Michael Troy Afenir (born September 21, 1963) is a 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), ...

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 ...

. In his major league career, Afenir played 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 ...

in , the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

from ( to , and 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 ...

in .

College and minor league career

Drafted by the

in the 1st round of the 1983 MLB amateur draft, Afenir made his major league debut with the

on September 14, 1987, a win over the Dodgers. Afenir entered the game in the top of the 9th inning as a pinch hitter for catcher

Ronn Reynolds Ronn Dwayne Reynolds (born September 28, 1958), is an American former professional baseball catcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, and San Diego Padres. He batted and threw ...

and was struck out by Dodgers hurler

Brian Holton Brian John Holton (born November 29, 1959) is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues primarily in relief from 1985 to 1990. He was a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers 1988 World Series winners, notching a save i ...

. Afenir did not play in the major leagues in 1988, batting .247 in 137 games for Houston's Double-A affiliate. Afenir would remain with the Astros until April 6, 1989, when he was traded to the

for fellow catcher

Matt Sinatro Matthew Stephen Sinatro (born March 22, 1960, in Hartford, Connecticut) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and scout. A catcher during his playing days, he appeared in 140 games over ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB ...

. Afenir spent 1989 in the minor leagues, and returned to the major leagues on July 6, 1990 in the first game of a doubleheader with 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 ...

. THrough the end of the 1990 baseball season, Afenir had struck out 18 times in 34 at bats and had yet to draw a walk. Afenir would remain with the Athletics through the 1991 season, after which he became a free agent, and signed with the

. Afenir would appear in 16 games for the Reds during the 1992 season, and finished his career after 84 minor league games in 1993. Afenir made only one error in 129 chances for a .992

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

in limited duty at the major league level. Though he hit .239 with 117

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 ten-year minor league career, he hit .190 with no home runs in 79 major league

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. Afenir attended

Palomar College Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. The largest of these by student ...

, and is one of four alumni to have played in the major leagues. In 2009, he came back to Palomar's baseball team as an assistant coach. His nephew

Ty Afenir Ty (stylized as ty) is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. It was founded by Ty Warner in 1986. It designs, develops and sells products, most notably Beanie Babies, exclusively to speci ...

also attended Palomar and started at shortstop his freshman year, and later transferred to Division I

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

References

External links

Baseball Gauge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afenir, Troy 1963 births Living people Asheville Tourists players Auburn Astros players Baseball players from California Cincinnati Reds players Columbus Astros players Gulf Coast Astros players Houston Astros players Huntsville Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball catchers Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees scouts Oakland Athletics players Osceola Astros players Sportspeople from Escondido, California Tacoma Tigers players Palomar Comets baseball players