Michael William Macha (born February 17, 1954) 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 ...

player. 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

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Career

At first, he was drafted in the 5th round (103rd overall) of the 1975 amateur entry draft by 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 Fi ...

, but opted not to sign. He was then drafted in the first round (10th pick) of the 1976 amateur draft by the

. Macha's

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 ...

gradually rose during his minor league tenure, and it rose high enough to make the Braves call him up in 1979 when he was 25 years old. He made his major league debut on April 20, 1979. He did not fare well in his first major league stint, hitting only .154 (2 for 13), and committing 3 errors at third base in only 13 chances. He was sent back to the minors by mid-May. In late 1979, Macha was selected by the

in the Rule 5 Draft. He started the next season on the Blue Jays' roster, but was rarely used, making only eight trips to the plate (and not reaching base in any of them). Defensively, he made two errors in his two games at third. Unusually, he was pressed into service as an emergency catcher on May 26. Manager

Bobby Mattick Robert James Mattick (December 5, 1915 – December 16, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, scout, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds. After his playing ca ...

had pinch hit for his only two catchers on the roster, so Macha was sent out the catch the bottom of the ninth and help preserve a 3-1 Blue Jays lead over 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 ...

. In his only appearance at the position, Macha made no errors in his one-inning catching stint and the Jays held the Red Sox to one hit and no runs, winning the game. This was Macha's final major league game, as the Detroit Tigers purchased his contract only two days later. He finished out the year with Detroit's Triple-A farm club, the

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for t ...

, and retired from baseball after the end of the season.

References

External links

Mike Macha
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Macha, Mike 1954 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Victoria, Texas Evansville Triplets players Greenwood Braves players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball third basemen Rice Owls baseball players Richmond Braves players Savannah Braves players Toronto Blue Jays players