Spotlight On: Dayan Viciedo
Throughout the offseason, I’ll have a weekly blog highlighting one of Charlotte’s players from the 2015 campaign. The Knights finished at 74–70 in the International League South Division, which was tied for third with the Durham Bulls. On-the-field and at-the-gates, the 2015 season was a successful one in Uptown Charlotte.
Dayan Viciedo, who hit .254 with 66 home runs and 211 RBIs over parts of five seasons with the Chicago White Sox from 2010 to 2014, returned to the White Sox organization on August 1, 2015 when he signed a minor league contract with the club. He was assigned to Charlotte and appeared in 36 games with the Knights.
Viciedo’s return to the organization was a successful one. He hit .341 (47-for-138) with 17 runs scored, seven doubles, seven home runs and 20 RBIs. He launched his seventh home run of the season with the Knights on Thursday, September 3. It was the 47th home run of his Knights career, which tied Jeff Liefer (47) for fifth all-time in franchise history.
Before returning to the organization in August, Viciedo hit .221 (25-for-113) with 13 runs scored, six doubles, two triples, one home run, and eight RBIs for Triple-A Nashville in 30 games in 2015. He was released by the Oakland A’s organization before signing with Chicago.
A Look Back:
The Cuban native broke on to the United States baseball scene on December 12, 2008 when he signed a four-year contract with the Chicago White Sox. He spent the entire 2009 campaign with the Double-A Birmingham Barons and hit .280 (141-for-504) with 12 home runs and 78 RBIs. A season later, Viciedo made his Knights debut and hit .274 (94-for-343) with 20 home runs and 47 RBIs. He made his major league debut on June 20, 2010 and hit .308 (32-for-104) with five home runs in 38 games for the White Sox that season.
In 2011, Viciedo returned to the Knights and hit .296 (134-for-452) with 20 home runs and 78 RBIs. He then spent the next three years with the White Sox and hit 20 or more home runs in two of his three seasons. He recorded a career-best 25 home runs and 78 RBIs with Chicago in 2012.
In 2013 during the final season at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, SC, the Charlotte Knights named Viciedo as a member of the “All Knights Stadium Team”, a team comprised of the best Knights players in the 24-year history of Knights Stadium.
