Josh Willingham

Josh Willingham is a native of Florence, Alabama and was a two-time All-American and three-year letterman at the University of North Alabama. Willingham was not a highly touted first-round pick out of UNA. In fact, in 2000 he was a 17th round pick of the Miami Marlins and had to earn his reputation through hard work, determination, and consistency. However, it did not take him long to get to the big leagues in comparison to most. After just four years in the minors he was called up to the show and he's been a staple in both the National League and American League ever since. Since 2004 he has seen time with the Florida Marlins, Washington Nationals, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals. In 2006 he posted career numbers with a .277 average, 26 homeruns and 74 RBI in route to finishing ninth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting while playing for the Florida Marlins. He topped that performance in 2012 when he launched 35 homeruns and drove in 110 runs with the Minnesota Twins, which earned him a Silver Slugger Award. In 2014 he was one of the key members of the Royals team that made a run to the World Series.