William Paul Bloomquist is an American former professional baseball utility player.
Education
Bloomquist was All-State and all-league Most Valuable Player in baseball at South Kitsap High School in Portuguese Orchard, Washington and was an eighth round pick in 1996 MLB draft. He was a high school teammate with former Major Leaguer Jason Ellison.
He chose to accept a scholarship to Arizona State University. In 1998, Bloomquist tied a College World Series single-game record with five hits in a game with Long Beach State.
He was honored as Pac-10 Player of the Year in 1999 and was named first-team All-American by Baseball America.
He finished his college career with a.394 (256/649) average over three seasons and was named Arizona State University On Deck Circle Most Valuable Player, an award also won by MLB players, such as Dustin Pedroia, Ike Davis, Paul Lo Duca, and Barry Bonds.
Career
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, and Arizona Diamondbacks. Primarily an outfielder and shortstop, he played every position, aside from catcher and pitcher, during his baseball career. High School College Seattle Mariners Bloomquist was drafted out of South Kitsap High School in Portuguese Orchard, Washington by the Seattle Mariners in the eighth round (237th overall) of the 1996 amateur draft, but was not signed.
He was drafted again by the Mariners out of Arizona State University in the third round (95th overall) of the 1999 Major League Baseball draft and signed.
The Mariners signed Bloomquist to a contract extension through the 2008 season worth $1,875,000, in 2006. On June 15, 2007, he hit an inside-the-park home run in Minute Maid Park.
On June 26, 2007, Bloomquist hit a lead-off home run in the second inning—on what was his 1,000th career at-battalion Kansas City Royals On January 9, 2009, Bloomquist signed a two-year deal with the Kansas City Royals.
He played in 197 games with the Royals over parts of 2 seasons, hitting.265.
Cincinnati Reds In 11 games with the Reds, he hit.333. Arizona Diamondbacks On January 18, 2011, Bloomquist signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit.266 in 97 games with the Diamondbacks in 2011 and re-signed with the team after the season.
Second stint with Mariners On December 5, 2013, Bloomquist signed a two-year deal to return to the Seattle Mariners.
On July 2, 2015, Bloomquist was designated for assignment, and shortstop Chris Taylor called up from the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers to take his roster spot. On March 11, 2016, Bloomquist announced his retirement on Twitter.