Mitchell Thomas Boggs (born February 15, 1984) is an American former

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 ...

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 ...

. He played 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), ...

(MLB) 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 hav ...

and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

High school

Boggs played two sports while attending Dalton High School. He played baseball for the Catamounts under the direction of Coach Manny Pontonio. Boggs was a pitcher and also a 3rd baseman who was recruited to be a dual-sport college star. Boggs also played quarterback for Dalton High's football team. His senior year, Boggs led the Catamounts to a 13–2 record, and an appearance in the AAA State Championship Game. He passed for 2,224 yards and 18 touchdowns and added 684 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground that season.

Collegiate career

Boggs signed a baseball scholarship at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

but after one season in which he saw limited playing time, he described himself as "burned out" and transferred to the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...

where he was a walk-on quarterback for the Mocs' football team. After only one semester at UTC he transferred back to UGA and helped the Bulldogs reach the 2004 College World Series. While at Georgia, Boggs pitched for the

Newport Gulls The Newport Gulls are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Gulls Baseball Club is a member of both the New England Collegiate Baseball League and the NECBL's Coastal Division. Since 2001, the Gu ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

. He appeared in 8 total games, owning a 6–0 record, including a 0.91 regular season

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and two wins in the playoffs.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals

Boggs was drafted by the

after his junior year, Boggs left Georgia to begin his professional career. On June 6, 2008, Boggs was promoted to the MLB from the Triple-A

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

to replace

Mike Parisi Michael Richard Parisi (born April 18, 1983 in Huntington, New York) was a right-handed professional baseball pitcher. Parisi had a short-lived career in professional baseball as a right-handed pitcher. His career came to ahead after he completely ...

on the active roster. In 12 starts with the Redbirds in 2008 before his promotion, Boggs was 5–1 with a 3.28 ERA. On June 10, 2008, Boggs got his first MLB

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

going five innings, giving up only four

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

and two runs, in picking up his first victory, over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, 7–2 in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. Boggs broke out in 2012, having the best year of his career. He had a record of 4 wins and 1 loss with an ERA of 2.21. He also led the National League in holds with 34. Boggs spent part of 2013 as the closer for St. Louis, but he was sent to the minor leagues in early May with an ERA of 12.66. He came back to the Cardinals after 18 days on May 20 and blew

Michael Wacha Michael Joseph Wacha (; born July 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. He played co ...

's 2-1 lead in his debut on May 30. He was demoted a second time to AAA-Memphis the next day.

Colorado Rockies

On July 9, 2013, Boggs was traded to the

for an international signing bonus. In 9 games for the Rockies, Boggs posted a 3.12 despite shaky command. After the season, Boggs was non-tendered by Colorado, becoming a free agent.

Chicago White Sox

On February 7, 2014, Boggs signed a one-year $1.1 million deal with 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 ...

. He was released on March 23. He re-signed to a minor league deal on April 1. He was released again on July 1, 2014 after posting an ERA over 9 in 25 games.

San Francisco Giants

On July 21, 2014, Boggs was signed to a minor league deal by the San Francisco Giants. Boggs appeared in just 10 games for the Grizzlies, inducing 7 walks in just 13 innings for Fresno. He was released after the season.

Boston Red Sox

On January 5, 2015, the Boston Red Sox signed Boggs to a minor league contract.

Atlanta Braves

On April 20, 2015 Boggs signed a minor league deal with the Atlanta Braves. He was released on June 7.

Personal life

Boggs married his high school sweetheart LeLe Crutchfield in December 2010 and they have one son together. Boggs is not related to

Wade Boggs Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the New York Yankees (1993-1997), and the Tampa ...

References

External links

Boggs player profile at Scout.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boggs, Mitchell 1984 births Living people Arizona League Giants players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Fresno Grizzlies players Georgia Bulldogs baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Redbirds players New Jersey Cardinals players Palm Beach Cardinals players People from Dalton, Georgia Springfield Cardinals players St. Louis Cardinals players Tulsa Drillers players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2013 World Baseball Classic players