Mitchell Wade Meluskey (born September 18, 1973) is a retired
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
player. He played all or parts of five seasons in
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), ...
, between 1998 and 2003, for the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
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 ...
, primarily as a
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
.
Professional career
Meluskey played his entire career in the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
with the Astros except for 8 games with Detroit in 2002. He is best remembered by Astros fans for punching fellow Astro
Matt Mieske
Matthew Todd Mieske (born February 13, 1968) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from to for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks.
In 663 games over eight ...
in the eye during batting practice in on June 11, 2000. Meluskey was late for his turn to hit and then attempted to cut in front of Mieske. Heated words were exchanged and Meluskey proceeded to punch Mieske in the eye. Immediately afterwards Meluskey was hustled from the field while Mieske was treated on the ground for his injury. Astros star player
Craig Biggio
Craig Alan Biggio (; born December 14, 1965) is an American former second baseman, outfielder and catcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career from 1988 through 2007 for the Houston Astros. A seven-time National League (NL) All ...
was upset over the incident and said, "To me, it has everything to do with respect. You know, some people have it and some people don't. I'm going to leave it at that. There's no way in the world something like that should happen."
On April 20, 1999, Meluskey hit his first major league home run off of Chicago Cubs pitcher Matt Karchner.
In 2000, Meluskey finished fifth in balloting for the National League Rookie of the Year award after hitting .300 with 14 home runs and 69 runs batted in. That same year,
Mike Piazza
Michael Joseph Piazza ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007. He currently serves as the manager of the Italian national baseball tea ...
had to drop out of the All-Star game after being hit in the head by a
Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...
fastball on July 8, 3 days earlier. NL manager
Bobby Cox
Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of ...
wanted Meluskey to be Piazza's replacement, but was unable to contact Meluskey due to Mitch being on a trip to
South Padre Island, Texas
South Padre Island is a resort town in Cameron County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Brownsville– Harlingen Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,066 at the 2020 census. The town is located on South Padre Island, a bar ...
. Chicago Cub
Joe Girardi
Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and St. ...
was selected instead.
[http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1021369/index.htm] Meluskey retired in 2004, never making an All-Star team.
Personal life
Meluskey resides in
Yakima, Washington
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...
.
References
External links
, o
RetrosheetPelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
1973 births
Living people
Baseball players from Washington (state)
Burlington Indians players (1986–2006)
Columbus RedStixx players
Detroit Tigers players
Houston Astros players
Jackson Generals (Texas League) players
Kinston Indians players
Kissimmee Cobras players
Major League Baseball catchers
Nashua Pride players
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Sportspeople from Yakima, Washington
Round Rock Express players
Sacramento River Cats players
Somerset Patriots players
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