{{short description|American baseball player (1958–1991)}} {{for|his son and basketball player|Alan Wiggins Jr.}} {{good article}} {{Use American English|date=January 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2023}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Alan Wiggins |position= Second baseman / Outfielder |image=File:Alan Wiggins with San Diego Padres in 1983.jpg |caption=Wiggins with the San Diego Padres in 1983 |alt=A baseball player holding a baseball bat |birth_date={{Birth date|1958|2|17}} |birth_place=Los Angeles, California, U.S. |death_date={{death date and age|1991|1|6|1958|2|17}} |death_place=Los Angeles, California, U.S. |bats=Switch |throws=Right |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 4 |debutyear=1981 |debutteam=San Diego Padres |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=August 28 |finalyear=1987 |finalteam=Baltimore Orioles |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat2label=Home runs |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat4label=Stolen bases |stat1value=.259 |stat2value=5 |stat3value=118 |stat4value=242 |teams= *San Diego Padres ({{mlby|1981}}–{{mlby|1985}}) *Baltimore Orioles ({{mlby|1985}}–{{mlby|1987}}) |highlights= }} '''Alan Anthony Wiggins''' (February 17, 1958 – January 6, 1991) was an American professional baseball player. He was a second baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Baltimore Orioles between 1981 and 1987. A speedy leadoff hitter, Wiggins had his best season with the pennant-winning Padres in 1984. He batted one slot ahead of Tony Gwynn in the lineup that year, and the pair's offensive production helped the Padres win the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and advance to the World Series.
Wiggins grew up in California and attended Pasadena City College before being drafted by the California Angels in 1977. He played in the minor league systems of the Angels and the Los Angeles Dodgers, setting a professional baseball single-season record with 120 stolen bases in 1980. He made his major league debut with the San Diego Padres in 1981, and he became a regular player within two years. In 1983 he set the Padres' single-season stolen base record, a mark that he extended the following season. His 1984 stolen base total (70) is still a team record {{as of|2026|alt=as of the start of the 2026 season}}.
During his major league career, Wiggins struggled with drug addiction, which resulted in several arrests and suspensions from baseball. His drug problems prompted a 1985 trade from San Diego to Baltimore, where Wiggins spent three seasons. After leaving baseball, he was diagnosed with AIDS, and he was the first MLB player known to die of the disease. Long after his death, two of his children, Candice and Alan Jr., became professional basketball players.
==Early life== Wiggins was born in Los Angeles, California,<ref name=Necrology/> and his mother, Karla Wiggins, raised him as a single mother. As a child, he played baseball with his friends at a park across from the Rose Bowl, and he was a fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and their base-stealing shortstop, Maury Wills.<ref name=Eagle>{{cite news|title=Wiggins set record with 120 steals|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19801019&id=rt0hAAAAIBAJ&pg=4906,6195896&hl=en|work=Reading Eagle|agency=Associated Press|page=100|date=October 19, 1980}}</ref><ref name=Nightengale/> Wiggins graduated from John Muir High School in Pasadena, California,{{efn|At least two websites, Baseball-Reference.com and TheBaseballCube.com, list his high school as Hialeah High School in Hialeah, Florida.<ref name=BR/><ref name=Cube>{{cite web|title=Alan Wiggins |url=http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=Alan-Wiggins |website=The Baseball Cube |access-date=August 19, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930213746/http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=Alan-Wiggins |archive-date=September 30, 2015 }}</ref>}} which was also the alma mater of Dodgers star Jackie Robinson. Gib Bodet, a scout for the Montreal Expos, noticed Wiggins in high school. Wiggins was {{convert|6|ft|2|in|cm}} tall, which was taller than a typical infielder. He was only an average hitter and fielder, but his speed stood out to Bodet.<ref name="BodetDragseth2013"/>
The California Angels selected Wiggins as the eighth overall pick of the January 1977 MLB amateur draft.<ref name="PSHOF">{{cite web|title=Alan Wiggins|url=http://www.pasadenasportshalloffame.org/alan-wiggins.html|publisher=Pasadena Sports Hall of Fame|access-date=January 29, 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130145449/http://www.pasadenasportshalloffame.org/alan-wiggins.html|archive-date=January 30, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1977 Wiggins played junior college baseball at Pasadena City College, where he was a teammate of future major leaguers Matt Young and Rod Booker.<ref name=PCC>{{cite web|title=Former PCC baseball coach Lani Exton passes away at 76|url=http://www.pasadena.edu/athletics/news/newsitem.cfm?ID=4940|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150413020843/http://www.pasadena.edu/athletics/news/newsitem.cfm?ID=4940|archive-date=April 13, 2015|publisher=Pasadena City College|date=April 23, 2013|access-date=February 4, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bodet, who had moved to the Angels scouting staff just before the draft, joined other Angels staff members and worked out with Wiggins after the team selected him. Angels coach Bob Clear told Wiggins that his excellent speed would help him to a high batting average even if his hitting skills were not that strong: "If you can hit .200, you can run the other eighty points. And if you can hit .280, you can lead off for anybody."<ref name="BodetDragseth2013"/> Wiggins signed with the Angels in May for $2,500 after what Bodet described as "a tough negotiation".<ref name="BodetDragseth2013">{{cite book|last1=Bodet|first1=Gib|last2=Dragseth|first2=P.J.|title=Gib Bodet, Major League Scout: Twelve Thousand Baseball Games and Six Million Miles|date=December 20, 2013|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-7240-6|pages=58–62|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aQNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA59}}</ref><ref name=Halos>{{cite news|title=Halos shine again|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3064603/progress_bulletin/|work=Progress Bulletin|date=May 22, 1977|agency=Associated Press|page=25|via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref> According to Bodet, Wiggins's mother "did not trust easily".<ref name=BodetDragseth2013/>
==Baseball career==
===Early career=== Wiggins played minor league baseball in 1977 for the Angels rookie-league affiliate in Idaho Falls, where he hit .271 and had 25 stolen bases in 63 games. In 1978, with the Class{{nbsp}}A Quad Cities Angels, Wiggins stole 26 bases in 49 games, but his batting average fell to .201.<ref name=BRMinors/> Following a mid-season fight with one of his coaches, he was released by the Angels organization in June 1978.{{efn|A ''Los Angeles Times'' article suggests that the fight and Wiggins's release occurred in 1977, but Baseball-Reference.com shows that Wiggins played with the Angels organization for part of 1978 and that he was released by the organization on June 10, 1978.<ref name=Nightengale/><ref name=BR/>}} Wiggins feared that his career was near its end, but he reached out to Los Angeles Dodgers scout Gail Henley. After a workout in front of the Dodgers and manager Tommy Lasorda, Wiggins signed with the team before the 1979 season, receiving an invitation to spring training and then being assigned to the team's Class{{nbsp}}A affiliate, the Clinton Dodgers.<ref name=Eagle/>
In 95 games for Clinton, Wiggins hit .257, stole 43 bases, and converted to a shortstop after spending the previous two seasons as a second baseman. He also appeared in the outfield and at all three of the other infield positions for Clinton.<ref name=BRMinors>{{cite web|title=Alan Wiggins Minor League Statistics & History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=wiggin001ala|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=April 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216201142/https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=wiggin001ala|archive-date=December 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Playing with the Class{{nbsp}}A Lodi Dodgers of the California League in 1980, Wiggins batted .288 and scored 108 runs while stealing 120 bases in just 135 games.<ref name=murray_11051980>{{cite news|last=Murray|first=Vince|title=Roadrunner League registration Nov. 15|date=November 5, 1980|newspaper=Star-Banner|page=10B|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_KckAAAAIBAJ&pg=6616%2C2764654}}</ref> He established a professional baseball single-season steals record,{{efn|Jeff Stone broke the record with 123 steals in 1981.<ref name=Records>{{cite news|title=Stolen base records may fall|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19830719&id=6ZozAAAAIBAJ&pg=3241,2134071&hl=en|page=10|work=Lodi News-Sentinel|date=July 19, 1983}}</ref>}} surpassing the previous minor league mark of 116 set by Allan Lewis in 1966,<ref name=murray_11051980/><ref>{{cite news|last=Cooper |first=J. J. |title=Reds' Billy Hamilton gives minors first record chase in decades |date=June 11, 2012 |work=BaseballAmerica.net |url= http://baseballamerica.net/minors/reds-billy-hamilton-gives-minors-first-record-chase-in-decades/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925224010/http://baseballamerica.net/minors/reds-billy-hamilton-gives-minors-first-record-chase-in-decades/ |archive-date=September 25, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> as well as Lou Brock's major league record of 118 in 1974.<ref name=siebert_06301982>{{cite news|last=Sibert|first=Tony|title=Dodger castoff was a steal for Padres|date=June 30, 1982|newspaper=The San Bernardino Sun|page=C-3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3147004/|via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Stone attains record|date=August 31, 1981|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|agency=Associated Press|page=15|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gqlAAAAAIBAJ&pg=5197%2C7338333}}</ref>
After the 1980 season, Wiggins's fourth year in the minor leagues, he was eligible to be selected by other teams in that year's Rule 5 draft. The Rule 5 draft is a procedure that stops teams from hoarding young players in the minor leagues when those players might be able to make it to the major leagues with other organizations. A team can protect a player from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to its major league roster.<ref name="Zimniuch">{{cite book|last1=Zimniuch|first1=Fran|title=Going, Going, Gone!: The Art of the Trade in Major League Baseball|date=2008|publisher=Taylor Trade Publishing|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=978-1-58979-334-7|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaChAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|language=en}}</ref> The Dodgers decided not to protect Wiggins, and since he had once caught the eye of San Diego Padres general manager Jack McKeon, the Padres selected him in the draft.<ref name=Nightengale/><ref name=Berkow/> Padres officials later said that they knew Wiggins had been arrested for possession of marijuana while with the Dodgers. "It was known in our organization that he had a problem in the Dodger organization. They didn't want a part of it," Padres manager Dick Williams said.<ref name=Nightengale/>
===San Diego Padres=== After having spent most of his minor league career as an infielder, he was used almost exclusively as an outfielder with the Hawaii Islanders of the Pacific Coast League in 1981.<ref name=BRMinors/> He batted .302 with 73 steals,<ref name=siebert_06301982/> and received a September call-up to the major leagues as an outfielder. In his first stint with the Padres, he got five hits in 14 at bats.<ref name=BR/> Wiggins began the following season with the Islanders,<ref name=BRMinors/> but he was called up again by the Padres in early May to replace injured outfielder Gene Richards.<ref name=ap_07221982>{{cite news|title=Police arrest Padres' Wiggins|date=July 22, 1982|newspaper=Boca Raton News|agency=Associated Press|page=2B|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Fh9UAAAAIBAJ&pg=3709%2C5873156}}</ref> Wiggins was leading San Diego with 29 stolen bases in 59 games when he was arrested for possession of cocaine in July.<ref name=ap_07221982/> He was issued a 30-day suspension from baseball, and spent a month in a substance abuse treatment facility.<ref name=Break>{{cite news|title=Sports people; break for Wiggins|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/01/sports/sports-people-break-for-wiggins.html|work=The New York Times|date=May 1, 1985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222162658/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/01/sports/sports-people-break-for-wiggins.html|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The Padres, who were one of the first sports teams to offer an employee assistance program to players, paid for all of his treatment,<ref>{{cite news|title=Alan Wiggins, once called 'the fastest man on two...|date=July 22, 1982|work=UPI.com|url=http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/22/Alan-Wiggins-once-called-the-fastest-man-on-two/8955396158400/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903035040/http://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/07/22/Alan-Wiggins-once-called-the-fastest-man-on-two/8955396158400/|archive-date=September 3, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and he returned to the team in September.<ref name=SBC>{{cite news|last1=West|first1=Vic|title=Padres defeat Dodgers in 10 innings, 2–1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3098053/the_san_bernardino_county_sun/|work=San Bernardino County Sun|date=September 23, 1982|via=Newspapers.com}}{{open access}}</ref> By 1983 Wiggins had become a regular in the Padres lineup, batting in the leadoff spot and playing in the outfield for most of the season.<ref name=BR>{{cite web|title=Alan Wiggins Statistics and History|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wiggial01.shtml|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=April 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114184026/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/w/wiggial01.shtml|archive-date=January 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Nightengale/><ref name=Top10>{{cite web|title=San Diego Padres Top 10 Batting Leaders|work=Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/leaders_bat.shtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223042744/https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/SDP/leaders_bat.shtml|archive-date=December 23, 2017|access-date=September 2, 2015}}</ref> He was exceptional on defense in left field, hit .276 and stole 66 bases.<ref name=maisel_04021984>{{cite magazine|last=Maisel |first=Ivan |title=San Diego |date=April 2, 1984 |magazine=Sports Illustrated |url=https://www.si.com/vault/1984/04/02/619773/san-diego|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924180133/http://www.si.com/vault/1984/04/02/619773/san-diego |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was moved to first base for the last 45 games of the year after Steve Garvey suffered a broken thumb.<ref name=Post32/> Wiggins's stolen base total broke the single-season team record of 61 set by Richards in 1980.<ref name=Nightengale/><ref name=Top10/> Wiggins was named the team's most valuable player that season.<ref name=Nightengale/>
Wiggins was moved to second base in 1984, making room for rookie Carmelo Martínez in the outfield.<ref name="EI">{{cite news|last1=Proctor|first1=Darrell|title=Streaking Padres|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=950&dat=19840724&id=FK4zAAAAIBAJ&pg=6638,2294889&hl=en|page=5-C|work=Evening Independent|date=July 24, 1984}}</ref> Until that season, Martínez had been a first baseman, but the Padres already had a strong player there with Garvey, and they wanted to get Martínez into the lineup to improve their outfield's home run production.<ref name="maisel_04021984" /><ref name="Martinez">{{cite news|last1=Distel|first1=Dave|title=Martinez was left in bad position|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-07-05-sp-20312-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 5, 1986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306220119/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-07-05/sports/sp-20312_1_succession|archive-date=March 6, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Wiggins retained the leadoff spot in the lineup, hitting ahead of Tony Gwynn.<ref name=Gwynn>{{cite news|last1=Distel|first1=Dave|title=Padres' Gwynn is a big hit: National League batting champion was busy in winter|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-03-25-sp-21428-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 25, 1985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306173218/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-03-25/sports/sp-21428_1_national-league-batting-champion|archive-date=March 6, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On May 17, Wiggins became the fifth 20th-century MLB player to steal five bases in one game, tying a National League (NL) record.<ref name=PresCo>{{cite news|last1=Tully|first1=Mike|title=Wiggins steals his way into record books, paces Padres|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=892&dat=19840518&id=b7tLAAAAIBAJ&pg=7064,3747765&hl=en|work=The Courier|page=14A|date=May 18, 1984}}</ref> During an August game, Wiggins unwittingly became a party to a series of fights between the Padres and Atlanta Braves when he was hit with the game's first pitch by Braves pitcher Pascual Pérez. The teams retaliated against each other throughout the game with brushback pitches and beanballs, and the resulting brawls led to thirteen ejections and even the arrests of five fans who became involved in the fighting.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Foster|first1=Jason|title=31 years ago today, the Braves and Padres had the greatest brawl ever|url=http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2015-08-12/braves-padres-fight-brawl-august-12-1984-pascual-perez-alan-wiggins|work=Sporting News|date=August 12, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216201110/http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/news/braves-padres-fight-brawl-august-12-1984-pascual-perez-alan-wiggins/17ozuqr13fhut1v9j1fsnj47vz|archive-date=December 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Dick Williams All Star Parade 2008.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Man wearing gray jacket, tie, and sunglasses with his left arm raised|Manager Dick Williams said that Wiggins was the league's most valuable player in 1984.]] On the season, Wiggins scored 106 runs, stole 70 bases and led the league with 391 putouts.<ref name="McKenna">{{cite book|last1=McKenna|first1=Brian|title=Early Exits: The Premature Endings of Baseball Careers|date=2007|location=Lanham, Maryland|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-5858-9|page=253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UyUNlDsfSaYC&pg=PA253|language=en}}</ref> His stolen bases total stands as a Padres single-season record {{as of|2023|alt=as of the end of the 2023 season}}.<ref name=MLBseason>{{cite web|title=All-Time Padres Hitting Stats By Season|url=https://www.mlb.com/padres/stats/stolen-bases/all-time-by-season|work=MLB.com|access-date=June 22, 2024}}</ref> Benefitting from the higher number of fastballs opposing pitchers threw in response to Wiggins's speed,<ref name=will>{{cite book|last=Will|first=George F.|author-link=George Will|title=Men at Work: The Craft of Baseball|year=2010|location=New York|publisher=HarperCollins|pages=178–180|isbn=978-0-06-199981-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUbjngR5YqIC&pg=PA179}}</ref> Gwynn batted above .400 when his speedy teammate was on base, and hit .351 overall for the first of his eight career batting titles.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hewitt |first=Brian |title=Padres 1989: 84' revisited?: Memories: World Series was a disaster, but it was fun getting there |date=March 31, 1989 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-03-31-sp-505-story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127164334/http://articles.latimes.com/print/1989-03-31/sports/sp-505_1_world-series |url-status=live |archive-date=January 27, 2013 }}</ref><ref name=center_84>{{cite news|last=Center |first=Bill |title=The greatest Padre: Career timeline: '84 |date=October 7, 2001 |newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune |url= http://www.utsandiego.com/sports/padres/gwynn/timeline84.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408213106/http://www.utsandiego.com/sports/padres/gwynn/timeline84.html |archive-date=April 8, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The duo was one of the biggest reasons behind San Diego's success.<ref>{{cite news|last=Bloom|first=Barry|title=Lineup experiment doesn't faze Gwynn|date=March 16, 1985|newspaper=Evening Tribune|page=B-1|quote=And perhaps that one-two punch was the biggest reason why the club won its first NL title.}}</ref> The team could score quickly with Wiggins getting on first, stealing second, and scoring on a hit by Gwynn.<ref name=chass_08251985>{{cite news|last=Chass |first=Murray |title=Baseball; Padres' offense is weakened by the departure of Wiggins|date=August 25, 1985 |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/25/sports/baseball-padres-offense-is-weakened-by-the-departure-of-wiggins.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151209102848/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/25/sports/baseball-padres-offense-is-weakened-by-the-departure-of-wiggins.html |archive-date=December 9, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wiggins batted .316 in the 1984 NLCS against the Chicago Cubs, going two-for-three with two runs scored in the fifth and deciding game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN198410070.shtml|title=1984 National League Championship Series, Game 5|work=Baseball-Reference.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216091215/https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SDN/SDN198410070.shtml|archive-date=December 16, 2017|access-date=January 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In the 1984 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, which the Padres lost in five games, Wiggins batted .364 and scored twice. His eight hits were the most of any Padres player in the series.<ref name=WS84>{{cite web|title=1984 World Series|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1984_WS.shtml|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=June 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216091408/https://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1984_WS.shtml|archive-date=December 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> According to manager Dick Williams, Wiggins was "absolutely the most valuable player in the National League in 1984".<ref name=Weyler/> "Alan Wiggins' role in bringing San Diego the 1984 National League championship wasn't put into proper perspective until the Padres tried to defend their title without him," sportswriter Phil Collier later wrote.<ref name="Guide86">{{cite book|title=Official Baseball Guide: 1986 Edition|date=1986|publisher=Sporting News|isbn=978-0-89204-209-8|page=151|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fM-wGMLyhx4C|language=en}}</ref>
Before the 1985 season, the Padres signed Wiggins to a four-year contract extension worth nearly $3{{nbsp}}million. His agent described him as one of the highest-paid NL second basemen.<ref name=Contract>{{cite news|last1=Appleman|first1=Marc|title=Padres' Wiggins signs for four years|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-02-12-sp-3933-story.html|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 20, 2015|date=February 12, 1985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307160256/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-02-12/sports/sp-3933_1_wiggins-signs|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Wiggins missed the last two weeks of spring training after injuring his knee during a double-play attempt on defense when a baserunner slid into him. He was unavailable for the start of the season, but returned to the lineup after being out for five games.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cobbs |first=Chris |title=He's in the lineup, but not on basepaths: Batting slump has robbed Alan Wiggins of his chances to steal |date=April 23, 1985 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-04-23-sp-11587-story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151024020616/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-04-23/sports/sp-11587_1_batting-slump |archive-date=October 24, 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Wiggins was batting .054 and was without a stolen base two weeks into the season when he was suspended by the Padres following a relapse into cocaine dependency.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/vault/1985/05/20/638158/mlb|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924180458/http://www.si.com/vault/1985/05/20/638158/mlb |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 24, 2015 |title=The commissioner gets tough |author=Jim Kaplan, Ivan Maisel |magazine=Sports Illustrated |date=May 20, 1985 }}</ref> After Wiggins completed a drug rehabilitation program, the Padres did not want to reactivate him, but baseball's joint review board cleared him to return to play. In June, Donald Fehr of the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced that he intended to file a grievance against the Padres if they did not promptly activate Wiggins. The Padres sought to trade Wiggins and the Baltimore Orioles showed interest, but as the trade deadline approached, the Orioles were reportedly only offering two minor league players in exchange for him.<ref name=Problem>{{cite news|title=Wiggins poses problem|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/12/sports/wiggins-poses-problem.html|date=June 12, 1985|work=The New York Times|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216034851/http://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/12/sports/wiggins-poses-problem.html|archive-date=December 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
On June 27, 1985, Wiggins was traded to the Orioles for pitchers Roy Lee Jackson and Richard Caldwell.<ref name="Post32">{{cite news|title=Ex-Oriole Alan Wiggins dead at 32|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1991/01/08/ex-oriole-alan-wiggins-dead-at-32/9c734889-d3ee-457b-8700-bf38936bb8cf/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 8, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114021513/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1991/01/08/ex-oriole-alan-wiggins-dead-at-32/9c734889-d3ee-457b-8700-bf38936bb8cf/|archive-date=January 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Padres owner Joan Kroc said that the team had warned Wiggins that he would not remain with the team if he had further problems with drugs. She stated that it would have been self-serving to keep Wiggins after his relapse when he could instead pursue a fresh start with another team.<ref name=Questions/> Nonetheless, Gwynn felt that Wiggins had been shortchanged by the Padres.<ref name=Questions>{{cite news|last1=Gildea|first1=William|title=Questions remain in Alan Wiggins saga: No one knows how much he can contribute to Oriole pennant hopes|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-07-01-sp-10107-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=July 1, 1985|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314051344/http://articles.latimes.com/print/1985-07-01/sports/sp-10107_1_orioles|archive-date=March 14, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Baltimore Orioles <!-- sic -->=== Wiggins spent a few days in the minor leagues before being called up to Baltimore. In his first game with the Orioles, he started at second base and was the team's leadoff hitter, reaching base three times, driving in a run and scoring a run. After the game, Wiggins commented that he felt welcome on the team and did not feel like he was starting out with anything to prove.<ref name=Tribune7685>{{cite news|title=Wiggins stars in debut for Orioles|url=http://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/203026397/|work=Chicago Tribune|date=July 6, 1985|at=Section 2, page 3|url-access=subscription|archive-date=December 15, 2017|access-date=December 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215163642/http://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/203026397/|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 76 games for Baltimore that year, he hit .285, scored 43 runs and finished eighth in the American League with 30 stolen bases.<ref name=BR/> Baltimore fans felt that Wiggins was lazy, as he often stopped running to first base on ground balls and showed a lack of effort on defense.<ref name=Path/> He spent much of his time alone and did not talk to his teammates for much of the season.<ref name=Weyler/>
Wiggins later said that he had been depressed because he missed his wife and children, who were still living in San Diego.<ref name=Path>{{cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Andy|title=A straight path for Wiggins, could guide Orioles to Series|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-03-06/specialsection/8601140435_1_alan-wiggins-national-league-pennant-orioles|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=March 6, 1986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215111543/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-03-06/specialsection/8601140435_1_alan-wiggins-national-league-pennant-orioles|archive-date=December 15, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> His family moved to a suburb of Baltimore before the 1986 season, but Wiggins still struggled to win over Orioles fans and teammates. When the team asked him to field extra ground balls during spring training, he complied but did so sluggishly. Later in the year, he angered Cal Ripken Jr. when he threw a bat in frustration and the bat struck Ripken in the dugout. In June, Wiggins was tagged out with the hidden ball trick, and he made three errors the next day, including two in the same inning. After the two-error inning, Baltimore fans booed as his picture was revealed on the scoreboard during a "Who Am I" feature at the ballpark. Wiggins was frustrated by the fan response because he had relatives at the game that day. Manager Earl Weaver understood why Wiggins was upset over the timing of the scoreboard feature, but he said that Wiggins "had more chances than anyone who ever wore an Orioles' uniform".<ref name=Weyler>{{cite web|last1=Weyler|first1=John|title=Starting over, again: Alan Wiggins, dogged by a troubled past, tries to establish a future with Baltimore|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-06-27-sp-20582-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=June 27, 1986|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220613031656/http://articles.latimes.com/print/1986-06-27/sports/sp-20582_1_alan-wiggins|archive-date=June 13, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> He batted .251 with 21 stolen bases and 30 runs scored, played only 71 games, and was reassigned to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings at one point in the season.<ref name=BRMinors/>
The following season, Cal Ripken Sr. replaced Weaver as manager of the Orioles. Baltimore signed Rick Burleson to play second base and Ray Knight to play third base. The moves seemed to leave Wiggins battling for an outfield spot, but after he hit .413 during spring training, Ripken suggested that he might use Wiggins as a utility player. Just before the season started, Wiggins said he was not happy with Ripken's idea of using him in a utility role, feeling that his spring performance should have secured him a starting position. He believed that he could be an asset in the leadoff batting slot.<ref name=SunSent>{{cite news|last1=Browne|first1=Jeff|title=Demoted Wiggins has no use for utility role|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-04-01/sports/8701210395_1_alan-wiggins-ripken-utility-player|work=Sun-Sentinel|date=April 1, 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222104957/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-04-01/sports/8701210395_1_alan-wiggins-ripken-utility-player|archive-date=December 22, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
At the start of the 1987 regular season, Wiggins spent some time as a designated hitter (DH) and shared second base duties with Burleson.<ref name=BR87logs>{{cite web|title=1987 Batting Gamelogs|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=wiggial01&t=b&year=1987|work=Baseball-Reference.com|access-date=August 1, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180114183739/https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=wiggial01&t=b&year=1987|archive-date=January 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=WashPost>{{cite news|last1=Justice|first1=Richard|title=Burleson sore about playing time|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/archive/sports/1987/06/29/burleson-sore-about-playing-time/6b9f786b-9928-4701-a343-a6c2ba776dce/?resType=accessibility|access-date=August 1, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 29, 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160313024911/https://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/archive/sports/1987/06/29/burleson-sore-about-playing-time/6b9f786b-9928-4701-a343-a6c2ba776dce/?resType=accessibility|archive-date=March 13, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Rookie second baseman Billy Ripken joined the club on July{{nbsp}}10. Burleson was cut, but general manager Hank Peters said, "We're not bringing [Billy Ripken] up here to sit on the bench."<ref name=Justice2>{{cite news|last1=Justice|first1=Richard|title=Orioles cut Burleson, call up Billy Ripken|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1987/07/11/orioles-cut-burleson-call-up-billy-ripken/8ef0d75d-201d-434a-ba27-2b59ae217d9d/|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 11, 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113035535/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1987/07/11/orioles-cut-burleson-call-up-billy-ripken/8ef0d75d-201d-434a-ba27-2b59ae217d9d/|archive-date=January 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Wiggins was hitting .242 on July{{nbsp}}10, and he played mostly DH after the rookie's arrival.<ref name=BR87logs/> In early August, Wiggins received a three-day suspension after he got into an altercation with teammate Jim Dwyer and grabbed the shirt of Ripken Sr.<ref name=Justice>{{cite news|last1=Justice|first1=Richard|title=Wiggins walks back to Orioles, anticipates move|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=892&dat=19870809&id=2tMdAAAAIBAJ&pg=2209,1635527&hl=en|work=The Courier|date=August 9, 1987|page=3B}}</ref>
On September{{nbsp}}1, MLB indefinitely suspended Wiggins for a behavior issue, and an anonymous Orioles official told the media that the suspension resulted from a positive drug screen.<ref name=LAT>{{cite news|last1=Newhan|first1=Ross|title=Wiggins is suspended: 'Behavior'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-01-sp-5439-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 1, 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307222847/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-09-01/sports/sp-5439_1_times-wiggins|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Wiggins was released from the Orioles on September{{nbsp}}29 and the team had to pay him two-thirds of his $800,000 salary for 1988.<ref name=Deseret>{{cite news|title=Orioles release Wiggins|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19870930&id=sFNTAAAAIBAJ&pg=5183,6155669&hl=en|work=Deseret News|date=September 30, 1987}}</ref> MLBPA officials announced that they would not issue grievances related to Wiggins's suspension and subsequent release, noting that Wiggins wanted to be released by that point.<ref name=NoGrievance>{{cite news|title=No grievance to be filed in Wiggins case|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-01-sp-11375-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 1, 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307222818/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-10-01/sports/sp-11375_1_wiggins-case|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Later years== [[File:Tony Gwynn Swing.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Baseball player Tony Gwynn swinging a bat|Tony Gwynn, Wiggins's teammate and friend on the Padres]] Though Wiggins did not give up hope for a return to baseball, he began to study the real estate market after his suspension from the game. In the late 1980s, Wiggins started to suffer from health difficulties related to AIDS, though the diagnosis was not publicly disclosed while he was alive. He was receiving deferred payments from his baseball career, and he began to make plans for the financial future of his children.<ref name=Nightengale/> He told one of his former teammates that he was getting into computer work.<ref name=Sun/>
Gwynn said that he had seen Wiggins in spring 1990 and was struck by his visible weight loss.<ref name=Berkow>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/15/sports/sports-of-the-times-wiggins-touched-the-hot-iron.html?pagewanted=1|title=Sports of the times; Wiggins touched the hot iron|author=Ira Berkow|work=The New York Times|date=January 15, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113150419/http://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/15/sports/sports-of-the-times-wiggins-touched-the-hot-iron.html?pagewanted=1|archive-date=January 13, 2018|url-status=live|access-date=February 4, 2017}}</ref>
In his final months, he sold his home in Poway, California and moved to Pasadena. Though he often stayed with friends, some of his longtime friends felt that he died in seclusion, embarrassed by what had happened with his life.<ref name=Nightengale/>
==Death== In November 1990, Wiggins was hospitalized with pneumonia and tuberculosis at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Wiggins stated that he had contracted HIV via intravenous drug use.<ref name=Years>{{cite news|title=HIV and AIDS through the years|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-03-sp-62716-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=November 3, 1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170224200704/http://articles.latimes.com/1996-11-03/sports/sp-62716_1_aids-drug|archive-date=February 24, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> After lapsing in and out of consciousness for a month, he died at the hospital on January{{nbsp}}6, 1991.<ref name=AIDS>{{cite news|title=Wiggins had AIDS, report says|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/01/15/wiggins-had-aids-report-says/|work=Chicago Tribune|date=January 15, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113093217/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1991-01-15/sports/9101050090_1_wiggins-agent-wiggins-family-alan-wiggins|archive-date=January 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
Wiggins's family initially attributed his death to lung cancer that had led to respiratory failure.<ref name=Pneumonia>{{cite news|title=Alan Wiggins succumbs to pneumonia, cancer|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1734&dat=19910108&id=3HkfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6662,857295&hl=en|access-date=June 10, 2015|work=The Dispatch|date=January 8, 1991}}</ref> Family members said that he had gotten sick with a cough and that his condition had worsened quickly.<ref name=Berkow/> Wiggins weighed under {{convert|75|lbs}} at the time of his death. Several days after Wiggins died, a physician disclosed that his health problems were complications of AIDS.<ref name=AIDS/> He became the first baseball player known to have died from AIDS.<ref name=NBHB>{{cite book|last1=Dewey|first1=Donald|last2=Acocella|first2=Nicholas|title=The New Biographical History of Baseball: The Classic—Completely Revised|date=2002|publisher=Triumph Books|location=Chicago|isbn=978-1-62368-734-2|page=454|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Ta4AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA454}}</ref>
After Wiggins died, longtime Oriole Frank Robinson said, "He was a very bright individual, and you could like the guy. But there was always something there to back you off." Former Padres player Garry Templeton said that he might have been Wiggins's closest friend, but said that he did not know that Wiggins had been ill.<ref name=Sun>{{cite news|last1=Baker|first1=Kent|title=Wiggins recalled as an angry talent|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1991/01/09/wiggins-recalled-as-an-angry-talent/|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=January 9, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170902184231/http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-01-09/sports/1991009005_1_alan-wiggins-orioles-ed-williams|archive-date=September 2, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Wiggins is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California.<ref name="Necrology">{{cite book|last1=Lee|first1=Bill|title=The Baseball Necrology: The Post-Baseball Lives and Deaths of More Than 7,600 Major League Players and Others|date=2003|publisher=McFarland & Company|location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=978-0-7864-4239-3|page=426|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13EwCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA426|language=en}}</ref>
==Personal life== Wiggins met his wife Angela when they were in junior high school; they both graduated from John Muir High School.<ref name=Model>{{cite web|title=Model Talent (Part I of II)|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3182168/t/model-talent-part-i-ii/#.VSoVXvnF-YI|work=NBC News|date=September 23, 2003|access-date=February 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215111552/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3182168/t/model-talent-part-i-ii/|archive-date=December 15, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> The ''Los Angeles Times'' reported that Wiggins had experienced marital strife, but that he would not entertain the thought of divorce; he wanted to ensure that his children did not grow up in a single-parent household as he had.<ref name=Nightengale/> Two of Wiggins's three children became professional basketball players. Candice, an All-America at Stanford University, joined the Minnesota Lynx as the third overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft. She has served as a spokesperson for the Greater Than AIDS campaign.<ref name=RHMag>{{cite magazine|last1=Ferguson|first1=Kate|title=AIDS: This four-letter word doesn't have to be a curse|url=http://www.realhealthmag.com/articles/CandiceWiggins_HIVAIDS_DecidingMoment_1936_21907.shtml|magazine=Real Health|date=February 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216201215/https://www.realhealthmag.com/article/CandiceWiggins-HIVAIDS-DecidingMoment-21907-9022|archive-date=December 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> Alan Jr. played at the University of San Francisco and professionally in several countries.<ref name="Odeven">{{cite web|last1=Odeven|first1=Ed|title=All-around star Parker joins Wakayama Trians|url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/08/09/basketball/all-around-star-parker-joins-wakayama-trians/#.WjNbwRNzLIU|website=The Japan Times|date=August 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215110904/https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2013/08/09/basketball/all-around-star-parker-joins-wakayama-trians/|archive-date=December 15, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> His oldest daughter, Cassandra, played college basketball at New York University.<ref name=Newsday>{{cite web|last1=Driscoll|first1=Tara|title=Dad lives in her memory / Family bonds strong for NYU's Wiggins|url=http://www.newsday.com/sports/dad-lives-in-her-memory-family-bonds-strong-for-nyu-s-wiggins-1.374456|work=Newsday|date=March 5, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221248/https://www.newsday.com/sports/dad-lives-in-her-memory-family-bonds-strong-for-nyu-s-wiggins-1.374456|archive-date=December 15, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Wiggins and his mother were very close, and her 1983 Alzheimer's disease diagnosis may have contributed to his drug problems. He was devastated that she would not be able to enjoy his success in the major leagues. In the last few years of Wiggins's life, he enjoyed a closer relationship with his father, Albert, and he often took his children on visits to see their grandfather. Wiggins had a very difficult time with his father's death in May 1990.<ref name=Nightengale/>
The Orioles once gave an IQ test, and Wiggins scored higher than everyone except for Weaver. Wiggins's agent, Tony Attanasio, said that Wiggins's intelligence had caused problems in his relationships with teammates. He said that Wiggins had always been reserved and had a difficult time trusting other people.<ref name=Nightengale/> Wiggins enjoyed stubbornly engaging in debates with his teammates, particularly Padres pitcher Eric Show, just to provoke reactions from them. He liked to read books and newspapers, and his teammates were turned off by these displays of his intellect. According to Attanasio, players in Baltimore also resented Wiggins because he replaced Rich Dauer, who had been a well-liked member of the team.<ref name=Berkow/><ref name=AIDS/> Lee Lacy was one of Wiggins's few friends on the Orioles. Tony Gwynn suggested that Wiggins was sometimes misunderstood. "To not like Alan Wiggins, is to not know Alan Wiggins," Gwynn said.<ref name=Nightengale>{{cite web|last1=Nightengale|first1=Bob|title=A troubled life, a lonely death: Former Padre star Alan Wiggins is remembered by friends who lost touch with him after drugs ruined promising career|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-13-sp-434-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|date=January 13, 1991|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170417120502/http://articles.latimes.com/print/1991-01-13/sports/sp-434_1_alan-Wiggins|archive-date=April 17, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Portal|Baseball}} {{baseballstats|mlb=124245|espn=879|br=w/wiggial01|fangraphs=1013931m|brm=wiggin001ala|retro=W/Pwigga001}} *{{find a Grave|7714805}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiggins, Alan}} Category:1958 births Category:1991 deaths Category:AIDS-related deaths in California Category:African-American baseball players Category:Baltimore Orioles players Category:Baseball players from Los Angeles Category:Clinton Dodgers players Category:Hawaii Islanders players Category:Idaho Falls Angels players Category:Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Category:Lodi Dodgers players Category:Major League Baseball second basemen Category:Navegantes del Magallanes players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:Pasadena City Lancers baseball players Category:Quad Cities Angels players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:San Diego Padres players Category:Burials at Rose Hills Memorial Park Category:20th-century African-American sportsmen Category:20th-century American sportsmen