David Wilder

David Scott Wilder (born October 14, 1960) is a former minor-league baseball player and a former major-league baseball executive.

Early life and education

Wilder attended Berkeley High School in Berkeley, California and Contra Costa College. He earned a bachelor's degree in management from St. Mary's College of California, completing his degree while in the minor leagues.

Baseball career

An outfielder, Wilder played minor-league baseball in the Oakland A's and Chicago Cubs farm systems, but never advanced to the major leagues. He hit .267 in six seasons in the minors. On April 3, 1987, the Chicago Cubs famously traded future Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley and infielder Dan Rohn to the A's for Wilder and two other players. "Hey, I could have been traded for Joe Blow," Wilder told the San Francisco Chronicle in an article that was published on July 26, 2004. "It's part of baseball history." Wilder's playing career ended in 1988. After his career ended, he worked as a baseball coach for two years for the University of California.

Career as a baseball executive

Wilder began his management career with Oakland in 1990, working as a scout and as a coach at Class A Medford in the Northwest League. He later joined the Atlanta Braves as a West Coast regional scouting supervisor, becoming a baseball operations assistant in September 1994. He was named an assistant scouting director for the Braves in August 1995, making him the highest-ranking African-American at that time in the Braves' organization, other than Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.

In January 1996, Wilder joined the Chicago Cubs organization, becoming director of minor-league operations, and rising to become assistant general manager.

In 2005, Wilder interviewed with the Boston Red Sox for the general manager's job that became available with the departure of Theo Epstein. A major league baseball investigator confirmed to the Chicago Tribune that the investigation involved skimming and was limited only to the White Sox.

On August 28, 2013, U.S. district judge Charles Ronald Norgle, Sr. sentenced Wilder to two years in federal prison. He was ordered to begin serving his sentence on October 31, 2013.