Michael Brent Abernathy (born September 23, 1977) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 2001 to 2003 for the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

and Kansas City Royals, and again in 2005 for the Minnesota Twins.

Career

He attended high school at

The Lovett School The Lovett School is a coeducational, kindergarten through twelfth grade independent school located in north Atlanta, Georgia, United States. History In September 1926, Eva Edwards Lovett, an innovative educator who emphasized the development o ...

, where he played on the school's baseball team. He was awarded the

Dial Award The Dial Award was presented annually by the Dial Corporation Henkel Corporation, doing business as Henkel North American Consumer Goods, and formerly The Dial Corporation, is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is a manufa ...

for the national high-school scholar-athlete of the year in 1995. Abernathy was named to the All-America First Team by the

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

and Rawlings. Abernathy was drafted by the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in the second round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. In 2000, he was traded to the

for pitchers

Steve Trachsel Stephen Christopher Trachsel (born October 31, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and the Baltimore Orioles between 1993 and 2008. He batted and t ...

and

Mark Guthrie Mark Andrew Guthrie (born September 22, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1989 and 2003 and was a member of the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins. Career After graduating from ...

. He played for the gold medal-winning United States team in the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

, and went on to make his debut in the majors with Tampa Bay and later played with the Kansas City Royals and the Minnesota Twins. He has not been in the majors since 2005. Abernathy was one of two Tampa Bay Devil Rays players to reach base against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

on April 27, 2002, on a walk, but then was thrown out at second after Russ Johnson hit into a fielder's choice. Abernathy's plate appearance broke up Derek Lowe's bid for a

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

. Lowe did finish the game, however, with a no-hitter. On April 7, 2008, Abernathy signed with the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. His last season in professional baseball was 2009, when he played with the Camden Riversharks.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abernathy, Brent 1977 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Atlanta Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Camden Riversharks players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Hagerstown Suns players Kansas City Royals players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball second basemen Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Minnesota Twins players Nashville Sounds players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Omaha Royals players Ottawa Lynx players Rochester Red Wings players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players The Lovett School alumni