Mitchell William Maier (born June 30, 1982) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 c ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

, and current front office executive. He is the director of baseball operations for the Kansas City Royals of

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). He played and coached in MLB for the Royals.

Career

Maier was born in Petoskey, Michigan and played

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 p ...

at the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of ...

. In 2002, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star. As a junior

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

in 2003, Maier set school records with a

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 ...

of .448, 87 hits and 61

runs batted in 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 ba ...

and tied school records with 16 doubles and 29 stolen bases. Despite this, he lost out on

Mid-American Conference Baseball Player of the Year The Mid-American Conference Baseball Player of the Year is an annual award given to the Mid-American Conference's most outstanding baseball player. The award was first given after the 1986 season. , Ohio Bobcats baseball, Ohio's Rudy Rott is the ...

honors to Ball State's Brad Snyder. In the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, he was a first-round selection. He was selected 30th overall by the Kansas City Royals. Maier began his professional career in with the AZL Royals as a catcher. He played in 51 games, batted .350 and hit two

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. In , Maier was converted over to

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He played for two Single-A teams in 2004, the

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

and the

Wilmington Blue Rocks The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. ...

. In , Maier was converted to another position again, this time to the outfield, due to the presence of third base prospect Mark Teahen in the organization. He played for the Single-A

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eigh ...

in 2005 and also played for the Double-A

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals ...

. In , Maier began the year at Double-A. He was named to the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

midseason All-Star team. He finished the minor league season with a .306 batting average and had 14

s in 138 games. Following the Wranglers elimination in the playoff finals, Maier was promoted to the major league club on September 20. He made his major league debut on September 23, . In , Maier played for the Triple-A

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest c ...

for the entire season. He played in 140 games and batted .279 with 14 home runs. Maier made his Major League pitching debut as the 8th Royals position player to pitch in a game on July 26, 2011, against 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 eigh ...

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

. He pitched a scoreless inning, but gave up a double to David Ortiz. On July 4, 2012, Maier was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

after hitting only .172 in 64 at-bats for Kansas City. On Oct. 6, 2012, Maier elected free agency. Later that month, he signed with the Red Sox on a Minor League deal for 2013. On December 19, 2013 Maier signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago Cubs. On March 6, 2014, Maier was released by the Cubs. He signed a minor league deal with the Royals on May 1, 2014.

Coaching career

Maier became a coach during the 2015 season with the Royals, working as an outfield / base running coordinator in the organization. He served as interim

first base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in 2017, and was promoted to the full-time role prior to the 2018 season. Maier was named the Royals director of baseball operations on December 3, 2019.

References

External links

Royals coaching bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, Mitch 1982 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Baseball coaches from Michigan Baseball players from Michigan Burlington Bees players Harwich Mariners players High Desert Mavericks players Kansas City Royals coaches Kansas City Royals executives Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball coaches Omaha Royals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Petoskey, Michigan Toledo Rockets baseball players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic