Early career Wooten was originally drafted and signed by the
Detroit Tigers in 1993 as a third baseman. He played a little over two years in the Tigers organization, but was released in midseason in 1995 after batting .129 in 20 games with Double-A
Jacksonville. He signed with the independent
Moose Jaw Diamond Dogs of the
Prairie League, where he hit .373 over the second half of 1995. After playing for Moose Jaw again in 1996, he was signed by the
Anaheim Angels for the 1997 season.
Anaheim Angels Climbing the ladder The Angels assigned Wooten to the Class-A
Cedar Rapids Kernels, where he began learning the catcher position. In 1998, with the
Lake Elsinore Storm, he was the club's starting first baseman, and over the next two seasons Wooten continued to play all three positions. In 2000, he batted .353 with the Triple-A
Edmonton Trappers, earning a late-season promotion to the major leagues. He made his major league debut on August 19 as the starting catcher against the
New York Yankees and was hitless in four at-bats. His first hit was a single to left field against
Kelvim Escobar of the
Toronto Blue Jays on August 30. He wound up playing in 7 games, getting five hits in nine
at bats.
Rookie season In 2001, Wooten spent his first full season in the major leagues with Anaheim (qualifying as a
rookie) after making the 25-man roster out of
spring training. He opened the campaign batting .385 (10-for-26), with three home runs and six runs batted in in April, leading all
American League rookies in home runs for the month. His first homer was hit off
Mark Mulder of the
Oakland Athletics on April 16. In June, he led Angels hitters with a .386 average (17-for-44) and was batting .328 (42-for-128) at the
All-Star break, second to
Seattle's
Ichiro Suzuki among AL rookies (based on 125
at bats). Wooten hit safely in 47 contests, including 17 multi-hit games. His season ended when doctors discovered torn cartilage in his left wrist in early September and he underwent
arthroscopic surgery. At the time, he was hitting .312 (69-for-221) with eight home runs and 32 runs batted in in 79 games and ranked second among
American League first-year players with a .466
slugging percentage. Nevertheless, he was selected for the
Baseball Digest and
Topps Major League Baseball rookie All-Star teams. At the time of the injury, his .312 average was second best among American League rookies and was tops on the Angels' club. He wound up starting the most games (27) at
designated hitter, but also played 25 games at catcher and 21 at first base.
2002 After starting the 2002 season in the minor leagues on a rehab assignment, Wooten came off the
disabled list in July 2002. He played in 49 of the team's last 76 games, batting .338 (26-for-77) from August through September, including three
doubles in a game to tie a team record. Overall, he finished with a .292 average in 49 games, mostly as a
DH or first baseman. In the 2002 postseason, Wooten was used as the club's DH against left-handed pitching,
platooning with
Brad Fullmer. In the
2002 American League Division Series against the
New York Yankees, Wooten started two of the four games at DH and
pinch-hit in a third. He had six hits in nine at-bats, including a game-tying
home run off
David Wells in the fifth inning of Game 4, which the Angels went on to win to finish off the series. In the
ALCS against the
Minnesota Twins, Wooten started one game and played in two others, going 2-for-8 with one RBI. In the
World Series against the
San Francisco Giants, who did not start any left-handers, he appeared in three games, going 1-for-2. Overall, he hit .474 (9-for-19) with one home run, three RBI and five runs scored in nine postseason games, third best among all hitters in the playoffs.
2003 In 2003, Wooten posted career highs in games (98), at bats (272),
runs (25) and
walks (24), hitting .243 with seven home runs and 32 RBI. Anaheim
pitchers posted a 3.81
ERA with him behind the
plate. After a knee injury, Wooten was used mainly as a
pinch hitter. His .350 pinch-average (7-for-20) tied for second in the American League.
Philadelphia Phillies Wooten became a free agent after the 2003 season, and signed with the
Philadelphia Phillies before the 2004 season. He was used mostly as a pinch hitter and backup to starting first baseman
Jim Thome. However, he batted just .184 and was sent to the minor leagues in July, returning when the rosters expanded in September. He became a free agent again after the season.
Boston Red Sox The
Boston Red Sox signed Wooten to a minor league contract before the 2005 season and assigned him to the
Pawtucket Red Sox. On May 19, 2005, the Red Sox placed reserve catcher
Doug Mirabelli on the 15-day DL prior to the
interleague series opener with the
Atlanta Braves, and the Red Sox purchased the contract of Wooten to replace him. At this time, Wooten had seven home runs and 27 RBI in 39 games for Pawtucket and was hitting .225 (34-for-151) when he got the call. He appeared in just one game, replacing
Jason Varitek in the late innings of a blowout against the
Toronto Blue Jays on May 26, before returning to the minor leagues for the rest of the season. It turned out to be his last major league appearance.
Later career He signed a minor league contract with the
Minnesota Twins at the beginning of the 2006 season and played for their Triple-A affiliate, the
Rochester Red Wings, batting .253. He then signed with the
San Diego Padres in 2007, where he began the year with the
San Antonio Missions, their Double-A affiliate. He was released on July 17, then played in three games with the non-affiliated
St. Paul Saints before the
New York Mets bought out his contract. He was released by the Mets on May 3, 2008, and quickly re-signed with the Padres. He became a free agent at the end of the season, but went unsigned to end his playing career. == Post-playing career ==