Michael Steven Stenhouse (born May 29, 1958) is a former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

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

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

from -, the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in , and 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 eight ...

in . Stenhouse is the CEO of the

Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity The Rhode Island Center for Freedom and Prosperity (RICFP) is a public policy think tank located in Rhode Island that seeks to advance free market ideas. According to the organization, it "is dedicated to providing concerned citizens, the media, a ...

, a public policy

think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...

. Listed at 6'1", 195 lb., Stenhouse batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He is the son of

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 ...

Dave Stenhouse David Rotchford Stenhouse (born September 12, 1933) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators from to . Stenhouse batted and threw right-handed. Stenhouse attended Westerly High School, where he was ca ...

. A star in high school, Mike turned down opportunities at some of the top baseball colleges, including

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, in order to attend

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He played three seasons for the school's baseball program (1977–1979) and was a two time All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

r and hit .475 as a freshman in 1977, second-best in NCAA Division I. He was an American Baseball Coaches Association All-American, joining

Kirk Gibson Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He is currently a color commentator for the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit and a special assistant for the Tigers. As a player, Gibson ...

Hubie Brooks Hubert "Hubie" Brooks (born September 24, 1956) is an American former professional baseball right fielder, third baseman, and shortstop. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1980 to 1994 for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, L ...

and

Bob Horner James Robert Horner (born August 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman and a first baseman from to , most prominently as a ...

. In 1977–79, Stenhouse played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL). He hit .426 with 6 home runs in 13 games in 1978 before an injury cut short his season, and was a league all-star in 1979. Stenhouse was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2008. He was drafted by 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 ...

with the 26th overall pick of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft. He was offered only $12,000 by Charlie Finley and opted to return to college when the commissioner's office refused to make him a free agent. Finley later offered the same amount of money with the stipulation of a September call-up, but Mike backed out when this was not put in writing. Stenhouse was selected fourth overall in the 1980 January draft by the

. He signed for a $32,000 bonus this time. He was called up for the first time in 1982, striking out in his only at bat. After two sub-par seasons, he was traded by the Expos to the

for Jack O'Connor. There he had career highs in games played (81), at bats (179), runs (23) hits (40), home runs (5), RBI (21), stolen bases (1), walks (29), and batting average (.223). That December he was traded by the Twins to the

for Charlie Mitchell. In his final major league season he went 2 for 21 (.095), but walked 12 times and had an

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

of .424. In 1996, Stenhouse was an announcer for the Expos on CIQC. He had previously been an analyst for the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

References

External links

Mike Stenhouse
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
"Interview with Harvard Graduate and Former Major League Baseball Player Mike Stenhouse"
Fame Booking June 23, 2019 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stenhouse, Mike 1958 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Colorado Boston Red Sox players Chatham Anglers players Harvard Crimson baseball players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball designated hitters Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Memphis Chicks players Minnesota Twins players Montreal Expos players Pawtucket Red Sox players West Palm Beach Expos players Wichita Aeros players Toledo Mud Hens players

See also

References

External links