Sidney Ponson

[William Malone]

Sidney Alson Ponson was born on November 2, 1976 in Aruba.

The Baltimore Orioles signed him as an amateur free agent in 1993. He made his Major League debut for them in 1998, finishing fifth place in the AL Rookie of the Year voting that season. Ponson was traded to the San Francisco Giants at the deadline in 2003, and then re-signed with the Orioles the following off-season. They released him after he was arrested for DWI on August 25, 2005. It was his third arrest in a nine month span. He finished his Orioles career with a 4.86 ERA, going 73-85 in 212 starts.

Ponson pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees in 2006, posting a 6.25 ERA over 16 starts and three relief appearances.

The Minnesota Twins signed him to a minor league contract in 2007. He won a spot in their Opening Day rotation, but the leash was going to be short. Minnesota had an impressive core of pitching at the Triple-A level. Matt Garza, Glen Perkins and Kevin Slowey were all ranked in the Baseball America preseason top 100. Scott Baker was there too. Garza, Perkins and Baker were all on the 40-man roster as well.

With the pressure to perform squarely on his shoulders, Ponson allowed eight runs against the Yankees in his Twins debut. He wound up making seven starts for Minnesota, going 2-5 with a 6.93 ERA. Both wins came against a 96 loss Tampa Bay Devil Rays squad.

Ponson recorded a 5.74 ERA in 33 starts for the Yankees, Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals between the 2008 and 2009 seasons. He tossed a gem for Team Netherlands against the Dominican Republic in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, preventing the tournament's betting favorites from even advancing past pool play. 

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