Doug Mientkiewicz

Full Name: Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz	Primary Position: 1B
Height/Weight: 6'2"/205	First Game: September 18, 1998
Birthdate: June 19, 1974	MLB Experience: 10 years
Birthplace: Toledo, Ohio
Bat/Throw: Left/Right

Biography[]

Doug Mientkiewicz (Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz) was born on June 19, 1974 in Toledo, Ohio. He made his Major League debut on September 18, 1998 for the Minnesota Twins. In 1999, his rookie year, he hit .229 with 2 home runs and 32 RBI. Mientkiewicz played for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Kansas City Royals over the course of his 9 year career.

Most people believe that Doug Mientkiewicz's best season was 2001, when he slugged 15 home runs, hit for a .306 average and knocked in 74 runs.

High school career[]

At Westminster Christian High School in Miami, Florida, Doug Mientkiewitcz was a three-sport standout in baseball, basketball, and football. There, he often played alongside classmate Alex Rodriguez, the current starting third baseman for the New York Yankees and the highest-payed player in baseball. As a senior, he was an All-State pick in both baseball and football.

Collegiate career[]

Mientkiewicz attended the Florida State University where he played for coach Mike Martin's Seminoles. He ended his career at FSU after his Junior year in 1995 ranked 10th in the NCAA in RBI and ninth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in batting average. He led his FSU team in batting average for three straight seasons and was selected to the College World Series All-Decade team for the 1990s.

MLB career[]

Mientkiewicz is a notorious line-drive hitter and hits well against both lefties and righties. He has a nice, short stroke with gap power (though no home run hitter) and tremendous discipline at the plate, coupled with good knowledge of the strike zone. For his career he has a good 0.951 walk-to-strikeout ratio (310-to-326). Though not a base-stealing threat, Mientkiewicz will get every extra base he can.

Although he batted .300 for two years with the Minnesota Twins, Mientkiewicz has not produced at the plate at that level in recent years. Defense is still the best part of Mientkiewicz's game. He has a great glove with soft hands, great mobility, good range and a strong arm. Also, Mientkiewicz is excellent at scooping balls in the dirt, tagging down on a high throw and extending himself to make the play. He won the Gold Glove Award in 2001 with the Minnesota Twins.

In an eight-year career, Mientkiewicz is a .268 hitter with 50 home runs, 155 doubles, 294 RBI, 303 runs scored, and a .360 On-Base Percentage in 735 games.

The 2004 World Series ball controversy[]

Mientkiewicz recorded the final out of the 2004 World Series, ending Boston's 86-year championship drought. The Red Sox led 3-0 in Game 4 in St.Louis when Mientkiewicz entered in the bottom of the seventh inning as a substitute in first base. Mientkiewicz didn't handle the ball until there were two outs in the ninth. St. Louis shortstop Edgar Rentería grounded back to pitcher Keith Foulke, who trotted toward first base and underhanded the ball to Mientkiewicz. As the ball that symbolically ended the Curse of the Bambino, the item would be of considerable interest to memorabilia collectors. Controversy resulted when Mientkiewicz kept the ball and the Red Sox later asked for its return. A spokesperson for Major League Baseball indicated that the ball belonged to Mientkiewicz, but the Red Sox contended that it belonged to them, as they wanted to have it for archive or museum use. In an announcement made with the Red Sox in January 2005, Mientkiewicz said the ball will now accompany the World Series trophy as it makes its way through the cities, towns, and other assorted places of New England during its yearlong tour. The ball will be displayed as part of a special plaque. On 23 April 2006 it was announced that he had reached an agreement with the Red Sox and the ball would go to the hall of fame. Red Sox claim on the ball was questionable as the game was not played on Fenway Park and based on precedent Mientkiewicz could have claimed it. [1].

Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko recorded the final out of the 2005 World Series in similar fashion. His handling of the ball was less controversial than Mientkiewicz, as he very publicly turned the ball over to club chairman Jerry Reinsdorf during the team's victory celebration. During the off-season, Konerko was re-signed to a large contract.

Scouting Report[]

Strengths

Good glove (2001 A.L. Gold Glove)
Great strike zone judgment; will definitely take a walk
Likes to sit on fastballs when he's ahead
Half-decent gap power
Above-average in terms of making contact

Weaknesses

Chases Sliders
Slow runner
Doesn't exactly have the best bat-control skills

Best Year

Mientkiewicz had a career-high 20 Win Shares in 2003, when he hit .300/.393/.450 with the Minnesota Twins, but his very best year came for the Twins in 2001, when he posted a .306/.387/.464 line and won a well-deserved Gold Glove (+11 FRAA).

Most Known For
The defensive replacement for Kevin Millar during the 2004 post-season, Mientkiewicz caught the ball flipped to him by Keith Foulke for the final out of the 2004 World Series, giving the Red Sox their first World Series title in 86 years. In the following months and for more than a year, Mientkewicz would be in a battle with the Red Sox over the ownership of the ball. The matter was finally laid to rest as both sides agreed to give the ball to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Statistics[]

Batting Stats[]

Year	Team		G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	2B	3B	BB	SO	HBP	SH	SB	IBB	GDP
1998	MIN	A	8	25	1	5	0	2	.200	.310	.240	1	0	4	3	0	0	1	0	0
1999	MIN	A	118	327	34	75	2	32	.229	.324	.330	21	3	43	51	4	3	1	3	13
2000	MIN	A	3	14	0	6	0	4	.429	.400	.429	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
2001	MIN	A	151	543	77	166	15	74	.306	.387	.464	39	1	67	92	9	0	2	6	10
2002	MIN	A	143	467	60	122	10	64	.261	.365	.392	29	1	74	69	6	0	1	8	7
2003	MIN	A	142	487	67	146	11	65	.300	.393	.450	38	1	74	55	5	2	4	4	9
2004	MIN	A	78	284	34	70	5	25	.246	.340	.363	18	0	38	38	3	2	2	2	9
2004	BOS	A	49	107	13	23	1	10	.215	.286	.318	6	1	10	18	1	0	0	0	3
2004	TOT	A	127	391	47	93	6	35	.238	.326	.350	24	1	48	56	4	2	2	2	12
2005	NY	N	87	275	36	66	11	29	.240	.322	.407	13	0	32	39	2	2	0	7	12
2006	KC	A	91	314	37	89	4	43	.283	.359	.411	24	2	35	50	5	1	3	1	6
2007	NYY	A	72	166	26	46	5	24	.277	.349	.440	12	0	16	23	3	6	0	0	3
Total	NL		87	275	36	66	11	29	.240	.322	.407	13	0	32	39	2	2	0	7	12
Total	AL		855	2734	349	748	53	343	.274	?	?	188	9	361	399	36	14	14	24	61
Total			942	3009	385	814	64	372	.271	.358	.407	201	9	393	438	38	16	14	31	73

Fielding Stats[]

Year	Team		POS	G	GS	INN	PO	A	ERR	DP	AVG
1998	MIN	A	1B	8	7	64	61	3	0	3	1.000
1999	MIN	A	1B	110	95	845	882	50	3	75	.997
2000	MIN	A	1B	3	3	26.2	22	0	0	3	1.000
2001	MIN	A	1B	148	143	1269.1	1263	69	4	95	.997
2001	MIN	A	DH	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2002	MIN	A	1B	143	132	1177.1	1073	69	5	92	.996
2003	MIN	A	3B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000
2003	MIN	A	OF	3	2	18	3	0	0	0	1.000
2003	MIN	A	2B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000
2003	MIN	A	1B	139	133	1159.1	1091	68	4	86	.997
2003	MIN	A	DH	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2003	MIN	A	RF	3	2	18	3	0	0	0	1.000
2004	MIN	A	1B	77	73	668.2	661	37	4	61	.994
2004	BOS	A	1B	47	26	272	263	25	1	14	.997
2004	BOS	A	2B	1	1	7	2	2	0	1	1.000
2004	TOT	A	1B	124	99	940.2	924	62	5	75	.995
2005	NY	N	1B	83	79	675	692	42	4	59	.995
2006	KC	A	1B	90	82	724.2	749	42	3	83	.996
2007	NY	A	1B	70	48	458	482	23	2	59	.996
Total			3B	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000
Total			RF	3	2	18	3	0	0	0	1.000
Total			1B	918	821	7340	7239	428	30	630	.996
Total			DH	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Total			2B	2	1	8	2	2	0	1	1.000
Total			OF	3	2	18	3	0	0	0	1.000

Transactions[]

Selected by Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the free-agent draft (June 1, 1995 - signed July 8, 1995).
Traded by Minnesota Twins to Boston Red Sox as part of 4-team trade in which Boston Red Sox sent Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton to the Chicago Cubs; Chicago Cubs sent Brendan Harris, Alex Gonzalez, and Francis Beltran to the Montreal Expos; Montreal Expos sent Orlando Cabrera to Boston Red Sox; and Chicago Cubs sent Justin Jones to Minnesota Twins (July 31, 2004).
Traded by Boston Red Sox with cash to New York Mets in exchange for Ian Bladergroen (January 27, 2005).
Granted free agency (November 1, 2005).
Signed by Kansas City Royals (December 16, 2005).
Granted free agency (October 31, 2006).
Signed as a Free Agent with the New York Yankees (January 5, 2007)
Signed a Minor League contract with an invitation to spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates (February 11, 2008).

Trivia[]

His nickname is Eye Chart alluding to the difficulty of the spelling of his last name.
Mientkiewicz was on the U.S. Olympic team when they won the gold medal at the 2000 games in Sydney, hitting the game-winning home-run against South Korea in the semi-finals.