Marcus Allen Knecht (born June 21, 1990) is a Canadian

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 professiona ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

who is currently a free agent. Prior to beginning his professional career, he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and

Connors State College Connors State College is a public community college in Warner and Muskogee, Oklahoma. History The college was founded as an agricultural high school in 1908 and was quickly converted to a school of agriculture. When Oklahoma became a state ...

. Knecht has also competed for the

Canadian national baseball team The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international baseball. They are overseen by Baseball Canada, the governing body of baseball in Canada. Their manager is Ernie Whitt, a former Major League Baseball catcher for the Toronto ...

Career

Knecht attended

St. Michael's College School St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Canada ...

in Toronto and played youth baseball with the North York Baseball Association in Toronto. He represented the Province of Ontario in the Canadian Championships. In the 23rd round (698th overall) of the

2008 Major League Baseball Draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

, the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

selected Knecht, but he did not sign. Knecht enrolled at

Oklahoma State University–Stillwater Oklahoma State University–Stillwater (officially Oklahoma State University; informally Oklahoma State, OK State, OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma. OSU was founded in 1890 under the Morrill Act. Original ...

to play

for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National Col ...

baseball team in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

's (NCAA) Division I. He received only 12

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s in 2009, which prompted him to transfer to

for 2010.

Toronto Blue Jays

Knecht 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 third round (113th overall) of the

2010 Major League Baseball Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

, with a compensation pick the Blue Jays received for failing to sign

Jake Barrett Jake Dalton Barrett (born July 22, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Acereros de Monclova of the Mexican League. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees. He ...

the previous year. Knecht made his professional debut in 2010 with the

Auburn Doubledays The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYP ...

of the Class-A Short Season

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, and slashed .268/.345/.437 with 5 home runs and 34 RBI. Knecht was voted the Canadian Baseball Network player of the year in 2010. Prior to the 2011 season, ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

'' named Knecht the top power hitter in the Blue Jays' organization. He was promoted to the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

of the Class-A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganiza ...

in 2011, where he batted .273/.377/.474 with 16 home runs and 86 RBI. Knecht played for the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark ...

in the Class-A Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

in 2012, hitting .210/.302/.389 in 126 games. He remained in Dunedin in 2013, and batted .239/.297/.382 with 11 home runs and 46 RBI. In 107 games for Dunedin in 2014, Knecht posted a .250/.328/.388 batting line with 7 home runs and 52 RBI. On March 31, 2015, Knecht was released by the Blue Jays organization.

Minnesota Twins

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 ...

signed Knecht to a minor-league contract on April 3, 2015. He split the season between the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home ...

and the High-A

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

, accumulating a .221/.320/.310 batting line with 2 home runs and 48 RBI. He was released by the Twins organization on March 28, 2016.

Québec Capitales

On April 20, 2016, Knecht signed with the

Québec Capitales The Québec Capitales ( French: ''Les Capitales de Québec'') are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Capitales have been members of the Frontier League since the 2020 season after a merger between the Can-Am L ...

of the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization of ...

. In 2016, Knecht slashed .259/.342/.413 with 8 home runs and 49 RBI in 94 games. The next year with the Capitales, he batted .242/.349/.366 with 5 home runs and 43 RBI in 85 games. He was released by Québec on February 21, 2018.

Toronto Maple Leafs

On April 9, 2018, Knecht signed with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

of the

Intercounty Baseball League The Intercounty Baseball League (IBL) is a Canadian amateur baseball league, comprising teams of college players and former professionals from North America and beyond. The teams are located in Southern Ontario. The league was formed in 1919 and ...

.' In 2018, he batted .231 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI for Toronto, and improved his performance in 2019, slashing .326 with 8 home runs and 27 RBI.

West Virginia Power

On May 27, 2021, Knecht signed with the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 25 games for the Power, Knecht slashed .083/.227/.111 with no home runs and 1 RBI before being released on July 9.

International career

Knecht has played for the Canadian national baseball team. He played in the

2008 World Junior Baseball Championship The 2008 World Junior AAA Championship was held in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, from July 25 to August 3, 2008. Group stage Pool A * 5–0 * 4–1 * 3–2 * 2–3 * 1–4 * 0–5 Pool B * 4–1 * 4–1 * 3–2 * 3–2 * 1–4 * 0–5 Knockout stag ...

, being named to the tournament All-Star team. He participated in the

2011 Baseball World Cup The 2011 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 39th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

, where Canada won the bronze medal, and the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

, where Canada won the gold medal.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knecht, Marcus 1990 births Living people Auburn Doubledays players Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Toronto Baseball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Canberra Cavalry players Canada national baseball team players Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Chattanooga Lookouts players Dunedin Blue Jays players Fort Myers Miracle players Lansing Lugnuts players Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in baseball Québec Capitales players Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games West Virginia Power players Canadian expatriate baseball players in Australia