Michael Gary Potter (born May 16, 1951) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played from 1976 to 1977 for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

. With no hits in 23 career at-bats, he is tied with Larry Littleton for the most career

MLB 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), ...

at-bats by a non-pitcher without a hit.

Career

Originally drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 3rd round of the 1970 amateur draft, Potter chose not to sign. However, when he was drafted by the Cardinals out of Mount San Antonio College in the sixth round of the secondary phase of the 1971 amateur draft, he did sign. Potter made his major league debut on September 6, 1976, at the age of 25. Facing pitcher

Steve Dunning Steven John Dunning (born May 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher between and for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, Montreal Expos and ...

, Potter went 0–3 with two strikeouts in his big league debut. In 16 at-bats in his first season, Potter did not collect a single hit. However, he did walk once. He appeared in only five games in 1977, collecting no hits in seven at-bats. In total, Potter played in 14 big league games, collecting no hits in 23 at-bats. He is tied with Larry Littleton for most career at-bats by a non-pitcher without a hit. He played his final big league game on October 2, 1977. Potter returned to the minors to bring his professional career to a close. In the 1978 minor league season, Potter hit 22 home runs and drove in 94 RBI. On October 27, 1978, he was sent by the Cardinals to the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

to complete an earlier trade made on June 26, 1978. Originally, the Cardinals sent a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

to the Mariners for José Báez. He hit only five home runs in 117 minor league games in 1979.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Potter, Mike Major League Baseball outfielders Mt. SAC Mounties baseball players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players 1951 births Living people Sportspeople from Montebello, California Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California Arkansas Travelers players Cedar Rapids Cardinals players Columbus Astros players Gulf Coast Cardinals players Modesto Reds players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Spokane Indians players Springfield Redbirds players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players