Ed Sprague

Ed Sprague was a third baseman who played for the USA at the 1988 Olympic demonstration baseball tournament. In that year he also won a silver medal at the Baseball World Cup. Sprague played in college at Stanford, helping them win the College World Series in 1987-88, and was then drafted in by Toronto Blue Jays in the first round (25th pick) of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft.

Sprague played for the Blue Jays from 1991-98 in the majors. He played in the bigs through 2001, and bounced around quite a bit in his last three years, playing with the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and the Seattle Mariners. While with the Blue Jays he helped them win the World Series in 1992-93. Sprague played in the 1999 All-Star Game. He finished his career with a batting average of .247, with 152 home runs, and 558 RBIs.

Sprague later coached college baseball with the University of the Pacific from 2004-15. He then became a special assistant to the Athletics. Sprague married Kristen Babb-Sprague, who won a gold medal in synchronized swimming at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Sprague’s father, Ed Sprague, Sr., was a pitcher in the majors from 1968-76.