Michael Devereaux (born April 10, 1963) 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), ...

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 cat ...

. He was drafted by 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 Brooklyn ...

in the fifth round of the amateur draft and made his debut on September 2, 1987. Along with the Dodgers, Devereaux played for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in two separate stints, and the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

and Texas Rangers.

Early life

Devereaux was born in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

. He went to

Kelly Walsh High School Kelly Walsh High School is a public secondary institution (grades 9-12) located in Casper, Wyoming, United States. It is in Natrona County School District No. 1. The school mascot is the Trojan. The current principal is Mike Britt. History Kell ...

in Casper. He played collegiately at Mesa Community College and

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Finance.

Career highlights

Devereaux was acquired by the Orioles from the Dodgers for Mike Morgan on March 11, 1989. The peak of his career was from 1989 to 1993, with his best season coming in 1992 with the Orioles, when he played in 159 games, with 24

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 i ...

, 107 RBIs and a .276

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 is ...

. Devereaux won the 1995 NLCS MVP award with the

by driving in the game-winning RBI in the 11th inning of Game One and hitting a three-run home run in Game Four against

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. The Braves went on to defeat the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the World Series. On July 15, 1989, Devereaux hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not ...

in an 11-9 win against the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. The call was controversial, as the home run ball came extremely close to the

foul pole A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

. Angels manager

Doug Rader Douglas Lee Rader (born July 30, 1944), nicknamed "The Red Rooster", is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who was known primarily for his defensive ability, winning five straight Gold Glove Awards from 1970 to 1974. Rader's career ...

argued the call with umpire

Ken Kaiser Kenneth John Kaiser (July 26, 1945 – August 8, 2017) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1977 to 1999. He spent 13 years in the minor leagues and 23 years in the major leagues, a total of 36 yea ...

the following day and was ejected prior to the start of the next game. Devereaux played his final MLB game with his original team, the Dodgers, on April 17, 1998. In 12 seasons, he had a .254 batting average, and hit 105 home runs with 480

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, three grand slams, 635

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s, 85

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, and 29 errors. He is second in career home runs by a player born in Wyoming (only John Buck has more). In March 2021, the Baltimore Orioles announced that Devereaux had been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame. He was one of four inductees honored with an on-field ceremony prior to the Orioles game on August 7, 2021.

Post-playing career

Devereaux served as field coach for the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shore ...

(Baltimore Orioles Class-A Affiliate,

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

) in 2010, replacing former third baseman

Ryan Minor Ryan Dale Minor (born January 5, 1974) is an American former professional baseball third baseman, minor league baseball manager and professional basketball player. He played all, or parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1998 to 2 ...

, who had been promoted to team manager. Devereaux was the field coach for the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

(Baltimore Orioles Class-A Affiliate,

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

) in 2011. He was the hitting coach for the

Asheville Tourists The Asheville Tourists are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Asheville, North Carolina. Asheville teams have played under the Tourists moniker in differen ...

(Colorado Rockies Class-A affiliate, South Atlantic League) from the 2012 season through the 2016 season, after which in 2017 he was assigned to the

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surround ...

, the Rockies' affiliate in the short-season Class A

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

. For the 2018 season, he was the hitting coach for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Double A affiliate, the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team rel ...

of the Southern League. Devereaux was the 2019 hitting coach with the single-A

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. In 2 ...

, a Reds affiliate. Devereaux was working as a roving hitting, outfield, and base running coach at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Devereaux, Mike 1963 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Dukes players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Wyoming Bowie Baysox players Chicago White Sox players Frederick Keys players Great Falls Dodgers players Hagerstown Suns players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball right fielders National League Championship Series MVPs Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Sportspeople from Casper, Wyoming San Antonio Dodgers players Texas Rangers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Mat-Su Miners players