

' Felix Hernandez
Félix Hernández
Félix Abraham Hernández , nicknamed "King Félix", is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners....

, driving in two runs. He spent the entire season in the big leagues, yet only appeared in 46 games (36 at catcher, 6 at first base and 3 at DH) as Kurt Suzuki
Kurt Suzuki
is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Oakland Athletics.-College career:Suzuki played at Cal State Fullerton. Cal State Fullerton captured the 2004 College World Series championship, thanks to Suzuki's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Titans a 3-2 win over the...

 for the second straight year lead the majors in game caught. He finished the season with .229 batting average with 7 home runs and 30 RBIs.

On May 9, 2010, Powell caught Dallas Braden's perfect game
Dallas Braden's perfect game
On May 9, 2010, Major League Baseball pitcher Dallas Braden pitched a perfect game. Braden, a member of the Oakland Athletics, pitched the game against the Tampa Bay Rays and retired all 27 batters. The game took place on Mother's Day in the United States and Braden's grandmother, Peggy Lindsey,...

.

External links

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