# Scott Spiezio
**Scott Spiezio** (Scott Edward Spiezio, born 1972 in [Joliet, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/joliet-illinois)) is an American former professional baseball player who spent 12 seasons in [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball) as a switch-hitting utility infielder and outfielder with the [Oakland Athletics](https://www.edgepedia.org/oakland-athletics), Anaheim Angels, Seattle Mariners, and St. Louis Cardinals, winning World Series titles with the Angels in 2002 and the Cardinals in 2006.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml) • [2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) He is best known for the three-run home run that ignited the Angels' comeback in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series, and for a 19-RBI postseason in 2002 that tied the major league record.[2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1972, Joliet, Illinois; son of major league infielder Ed Spiezio[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml) |
| MLB career | 1996–2007; Oakland, Anaheim, Seattle, St. Louis; 1,274 games[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml) |
| Career batting | .255 average, 996 hits, 119 home runs, 549 RBI, .747 OPS[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml) |
| Signature moment | Three-run home run in Game 6 of the 2002 World Series off Felix Rodriguez, starting a comeback from a 5-0 deficit[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) |
| 2002 postseason | 19 RBI, tying the all-time postseason record set by Sandy Alomar in 1997[2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) |
| Championships | Two World Series titles: Angels (2002), Cardinals (2006)[2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) |
| College | University of Illinois career home run record holder (48); 1993 All-American[2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) |
## Early life and college
Spiezio grew up around baseball as the son of Ed Spiezio, who played nine major league seasons from 1964 to 1972 with the [St. Louis Cardinals](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-louis-cardinals), San Diego Padres, and [Chicago White Sox](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-white-sox).[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) He graduated from Morris High School in Illinois in 1990, where he was league MVP and an All-State selection.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
At the University of Illinois, where he majored in finance, Spiezio was named All-Big Ten in 1992 and 1993 and earned All-American honors in 1993 under coach Itch Jones.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) • [2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) His 48 career home runs remain the Illinois program record.[2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) The Oakland Athletics drafted him in the sixth round, 181st overall, of the 1993 MLB June Amateur Draft following his junior season.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) • [2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154)
## Oakland and Anaheim
Spiezio made his major league debut on September 14, 1996, and hit .310 with two home runs and eight RBI in nine games that September.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) He opened 1997 as Oakland's starting second baseman despite having played only one professional game at the position, and led [American League](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league) second basemen with a .990 fielding percentage while hitting 14 home runs.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) He remained with Oakland through 1999, hitting two grand slams in 1998 and posting an 18-game hitting streak that season.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
With Anaheim from 2000 onward, he set a career high with 17 home runs in 2000 and batted .271 with 13 home runs in 2001.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) His 2002 regular season included 82 RBI, 34 doubles, and a .368 average against left-handers, second best in the American League.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
**The 2002 postseason.** Spiezio hit .327 with three home runs and 19 RBI across the Angels' playoff run, tying the all-time single-postseason RBI record set by Cleveland's Sandy Alomar in 1997.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) • [2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) In Game 6 of the [World Series](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-series), with the Angels trailing the [San Francisco Giants](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-giants) 5-0 and eight outs from elimination, he hit a three-run home run to right field off Felix Rodriguez on an eight-pitch at-bat in the seventh inning. The Angels won 6-5 and took the title the next night; the comeback from five runs down in a potential Series-deciding game was the largest ever.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-07-sp-plaschke7-story.html) The bat from that home run was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
## Seattle and St. Louis
Spiezio signed with Seattle before 2004 and struggled, batting .215 with 10 home runs that season.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) In 2005, injuries limited him to 29 games, and the Mariners released him in August after he had hit .064 in 47 at-bats.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-07-sp-plaschke7-story.html)
The Cardinals signed him, and in 2006 he revived his career in a part-time role with an .862 OPS, batting .271 in 61 starts and playing five positions: first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and left field.[5](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/world-series-winners-biggest-offseason-moves.html) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) He led the team with eight pinch-hit RBIs, including a pinch-hit, bases-loaded triple with two outs in the eighth inning on September 30 against [Milwaukee](https://www.edgepedia.org/milwaukee), the only such triple in MLB that season.[6](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/2006-11-17_v41_056.pdf) • [3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) In the postseason he became just the third player since 1950 to collect RBI-triples in back-to-back games, after [George Brett](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-brett) in the 1977 ALCS and Devon White in the 1993 World Series, and the Cardinals won the World Series.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) That November he and St. Louis agreed to a $4.5 million, two-year contract.[6](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/2006-11-17_v41_056.pdf)
His 2006 season unfolded while he sought treatment for substance abuse, a difficulty the Cardinals' own franchise timeline records alongside the team's championship run.[7](https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/history/timeline) He played his final major league game on September 30, 2007, homering in his last at-bat against Pittsburgh, and appeared in one game as a pitcher that season, throwing a scoreless inning.[1](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml) • [2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154)
## Father-son parallel
Scott and Ed Spiezio form one of baseball's notable two-generation families. Ed won World Series titles with the 1964 and 1967 Cardinals; Scott won with the 2002 Angels and 2006 Cardinals, making the pair the first father-son duo to each win two World Series, including at least one with the Cardinals organization.[8](https://www.wjol.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Joliet-Area-Sports-Hall-of-Fame-Press-Release-2021.pdf) They are also the only father-son tandem to homer as Cardinals.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) Scott became the 11th player to appear in a World Series after a father who played for a World Series champion.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
## Beyond baseball
Spiezio's off-field profile peaked with the 2002 title: he made an acting debut in an episode of "She Spies," read a Top 10 List on the David Letterman Show, appeared on [Jay Leno](https://www.edgepedia.org/jay-leno)'s The Tonight Show, and performed with an all-star band on the Best Damn Sports Show.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) He formerly sang in the garage band SandFrog.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596) During the Cardinals' 2006 postseason, his dyed "Scott Spot" chin hairs became a signature mark for St. Louis fans.[3](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
He was inducted into the Joliet Area Sports Hall of Fame in 2021 and the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2025.[8](https://www.wjol.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Joliet-Area-Sports-Hall-of-Fame-Press-Release-2021.pdf) • [2](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154) In 2026 he published a memoir, *The Hardest Comeback*, discussing his career and his recovery from a 13-year battle with substance abuse.[9](https://www.mlb.com/mariners/video/scott-spiezio-on-his-new-book-the-hardest-comeback)
## References
1. [Scott Spiezio Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More, Baseball-Reference](https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spiezsc01.shtml)
2. [Scott Spiezio, Hall of Fame, University of Illinois Athletics](https://fightingillini.com/honors/hall-of-fame/scott-spiezio/154)
3. [Scott Spiezio player page, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/scott-spiezio-122596)
4. [It's Not His Fall, Los Angeles Times, October 7, 2005](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-oct-07-sp-plaschke7-story.html)
5. [World Series winners biggest offseason moves, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/amp/news/world-series-winners-biggest-offseason-moves.html)
6. [Scott Spiezio and the St. Louis Cardinals agree to $4.5 million, two-year contract, The Observer, November 17, 2006](https://archives.nd.edu/observer/2006-11-17_v41_056.pdf)
7. [Franchise Timeline, St. Louis Cardinals, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/cardinals/history/timeline)
8. [Joliet Area Sports Hall of Fame announces fourteenth class, press release, July 15, 2021](https://www.wjol.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Joliet-Area-Sports-Hall-of-Fame-Press-Release-2021.pdf)
9. [Scott Spiezio on his new book 'The Hardest Comeback', MLB.com video](https://www.mlb.com/mariners/video/scott-spiezio-on-his-new-book-the-hardest-comeback)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › First basemen*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license