Married with three children ... Is a 1984 graduate of Riverside Polytechnical High School ... Named All-Conference in baseball 3 times and led team to conference championship in 1982 ... Signed by Toronto scout Wayne Morgan after being Blue Jays' 3rd round pick in the 1984 First Year Player draft.
2004
Batted .222 (4-18) with one RBI... Played
in just eight games after sustaining a season ending injury...
Was injured on Apr. 26 at MIN (severally sprained left ankle)...
Was placed on the 15-day disabled list on Apr. 27...
Was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on May 26... Remained
on the DL for the balance of the 2004 season.
2003
Played in a career high 121 games and set career highs in hits (101), home runs (15), RBI (52) and walks (37) ... Batted .300 or better (.307) for the first time in his career ... Led the AL when leading off an inning with a .486 OBP, reaching base 35 times (72 PA) ... Prior to the All-Star break batted .343 with 10 home runs and 36 RBI in 74 games ... After the break hit .252 with five home runs and 16 RBI in 47 games ... May 7 at TEX played in his 1000th career game (ph) ... June 1 vs. BOS recorded season high four hits ... Tied season high with four hits on June 20 vs. BAL ... On July 29 at TB tied a career high with five RBI and recorded his first multi-homer game as a Blue Jay ... In that game, 2nd home run was 12th of the season, establishing a new career high ... Made 67 starts behind the plate and 17 as the DH ... From August 26 through the end of the season made four starts behind the plate ... As the catcher batted .335 (81-242) with 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 81 games overall ... As the DH batted .254 (16-63) with three home runs and eight RBI ... The Blue Jays staff posted 4.23 ERA in 583.2 innings caught ... Threw out 16.7% of attempted base stealers (10 CS, 50 SB) ... Off the bench batted .179 (5-28) with five RBI ... Batted .303 vs. right-handed pitching, .333 (14-42) vs. left-handed pitchers.
In May & June: Combined to hit .379 (47-124) over the two month period in 41 games ... Batted .361 in May and in June hit .397, with 14 and nine RBI respectively ... Hit in 25 of 34 starts from Apr. 30-June 28 ... From May 3 saw average climb from .273 to a season high .353 on June 28.
Inside the Park: Sept. 13 vs. BAL hit two home runs ... First home run in the 4th inning was his first career inside-the-park home run (off Hentgen) ... Also marked the fourth time in franchise history that a player has enjoyed a multi-homer game that included an inside-the-park home run ... Has three career multi-homer games.
Career Notes: Is a lifetime .243 hitter (45-185) with 34 RBI as a pinch-hitter ... In the postseason is a career .190 (4-21) hitter with one home run and three RBI in 16 games ... Homered in the bottom of the 9th inning off Atlanta's Kerry Ligtenberg in Game 5 of the 1998 NLCS.
2002
Appeared in 65 games, including 53 behind
the plate where he made 36 starts ... Was 5-16 as a
pinch-hitter with seven RBI and tied teammate Olmedo
Saenz for the AL lead with two pinch-hit home runs ... The
seven pinch-hit RBI tied Tampa's Randy Winn for the league
lead and were the most by an A's pinch-hitter since Matt
Stairs had seven in 1998 ... Overall batted .222 with six home
runs and 21 RBI ... Batted .417 (10-24) in April but batted
.183 (22-120) over the final five months of the season ... Collected
nine of his 21 RBI in the first month of the season...
Behind the plate threw out 30.3% (10-33) of attempted base
stealers ... Committed one error in 286 chances which came on September 26 at Seattle, snapping a string of 139 consecutive
games without an error dating back to August 7,
1999 ... Hit in a season high seven straight to start the season
through April 21 (9-19, .474) ... Hit his first pinch hit home
run of the season on April 21, three-run shot off Troy
Percival, to end the game and give the A's a 6-5 win ... In
June, hit three home runs and drove in six runs in eight
games ... Hit home runs in consecutive games on June 24
and 27 at Seattle ... Had two home runs and seven RBI vs.
Seattle on the season and has a career best 11 home runs
and 50 RBI vs. the Mariners ... Hit his second career
pinch-hit home run and fifth of his career on August 25 at
Detroit ... Started four of the A's final 43 games after August
12 ... Appeared in two games in the postseason and was 0-1
vs. the Yankees.
2001
Was signed by the A's to a minor league contract on June 24 after he was released by Baltimore on June 14...went 0 for 5 with three walks and two strikeouts in two games at Triple-A Sacramento before he was brought up to Oakland on June 26...spent the remainder of the season with the A's and hit .184 with seven home runs and 13 RBI in 33 games...eight of his 16 hits with the A's were for extra bases (one double and seven home runs)...added four home runs with Baltimore and finished with a career high 11 home runs, the first time he has reached double figures in home runs in his 14 major league seasons...the A's are his seventh major league team...started 23 games at catcher with the A's and the pitching staff had a 2.68 ERA (64 er in 214.2 ip) while he was behind the plate...tossed out 6 of 21 (28.6%) attempted base stealers with the A's and has thrown out 146 of 469 (31.1%) attempted base stealers in his career...combined to hit .311 (14 for 45) with runners in scoring position with the A's and Orioles...hit .214 (24 for 112) in 36 games at catcher with both clubs but batted .262 (11 for 42) in 13 games at designated hitter...was also 1 for 8 in the pinch, including 0 for 3 with the A's...saw most of his playing time against right handed pitching (30 for 142, .211) but hit better against left handers (6 for 19, .316)...hit two of his 11 home runs off left handed pitching...entered the season with just two career home runs off lefties and has now hit 62 of his 66 career home runs off right handers...got off to a good start with the Orioles as he hit safely in 11 of his first 13 starts through May 17...appeared in 15 of the Orioles 41 games over that span and hit .373 (19 for 51) with four home runs and 17 RBI...then went 1 for 23 over his final 10 games with the Orioles before he was released on June 14...including 0 for his last 18...extended his hitless streak to 23 at bats before collecting his first hit with the A's on July 1 at Texas...went 8 for 56 (.143) in his first 22 games with the A's, giving him a .114 (9 for 79) average over a 32 game stretch from May 19 to August 23...then hit .258 (8 for 31) over his final 11 games to finish with a .224 average overall...homered in consecutive games twice: April 15 and 16 with Baltimore against Tampa Bay and July 21 and 22 at Kansas City with Oakland...batted .478 (11 for 23) with four of his 11 home runs and 13 of his 31 RBI against the Devil Rays, including his career high 10th home run on September 7...final home run came on September 23 in a 7-4 A's win over Seattle...the A's were 6-1 in games in which he homered...has nine career home runs against the Mariners, his most against any club...appeared in three games against New York in the ALDS and was 1 for 7, including 0 for 3 in his lone start at catcher in Game 4.
2000
Batted .224 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI in 43 games in his first season with the Orioles... Began the season on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring, which he
reaggravated on a home run in final exhibition game of spring on April 1 at Chattanooga...Was activated from the DL on April 17 and went 1-for-18 in his first 6 games...Following that start, batted .252 over his final 37 games of the season...Went 3-for-3 with his first home run of the season on May 18 at Texas...Also went 3-for-3 on June 23 at Seattle...Started 7 of 8 games, September 17-24, including 6 as DH and one as catcher...His start behind the plate on September 19 vs. Oakland was his first start at catcher since August 26...Started at DH on September 17 vs. Seattle, getting 2 hits, including a solo home run...Was his first multi-hit game since August 17 vs. Chicago...Hit a two-run home run on September 22 at Boston to give Orioles a 3-1 lead and eventual win...Threw out 5 of 29 (17.2%) runners attempting to steal for the season...In his career, has thrown out 30.9% (133 of 431) attempted basestealers.
1999
Began the year with San Diego before being reacquired by Atlanta on July 26 in exchange for minor league pitcher Doug Dent, when Braves' catcher Javy Lopez was injured...Hit .289 with 3 HR and 15 RBI in 50 games for San Diego and .222 with 2 HR and 9 RBI in 34 games for Atlanta...Hit .365 (31-85) in April and May with Padres, with 2 homers and 13 RBI...From June 1 through end of season, batted only .191 (22-115)...Hit all 5 of his HR vs. right-handed pitching...Has hit 50 of his 52 career homers off righties...Was on the disabled list June 29 to July 26 with a strained right hamstring...Was his 9th career trip to the DL....Was activated and traded to Atlanta that day...Batted .341 (14-41) when putting the ball in play on the first pitch...Threw out 28% (13 of 47) of runners attempting to steal in '99...In 12 seasons in the big leagues, has thrown out 128 of 402 runners (31.8%) attempting to steal...Saw action in six post-season games, including four in the Braves World Series loss to the Yankees...Went 2-for-8 in post-season, including 2-for-6 with an RBI in the Series.
1998
Made 52 appearances, including 38 starts, behind the plate...Padres went 23-15 in his starts, and San Diego pitchers registered a 3.80 ERA in his 357.2 innings behind the plate...Hit .298 with 5 doubles and 7 RBI in 16 games in April...Batted .226 with 5 doubles, 4 homers and 13 RBI in 53 games the rest of the season...Hit .300 (6-20) with 3 RBI as pinch-hitter...Missed 43 games while on DL, 6/4-7/24, with a chipped bone in his left hand suffered making tag at plate...Had his 2nd career 5-RBI game, 4/3 at St. Louis, in his 2nd game of season...Also had 5 RBI on 5/24/96 with Minnesota vs. Detroit...His bases-loaded pinch-hit single off the Phillies' Mark Leiter in bottom of 9th on 5/16 lifted Padres to 3-2 win...Posted a .987 fielding percentage, with 4 errors in 309 total chances...Was charged with only one passed ball...Threw out 12 of 36 runners trying to steal (33%)...Went 1-for-7 with a homer and 2 RBI in 5 post-season appearances...Lone hit was a 2-run homer off Atlanta's Kerry Ligtenberg in bottom of 9th in NLCS Game 5...Made his post-season debut after previously being member of two clubs that qualified for post-season play...Was a member of Toronto's 1991 ALCS roster, but did not see post-season action...In 1997, was acquired by Atlanta 9/5, five days after deadline to be eligible for post-season play.
1997
Batted .267 in 62 games with Minnesota before being traded to Atlanta on 9/5...Hit in 4 of his first 5 games, 4/3-10, going 6-for-15 (.400)...Went 4-for-5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI 5/12 vs. Toronto...Had at least one RBI in 4 straight games, 5/18-26...Hit in 6 straight games over 19-day span, 6/3-21, going 8-for-18 (.444)...Had pinch-hit single 6/21 at Chicago to raise his average to season-best .303...Batted .300 (9-for-30) with 5 doubles, a homer and 9 RBI in 11 June contests...Hit .421 (8-for-19) with a pair of home runs in August...Was acquired by the Braves in exchange for minor league infielder Steve Hacker on 9/5 and was ineligible for post season play with Atlanta.
1996
Established career highs in batting average (.286), ABs (329), runs scored (37), hits (71), triples (3) and RBI (47) in 97 games with Minnesota...Went 5-for-6 with 5 RBI April 24 at Detroit, the first 5-hit and 5-RBI game of his career...Led the AL with a .440 batting average with a 3-2 count...Posted career-best 9-game hitting streak 6/4-15, going 13-for-37 (.351)...Went 6-for-16 (.375) with 3 RBI as a pinch-hitter...All 6 of his home runs came off righthanders...Had his first career 2-homer game, 6/10 vs. Seattle...Hit .412 (21-for-51) in 16 games, 4/12-5/4...Threw out 15 of 52 (29%) runners attempting to steal...Had a .986 fielding percentage and allowed 6 passed balls...Was on 15-day DL with an abdominal strain, 7/15-8/1.
1995
Made 53 starts behind the plate and 15 more at designated hitter for California between three trips to disabled list...Hit career-high 9 home runs...Batted .303 (37-for-122) with runners on base, .350 (14-for-40) on artificial turf and .313 (25-for-80) in day games...Threw out 8 of 35 (23%) runners attempting to steal...Began season on 15-day DL with a fractured right big toe and was activated 5/6...On 5/24 vs. New York, hit his first triple since 6/12/9...Went back on DL 6/5-21 with strained left quadriceps...Homered in back-to-back games 8/13 at Minnesota & 8/14 at Chicago...Hit .345 (10-29) during 8-game hitting streak, 8/7-16...Was forced to DL for third time with strained left rib cage muscle on 9/30.
1994
Appeared in only 45 big league games due to torn cartilage in his left knee suffered in a home plate collision with Mike Greenwell on 4/23 at Boston...Placed on 15-day DL 4/24 and underwent arthroscopic surgery 2 days later...Missed 54 games...Played 10 games with Lake Elsinore on rehabilitation assignment..Tied Angels team mark with 2 hits in the 8th inning, 6/25 vs. Texas...Made first 4 starts of his career against left-handed pitchers.
1993
Played in a career-high 108 games for California...Stole the only 3 bases of his career...Threw out 23 of 90 (26%) runners attempting to steal and posted a .986 fielding percentage...Went 8-for-25 (.320) with 2 homers and 8 RBI as a pinch hitter...Hit 2-run, pinch-hit homer off Stan Belinda, 8/15 at Seattle...Was Nolan Ryan's final career strikeout victim in the 5th inning on 9/17 vs. Texas.
1992
Began season with Toronto before being traded to California with outfielder Rob Ducey in exchange for righthander Mark Eichhorn on 7/30...Season ended 8/27 due to a chip fracture of the hamate bone in his right hand.
1991
Enjoyed his first full season in the majors...Had his first career 4-hit game, 6/25 at Minnesota...Was on active roster but did not appear in ALCS vs. Minnesota.
1990
Hit his first ML homer off Luis Aquino, 4/20 vs. Kansas City...Was on DL, 5/5-25, after injuring left shoulder in home plate collision with Detroit's Lou Whitaker...Threw out 17 of 57 (30%) runners attempting to steal.
1989
Began season at AA Knoxville...Contract was purchased by Toronto on 7/2...Recorded his first big league RBI, 7/30 at New York...Was optioned to AAA Syracuse on 8/2 and recalled 9/3.