Michael Eugene Fontenot (FONT-uh-no)...is an alum of Louisiana State University...helped the Tigers win a NCAA National Championship in 2000...set LSU freshman record with 17 home runs...hit .353 as freshman and .339 as sophomore...blasted 31 long balls in 2 seasons with the Tigers...noteworthy college teammates included LHP Brian Tallet, INF Ryan Theriot and RHP Brian Wilson...graduated from Salmen (LA) High.
2013
For first time since 2006, did not play in the big leagues...spent entire '13 season with the Rays' Triple-A affiliate in Durham, legging out a career-best 32 doubles...played in 120 of Bulls' 142 games.
2012
Started spring training with the Giants but was released on March 30...signed with the Phillies on April 13 and was assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, where he played 16 games and hit .308 (16-for-52) before being selected by the Phillies on May 14...appeared in 47 games (22 starts; 13-2B, 9-3B) and hit .289 (28-for-97) with Philadelphia before being designated for assignment on Aug 1.
2011
Provided much needed depth to Giants' offense and defense in his 6th season in big leagues, his
2nd with San Francisco...appeared in 85 games, 37 at shortstop (33 starts), 23 at 2nd base (16 starts)
and 8 at 3rd (2 starts) ... Hit .227 (50-for-220) with 15 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 4 HRs and 21 RBI. ... Was tied with Aaron Rowand for 2nd-most pinch-hit atbats
on club, but hit just .154 (4-for-26) in those situations. ... Hit his 1st home run as Giant and 1st of season on April
13 vs. Los Angeles-NL off LHP Ted Lilly...solo shot to right
field arcade gave Giants 4-3 victory...Fontenot, who was
starting just his 2nd game of season, was late replacement
for Mark DeRosa, who was scratched from lineup
with sore left wrist...infielder found out he was starting
5-10 minutes before game time...he also lined 2nd-inning
RBI-2B before hitting clout...entering game, Fontenot had
been hitless in his 1st 9 at-bats of season. ... As Giants' offense was slumping mightily on their 3rd road
trip of season, Fontenot was moved to 3rd spot in starting
lineup on May 3 at New York-NL for 1st time since July
20-22, 2007 (batted 3rd for all 3 games at Arizona)...had
been hitting .353 (6-for-17) during 1st 6 games of road trip
before Bochy slotted him in 3rd spot. ... Snapped 17 at-bat hitless streak vs. RHP with single to
center field off Pirates' RHP Jeff Karstens on April 28 at
PNC Park. ... Recorded his 1st career game-ending RBI on May 7 vs.
Colorado, hitting deep, sky-rocketing sacrifice fly to right
field, knocking home Aaron Rowand, and giving Giants 3-2
walk-off victory. ... Left game on May 25 vs. Florida in top of 5th inning with
left groin strain...tried to beat out grounder to 2nd base
and pulled up just short of 1st...was placed on 15-day DL
next day, one of three Giants players to be placed on DL
(also Darren Ford, Buster Posey). ... Began rehab assignment with triple-A Fresno on June
9, however in his 2nd rehab game on June 10, he felt
tightness in his groin and left contest...flew back to San
Francisco to rest for 2-plus weeks before re-starting his
2nd rehab on June 30...was reinstated from DL on July
8, taking roster spot of Bill Hall, who was placed on DL
after needing seven stitches to close gash in his leg...
batted .219 (7-for-32) with HR and 3 RBI in his 10 rehab
games with Fresno. ... Had career-high 22 at-bat hitless streak from July 19 (final
at-bat) to July 30...snapped streak with single in his 1st
at-bat in 7th inning on July 30 at Cincinnati. ... Finished season batting .300 (6-for-20) with 7 RBI over his
last 7 contests.
2010
Utility infielder split season between Cubs and Giants, batting .283 (68-for-240) with HR and 25 RBI in 103 games.
Was acquired by Giants from Cubs prior to game on Aug. 11 in exchange for minor league outfielder Evan Crawford...with Cubs in town that night, Fontenot didn't have to go far to join his new team...he simply took off his Cubs jersey and walked down hallway to Giants clubhouse. ... Went 20-for-71 (.282) in 28 games (15 starts) in Giants uniform...started 9 games at 2nd base and 3 at shortstop. ... Batted .340 (18-for-53) with runners in scoring position, which was 11th-highest clip among NL players with at least 50 at-bats. ... Led Cubs with .347 batting average (17-for-49) and .407 on-base pct. in May. ... Delivered his 1st career grand slam on May 7 at Cincinnati, with pinch-hit blast in 8th inning off Carlos Fisher...was 1st by Cub since Derrek Lee's pinch-hit grand slam on May 19, 2007 vs. Chicago-AL.
POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Went 3-for-14 (.214) in 7 postseason games with San Francisco.
Appeared in 3 of 4 NLDS games vs. Atlanta, starting final 2 contests at 3rd base...tripled and scored Giants' 1st run in Game 3 and went hitless in 2 at-bats in Game 4...overall, went 1-for-6 in NLDS. ... Went 2-for-8 (.250) with BB and stolen base in 4 games of LCS against Philadelphia...made 2 starts at 3rd base in place of Pablo Sandoval. ... Did not appear in any of 5 games of World Series against Texas, but was on 25-man roster.
2009
Mike spent his second-consecutive full season in the majors with Chicago, setting numerous career bests including 135 games,
89 hits, 43 RBI and 35 walks ... tied his career marks with 22 doubles and nine homers, both accomplished in 2008.
... Played 70 games (63 starts) at second base and 50 games (37 starts)
at third base - the action at third was the first of his big league career.
... Batted .245 (54-for-220) as a second baseman compared to a .224
mark (30-for-134) while at third.
... Went 3-for-4 with two runs scored in his first career Opening Day start (at
second base) April 6 in Houston.
... Tied his career high with four RBI April 8 in Houston, finishing the game
2-for-5 with a run scored and a second-inning, three-run homer.
... His three walks April 11 in Milwaukee tied his career high, also done
August 2, 2007 vs. Philadelphia and May 7, 2008 at Cincinnati.
... Homered in consecutive games for the second time in his career, April
27-28 in Arizona - also turned the trick July 8 and 10, 2008 vs.
Cincinnati.
... Found himself at third base for 10-straight starts, April 25-May 5, while
Aramis Ramirez was recovering from a strained calf ... batted .314 (11-
for-35) with four homers and 10 RBI in that span.
... Went 4-for-5 with a RBI June 9 in Houston - the four hits marked a
season high and came on his 29th birthday.
... Recorded three-straight multi-hit games, July 3-5, for the first time in a
single season.
... Recorded his career-high tying 22nd double of the season September 16
vs. Milwaukee.
... Recorded his 43rd RBI of the year, extending his career-best mark, with
a second-inning single in Game Two of a day-night doubleheader
September 30 vs. Pittsburgh.
... Batted a monthly-best .317 (13-for-41) in 19 September games.
2008
In his first full season with the Cubs, batted .360 (36-for-100) following the All-Star break.
© Made 49 starts on the season and appeared off the bench in 70
contests.
Recorded a .995 fielding percentage (1 E/193 TC) in his 49
starts.
© Of his 74 hits, 67 came against right-handed pitching ... hit .302 (67-
for-222) off righthanders and .333 (7-for-21) off southpaws.
© Was 7-for-33 (.212) as a pinch-hitter ... his seven pinch-hits ranked
second on the team (Daryle Ward, 8).
© Batted .319 (36-for-113) in day games compared to a .292 batting
average in night contests (38-for-130).
© Hit .365 (35-for-96) when coming to bat with one out in an inning.
© Produced a .352 batting average (43-for-122) against N.L. Central
opponents.
© Recorded strong numbers in July, hitting .365 (19-for-52) with six
doubles, a triple, four homers and 15 RBI in 21 games.
© Reached base safely in a career-high 14-consecutive games from June
25-July 18.
© From June 19 through the end of the season, batted .347 (52-for-150)
with 15 doubles, a triple, seven homers and 28 RBI in 65 games.
© Had a season-high eight-game hitting streak from July 22-August 4,
hitting .381 (8-for-21) with six RBI.
© Went 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, two walks and a career-high four
RBI May 3 in St. Louis.
© Belted his first career pinch-homer August 28 vs. Philadelphia, an eighthinning
solo shot that ignited a five-run inning, propelling the Cubs to a
6-4 victory.
© Batted .366 (15-for-41) in September, logging a .471 on-base
percentage.
© Saw action in all three games of the NLDS against the Dodgers, including
a start in Game Three ... all told, was 2-for-6 at the dish.
2007
Mike spent the majority of the 2007 campaign with the big league squad, batting .278 in 86 games.
© Produced a .297 (54-for-182) mark off right-handed pitching compared
to a .212 average (11-for-52) off southpaws.
© His .301 (34-for-113) batting average in night contests was .045 points
higher then his daytime average of .256 (31-for-121).
© Batted .305 (32-for-105) at the "Friendly Confines" compared to a .256
(33-for-129) average on the road.
© Sported a .356 batting average (37-for-104) in 28 games before the All-
Star break.
© Had a torrid June, hitting .397 (31-for-78) with a .422 on-base percentage
and 15 RBI.
© Selected by the Cubs May 15 in New York and collected his first major
league hit that night with an eighth inning, pinch-double off Ambiorix
Burgos.
© Optioned to Triple-A Iowa May 18 ... recalled prior to the game June 9 in
Atlanta, making his first career start, getting the nod at second base and
collecting his first career RBI.
© Hit his first career home run June 10 off the Braves Buddy Carlyle.
© Tied the club's season high and set career mark, going 5-for-5 with two
doubles and two RBI June 25 vs. Colorado.
© Hit safely in seven straight at-bats, June 24-25.
© Posted a career-high, 12-game hitting streak from June 17-30, hitting
.420 (21-for-50) with six doubles, a triple, a homer, six RBI and 11 runs
during the tear.
© Was the runner-up for the N.L. Rookie of the Month voting for June after
leading the league with a .397 (31-for-78) batting average.
© Began the season with Triple-A Iowa, hitting .336 (71-for-211) with 17
doubles, four triples, six home runs and 34 RBI.
Named the PCL Player of the Week for May 7-13, hitting .581
with 13 RBI, 12 runs scored and a 1.129 slugging percentage.
© Made two post-season appearances during the NLDS against Arizona ...
went 0-for-2 in two pinch-hitting appearances in Games Two and Three.
2006
Mike led the Iowa Cubs in batting average with a .296 mark ... played in 111 games for the Triple-A club.
© Hit .364 (28-for-77) in 26 June contests, his highest average of any month of the season ... hit three doubles, two triples, three home runs and drove in
seven runs.
© Batted .311 (59-for-190) on the road as opposed to a .279 mark (48-for-172) at home.
© Recorded a pinch-hit solo homer April 10 at Nashville.
2005
© Acquired by the Cubs with RHP Dave Crouthers and OF Jerry Hairston Jr.
in a February 2005 trade that sent Sammy Sosa to Baltimore.
© Made his major league debut with the Cubs April 13 vs. San Diego in the
first game of the doubleheader as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning and
scored a run ... made his first plate appearance in the second game of
the doubleheader as a pinch-hitter, drawing a walk.
© Appeared in four games for the Cubs before returning to Iowa April 23 ...
was also on the big league roster May 13-20.
© With the Iowa Cubs, batted .272 with 22 doubles, 10 triples, six home
runs and 39 RBI ... drove in a season-high three runs May 30 against
Round Rock.
© Recorded a hit in six-straight games, June 12-17, batting .364 (8-for-22)
during the stretch.
2004
Mike appeared in 136 games for Ottawa (AAA) in his first season at the triple-A level...batted .279 with 48 extra-base hits and 49 RBI on the season...his 146 hits lead the club and ranked 9th in the International League...went 3-for-4 June 18 against Charlotte with a pair of solo homers...drove in 4 runs in the following game against Durham...ended the season by hitting safely in 13 of his final 14 games - batting .310 (18-58) over the span.