Michael Anthony Figga (born July 31, 1970) is a retired

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 ...

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), ...

who played for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

and the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

. In a three-year career, Figga hit .213 with one home run.

Early life and education

Born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, Figga attended A.P. Leto High School in Tampa, graduating in 1988. Figga then enjoyed a short but standout career at

Central Florida Community College The College of Central Florida (CF) is a public college with campuses in Marion, Citrus, and Levy counties. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1957 as Central Florida Junior College, CF has grown to span three counties and inc ...

. Figga was drafted in 1989 by the

. He played in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it sh ...

with the Canberra Bushrangers in the 1994 and 1995 seasons.

Major league career

After a long career in the minor leagues, Figga made his major-league debut on September 16, 1997, with the Yankees. Figga appeared in five games for the Yankees between 1997 and 1999. His lone major-league appearance in 1998 was on September 23, 1998, when he went one-for-four and scored a run against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. For that appearance, Figga earned a

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

when the Yankees won the World Series the following month. In 1999, Figga started the season as one of three catchers on the Yankees' roster, however his mere presence caused controversy amongst the Yankee brass. Out of options, (the number of times a team is allowed to demote a player to the minor leagues without exposing him to waivers) owner

George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...

ordered acting manager

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...

to promote Figga to the major league roster despite offering limited opportunities to play. In fact, he saw no action at all until a doubleheader on May 22 where he was a late inning defensive replacement for both games. He never batted nor appeared in another game for the Yankees. When manager

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

(who missed the first two months after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in spring training) returned, he was able to convince Steinbrenner that he needed the roster spot more than he needed the player so Figga was waived in June 1999 and picked up by the

, and played 41 games for the Orioles.

After baseball

From 2000 until 2004, Figga played both in the minor leagues and for the

Nashua Pride The Nashua Pride was a professional baseball team based in Nashua, New Hampshire, in the United States, not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played home games at Holman Stadium from 1998 through 2008, when they were sold and renamed ...

in the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He subsequently retired from baseball with an early case of the dreaded disease of catchers: bad knees. Today, Figga now works for Republic National Distribution Company and lives in the Tampa Bay area of Florida and recently finished coaching a little league football team called the Westchase Colts and a travel baseball team called the Tampa Bay Bulls.

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Figga, Mike 1970 births Living people Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs players Albany-Colonie Yankees players Albuquerque Dukes players Allentown Ambassadors players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Bakersfield Blaze players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Tampa, Florida Binghamton Mets players College of Central Florida Patriots baseball players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Gulf Coast Yankees players Lincoln Saltdogs players Major League Baseball catchers Mexican League baseball right fielders Nashua Pride players New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Norwich Navigators players Orlando Rays players Pawtucket Red Sox players Pericos de Puebla players Prince William Cannons players San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Spirit players Sioux City Explorers players Somerset Patriots players St. Lucie Mets players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players American expatriate baseball players in Australia