Michael Andrew Trujillo (born January 12, 1960) 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), ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, and

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

from to .

Amateur career

A native of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Trujillo attended Denver's

Mullen High School Mullen High School (formerly J.K. Mullen High School) is a Roman Catholic, Brothers of the Christian Schools, college-preparatory high school in Denver, Colorado. It is run independently within the Archdiocese of Denver. History Mullen High Sc ...

, where he played several sports. He was recruited to play

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

but chose to hold out for a

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 ...

scholarship. Trujillo accepted an offer to play baseball at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

. In 1981, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Trujillo was drafted in the seventh round (172nd overall) of the 1982 MLB draft by 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 ...

in the

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

draft. After Trujillo was drafted, it took three years for him to reach the majors.

Boston Red Sox

On September 7, 1984, Trujillo was traded to the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

for

Tom O'Malley Thomas Patrick O'Malley (born December 25, 1960) is a former Major League baseball player born in Orange, New Jersey, and raised in Montoursville, Pennsylvania in the United States. He played for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, Balt ...

. He was selected from the Giants by Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft three months later. Trujillo's first career

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was in Boston with the Red Sox on April 14, 1985, at the age of 25. As a rookie, he ended the season with an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

of 4.82 going 4–4. That year, Trujillo recorded 19

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 in 84 full innings pitched while allowing 23 walks and seven

home run 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 ...

s. During his second year pitching for the Red Sox, Trujillo appeared in three games in the majors, pitching only 5.2 innings. He spent most of 1986 with the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

, where he had a record of 8–9 as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Seattle Mariners

In August 1986, Trujillo (along with Rey Quiñones, Mike Brown, and a player to named later was traded to the

. The Red Sox obtained

Spike Owen Spike Dee Owen (born April 19, 1961) is an American former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Seattle Mariners (1983–86), Boston Red Sox (1986–88), Montreal Expos (1989–92), New York Yankees (1993) and California Angels ...

and

Dave Henderson David Lee Henderson (July 21, 1958 – December 27, 2015), nicknamed "Hendu", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletic ...

. Trujillo spent the rest of the season in the majors with the Mariners. He earned his first major league

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on September 20. Trujillo finished the season with a 3–2 record, with 19 strikeouts. During his second season as a Mariner, he went 4–4 in 28 games while recording 36 strikeouts. Trujillo allowed 12 home runs and 70 hits during the season. He was released during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

the following year.

Detroit Tigers

On March 31, 1988, three days after his release by the Mariners, Trujillo signed a contract with the

. Trujillo again spent most of the season in the minors with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, but did pitch six games for Detroit. He did not earn any wins or losses while pitching only 12.1 innings with an ERA of 5.11. During his final MLB season with the Tigers, Trujillo pitched 25.2 innings. He allowed 35 hits but only three homers. His last major league game was on June 17, 1989. On August 6, 1989, he was sold to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, but was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

two months later after pitching in nine games for the minor league

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, ending his career.Mike Trujillo Trades and Transactions
by Baseball Almanac

References

External links

Mike Trujillo
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Trujillo, Mike 1960 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from Denver Boston Red Sox players Calgary Cannons players Denver Zephyrs players Detroit Tigers players Glens Falls White Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Niagara Falls Sox players Orleans Firebirds players Pawtucket Red Sox players Seattle Mariners players Tidewater Tides players Toledo Mud Hens players Northern Colorado Bears baseball players