Mark Mundell Corey (born November 3, 1955) 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 ...

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. Born in

Tucumcari, New Mexico Tucumcari (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,278 at the 2020 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was established. History In 1901, the Chicago, ...

, he was an

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who appeared in 59 Major League games for the

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(1979–1981). He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed .

Batted .400 in pro baseball debut

Corey was Baltimore's second pick in the January 1976

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out of

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. In his first professional season, Corey dominated the short-season Rookie-level Appalachian League, winning the

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by batting .400, hitting 17 home runs and driving in 59 runs in only 70 games. He also led the league in hits (114) and runs scored (62), was selected the Appalachian League's 1976 Most Valuable Player, and led the

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to the North Division's best record. The performance bumped Corey all the way up to the Double-A Southern League for 1977. There, Corey again led the league in batting average (.310) and hits (152), and was just two home runs and ten RBIs short of leading the Southern loop in those categories as well. He was selected a member of the league's All-Star team.

Knee woes ruined MLB prospects

Hampered by a knee injury, Corey played in only 74 games in 1978 for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings, but he batted .324 and was primed to take over a spot on the Orioles'

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roster for , but his ongoing knee miseries and a poor performance in spring training earned him a return ticket to Rochester. Although he struggled at the plate and batted only .249, he was recalled by the Orioles in September, where he collected only two

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in 13

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. In , Corey again split the year between Baltimore and Rochester. He struggled even more with the Red Wings, with his batting average falling to .230, but in his midseason trial with the Orioles, Corey hit his only Major League home run, a two-run shot on July 14 off Paul Splittorff of the Kansas City Royals.Information
at

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In 36 games for Baltimore that season, Corey registered ten of his 12 big-league hits and batted .278. But saw him spend much of the campaign in Triple-A, and then go hitless in ten at bats in his final Orioles' audition that September.

Played in Japan and senior league

Corey then bounced around among several Major League organizations, played one season in

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with the 1984

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(where he hit three homers in 31 games, but batted only .215), and sat out the 1985 season while nursing his injured knee. He retired after the 1987 minor league season. although he played for the

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of the

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in 1989. In the Majors, Corey had 12 hits in 57 at bats, with two doubles, one home run and seven bases on balls. In the minors, he hit .294 overall with 118 homers and 893 hits.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corey, Mark 1955 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from New Mexico Bluefield Orioles players Charlotte O's players El Paso Diablos players Evansville Triplets players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Major League Baseball outfielders Kintetsu Buffaloes players Orlando Juice players People from Tucumcari, New Mexico Portland Beavers players Rochester Red Wings players Springfield Redbirds players Vancouver Canadians players