Michael Robert Neill (born April 27, 1970 in

Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although ...

) 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), ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

baseball player.

Career

His baseball career included a stint with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

and ended with the

Gold Medal team in the 2000 games in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He was named Delaware Athlete of the Year in 2000. At

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

he compiled a .417 career batting average, led the Wildcats to the 1989 and 1991 Big East Conference crowns and was named 1991 Big East Player of the Year. He established team records: 232 hits, 53 doubles and 379 total bases and several single season records. Neill won two

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

batting championships and had a .307 batting average over 11 years. He was selected to 4 All-Star teams and was a key player in the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

' 1999 AAA World Series victory. He was called up by the

in but was sidelined with an injury. Neill led the 2000 USA Olympics team to a 4–0 win over Cuba in the gold medal game with a 1st-inning home run and a dramatic sliding catch in the 9th inning. His walk off homer against Japan won the team's 1st round Olympic contest. During the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games or the 13th Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and surrounding towns and ...

he had the game-winning hit to clinch the Olympic berth for his USA team.

References

Baseball Almanac
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neill, Mike 1970 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Baseball players from Virginia Edmonton Trappers players Huntsville Stars players Modesto A's players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Oakland Athletics players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Martinsville, Virginia Reno Silver Sox players Southern Oregon A's players Tacoma Rainiers players Tacoma Tigers players Vancouver Canadians players Villanova Wildcats baseball players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games

Career

See also

References