James Michael Eisenreich (; born April 18, 1959) is an American former
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) ...
player with a 15-year career from 1982 to 1984 and 1987–1998. He played for the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area ...
and
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...
of the
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
, and the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...
,
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The fra ...
and
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...
of the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...
. He played
first base,
outfield
The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area.
In cricket, baseball a ...
and
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
.
Major league career
In 1993, his first year with the Phillies, Eisenreich put together one of his best seasons, batting .318 and helping the Phillies win the National League pennant. As the Phillies began their slide the next season, Eisenreich was one of the team's few bright spots, batting .361 for the last place Phillies in 1996.
After signing with the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The fra ...
prior to the 1997 season, Eisenreich played a pivotal role in the 1997 World Series, helping the Marlins win a championship in their fifth year. Eisenreich was the runner on second base when
Edgar Renteria hit his walk-off single in the bottom of the 11th inning of Game 7.
Eisenreich was part of a "blockbuster" baseball trade on May 14, 1998. He was traded from the Florida Marlins, with
Bobby Bonilla
Roberto Martin Antonio Bonilla (, born February 23, 1963) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001.
Bonilla was one of the Major League's best batters a ...
,
Gary Sheffield
Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent.
For most of his career, Sheffield played right ...
,
Charles Johnson, and
Manuel Barrios
Manuel Antonio Barrios (born September 21, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in ...
, to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...
for
Todd Zeile and
Mike Piazza.
Eisenreich was noted in Los Angeles for his longtime success against Dodger pitching staffs, despite those staffs being among the best. His .405 batting average and .620 slugging percentage greatly exceed his other career numbers and rank among the most successful of any one player against any team.
In 1,422 games over 15 seasons, Eisenreich posted a .290
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average i ...
(1,160-for-3,995) with 492
runs, 221
doubles, 39
triples
TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...
, 52
home runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...
, 477
RBI
RBI most often refers to:
*Reserve Bank of India
*Run batted in
RBI may also refer to:
Organisations
*Radio Berlin International
*Raiffeisen Bank International
*Reed Business Information
*Restaurant Brands International
*Ruđer Bošković In ...
, 105
stolen bases, 324
bases on balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Sec ...
, .341
on-base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...
and .404
slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player ...
. He finished his career with a .988
fielding percentage
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...
playing at all three outfield positions and first base. In 20 postseason games, he hit .231 (12-for-52) with 4 runs, 2 home runs, 11 RBI and 7 walks.
Personal life
Eisenreich has
Tourette syndrome
Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...
,
[Jim Eisenreich Foundation.]
Retrieved on 2006-02-18. which caused him to go on to the voluntary retirement list between 1984 and 1987 while undergoing treatment. Eisenreich was replaced on the Twins roster by
Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a center fielder for the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995). Puckett is the Twins' all- ...
. In 1990, he was the first recipient of the
Tony Conigliaro Award, which is given annually to a Major League Baseball player who has overcome a significant obstacle in life.
Eisenreich was inducted into the
Baseball Reliquary
The Baseball Reliquary is a nonprofit educational organization "dedicated to fostering an appreciation of American art and culture through the context of baseball history and to exploring the national pastime’s unparalleled creative possibilities ...
's
Shrine of the Eternals in 2009.
["Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees"](_blank)
Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
Eisenreich resides in the Kansas City area and runs the Jim Eisenreich Foundation for Children with Tourette's Syndrome whose goal is to help children with TS to achieve personal success.
[
]
References
External links
Jim Eisenreich
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisenreich, Jim
1959 births
Living people
Baseball players from Minnesota
Elizabethton Twins players
Florida Marlins players
Kansas City Royals players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Major League Baseball center fielders
Major League Baseball left fielders
Major League Baseball right fielders
Memphis Chicks players
Minnesota Twins players
Omaha Royals players
People with Tourette syndrome
Philadelphia Phillies players
St. Cloud State Huskies baseball players
Sportspeople from St. Cloud, Minnesota
Wisconsin Rapids Twins players