Illini Legends, lists & lore

Scott Spiezio

Former Illinois baseball star Scott Spiezio celebrates his 37th birthday Monday. The son of former big league player Ed Spiezio played for the Orange & Blue from 1991 to '93, compiling a .303 career average. His 48 career collegiate home runs included a freshman-record 13 in 1991, 19 in 1992 and 16 in 1993. Spiezio broke into the major leagues in 1996 with the Oakland Athletics. In 12 MLB seasons with Oakland, Anaheim, Seattle and St. Louis, he played in 1,273 games, compiling 996 hits, 225 doubles, 27 triples, 119 home runs and 549 RBI. His career batting average was .255. Spiezio's major league career ended April 12, 2008, when the Atlanta Braves released him from his minor league contract. Spiezio's six best seasons as a big leaguer:

Season (Team) G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI Avg

2002 (Angels*) 153 491 80 140 34 2 12 82 .285

2006 (Cardinals*) 119 276 44 75 15 4 13 52 .272

2001 (Angels) 139 457 57 124 29 4 13 54 .271

2003 (Angels) 158 521 69 138 36 7 16 83 .265

1998 (A's) 114 406 54 105 19 1 9 50 .259

2000 (Angels) 123 297 47 72 11 2 17 49 .242

* – world champions

Illini birthdays this week

Today Chris Siambekos, football (42)

Monday Glenn Glauser, football (68)

Tuesday Sherman Armstrong, track & field (31)

Wednesday Cary Franklin, tennis (32)

Thursday Fred Newport, diving coach (60)

Friday Harv Schmidt, basketball (74)

Saturday Tommy O'Connell, football (79)

Next Sunday: Illinois' best football names

By Mike Pearson, author of 'Illini Legends, Lists & Lore' and assistant athletic director at Miami (Ohio)