Mike Sweeney #29

Michael John Sweeney...resides in Rancho Santa Fe, CA and Gig Harbor, WA...married the former Shara Nettles following the 2002 season...he and Shara have a two sons, Michael and Donovan and a daughter, McKara graduated from Ontario (CA) High School in 1991...earned three letters in baseball and helped his team to a 26-0 record and the state title in 1991...made his acting debut on Saturday Night Live with Helen Hunt following the 1997 season.

2009

Over his final 25 games hit .381 (32x84) with 11 runs, 6 doubles, 4 home runs, 15 RBI with .424 OBP, .595 SLG...his batting average ranked as 2nd best in the Majors after Aug. 20 (min. 90 PA)...Recorded 1,500th career hit Sept. 26 at Toronto (off Casey Janssen)...Hit pinch-hit double in 9th inning off Mariano Rivera Sept. 18 set up Ichiro's walk-off 2-run home run...Hit 100th career Kauffman Stadium home run on Aug. 6 off LHP Bruce Chen...On 15-Day Disabled List with back spasms July 7-21...Hit 200th career home run May 3 vs. Oakland (off Josh Outman)...His .340 batting average against right-handers (min. 100 AB) was 3rd-best in the American League behind Joe Mauer and Ichiro Suzuki...Recorded 5 multi-hit games as part of a season-high 7 game hitting streak Aug. 20-29... during the streak hit .500 (13x26) with 6 runs, 5 doubles, 1 home run and 7 RBI...Hit .455 (5x11) as a pinch hitter, tied for highest in the AL (min. 10 PA).

2008

Signed a minor league contract with the A's on Feb. 11...made the A's Opening Day roster...hit 300th career double in the 6th inning on April 14 at Chicago...struck out for the first time on April 16 at Seattle, snapping a season-opening streak of 58 consecutive plate appearances without a strikeout...it ended a streak of 64 consecutive plate appearances without fanning dating back to 2007, which is the longest streak of his career...missed 85 games while on the disabled list, May 29-Sept. 3...originally placed on the DL with a left knee inflammation and eventually had surgeries on both of his knees on June 11 by A's team orthopedist, Dr. John Frazier...hit .222 (6-for-27) in a 9-game rehab assignment with Sacramento, Aug. 18-30...released on Sept. 9.

2007

Struggled with injuries in 2007, hitting .260 with 7 home runs and 38 RBI in 74 games...Hit .333 (25-for-75) with runners in scoring position and .301 (25-for-83) against left-handed pitchers...Made his 11th consecutive Opening Day start with the Royals...5 of his 7 home runs came with 2 outs and 4 of the 7 either tied the game or gave the Royals the lead...Hit his first 2 home runs of the season off the Twins' Sidney Ponson (April 20 and April 25)...Made the start at first base on May 5 vs. Detroit...was the first time he's started at first since Aug. 28, 2005 at New York...Hit his 194th career home run on May 9 vs. Oakland, moving him past Amos Otis into second on the Royals all-time list...the homer proved to be the game winner as it snapped a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth...Played in his 1,246th career game with the Royals on May 22 vs. Cleveland, passing Fred Patek and moving into sixth place on the all-time list...Homered in back-to-back games on May 22 and 23 vs. Cleveland, marking the 35th time in his career he's homered in back-to-back games...Hit his fifth-career triple and his first since Sept. 3, 2003 at Texas on June 1 at Tampa Bay...Was placed on the 15-day DL with right knee inflammation on June 19... transferred to the 60-day DL on Aug. 24...missed 62 games before being reinstated between games on Aug. 31...Played 6 games in a rehab assignment for Omaha and hit .190 (4-for-21) with 1 RBI and 1 run scored in late August...Pinch hit in his first game back on Aug. 31 and broke up the Twins' Scott Baker's no-hit bid with a single in the ninth inning...Hit .311 (19-for-61) with 5 doubles, 7 RBI and 6 runs scored in 17 games the remainder of the season after he was reinstated from the DL on Aug. 31...Recorded his 700th career run on Sept. 28 vs. Cleveland.

2006

Had a majority of his season wiped out by a bulging disc in his back...played in just 60 games and recorded just 217 at bats, his fewest since 1996 when he played in 50 games and had 165 at bats...Hit .258 (56-217) with 15 doubles, 8 home runs and 33 RBI...marked his worst offensive season since hitting .242 with 7 home runs and 31 RBI in 84 games in 1997...Did hit .295 (44-149) with 12 doubles, 6 home runs and 27 RBI in 40 games after returning from injury on Aug. 8...Did not make an appearance in the field the entire season for the 1st time in his career... started 59 games at designated hitter and made 1 pinch hit appearance...Moved into 6th place on the Royals all-time at bats list with 4,404...Lined out to third base in only pinch hit appearance of the season on April 19 at Chicago...Equaled a Royals franchise record with 4 walks on April 25 vs. Minnesota (14 times)...became the 1st KC player since Johnny Damon on July 25, 1999 to accomplish the feat...Placed on the 15-day D.L. with a bulging disk on May 3...transferred to the 60-day D.L. on June 16...was activated from the D.L. on Aug. 8 after missing 88 games...Spent 11 games on a rehab assignment from July 25-Aug. 6 at Burlington (A), Wichita (AA) and Omaha (AAA)...hit a combined .314 (11-35) with 3 home runs and 10 RBI...Returned to the lineup on Aug. 8 vs. Boston and went 1-for-3 with 2 walks and a run scored...hit in 7 straight games (.333, 9-27) from Aug. 8-14 after being reinstated from the D.L...Had just 1 RBI in his 1st 9 games after returning from the D.L...the RBI came on Aug. 9 vs. Boston and was a walk-off single in the 9th inning to give KC a 5-4 win, its 1st walk-off win of the season...Left the game on Aug. 19 with tightness behind his left knee...returned to the lineup on Aug. 22 after missing just 1 game...Went 4-for-6 with a home run and 4 RBI on Aug. 23 vs. Cleveland...was his 21st career 4-hit game...Homered in back-to-back games Aug. 23-24 vs. Cleveland...was his 1st time homering in back-to-back games since Aug. 3-4, 2005 at Boston...Hit .455 (10-22) with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 11 RBI in 6 games on the homestand from Aug. 18-24...Went 3-for-5 with 2 doubles and a 3-run home run in KC's 10-9 win at Boston on Sept. 8...Missed 5 games from Sept. 10-15 with right oblique stiffness...Ended his season with two consecutive 3-hit games, going a combined 6-for-9 with a double, home run and 4 RBI on Sept. 29-30 at Detroit.

2005

Named Les Milgram Royals Player of the Year for the 3rd time in his career after having another banner offensive season for the Royals, leading the team in average (.300), doubles (39) and home runs (21), despite playing in just 122 games...the 122 games, 141 hits and 422 at bats were his most since the 2002 season...the 39 doubles were the 3rd-most in his career and most since 2001 (46)...Named 2005 Players Choice Marvin Miller Man of the Year, given to the player in either league whose on-fi eld performance and contributions to his community inspire others to higher levels of achievement...Hit .300 for the 6th time in his career, but reached that mark for the 1st time since 2002 when he hit a career-high .340... Recorded 20 or more home runs for the 6th time in his career and the 6th time in the last 7 seasons...joins George Brett (8 seasons) as the only players in Royals history to record 6 or more 20+ home run seasons...Was named to his 5th All-Star team in the last 6 seasons...Became just 1 of 10 Major Leaguers since 2000 to have at least 5 All-Star selections...Recorded 4 multi-home run games, his most in any season...had 12 entering the season and no more than 3 in any 1 season (1999, 2001)...Had more success in day games, hitting .337 (57-169) with 12 home runs compared to .279 (84-301) with 9 home runs in 81 night games...recorded 3 of his 4 multi-home run games during the day (5/1 at Cleveland, 7/10 vs. Minnesota and 7/27 vs. Chicago)...his .337 day batting average ranked him 4th in the A.L...Homered vs. Detroit on April 16 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games...hit .381 (16-42) with 8 RBI during the streak...the homer snapped a string of 66 consecutive at bats without a home run dating back to 2004...Moved past Joe Randa for 7th place on the Royals career at bat chart April 17 vs. Detroit...Named Royals Player of the Month for April, hitting .281 with 2 homers and a team-leading 17 RBI...Recorded his 13th career 2-home run game May 1 at Cleveland, the 2nd of which was the game-winner breaking a 5-5 tie in the 8th inning...Recorded his 14th career 2-homer game May 3 at Chicago...hit 4 home runs May 1 and 3, a span of 7 at bats...he was 5-for-7 (.714) with 5 RBI in those 2 games...became just the 3rd player in club history to turn in back-to-back multi-homer games...Sweeney was the 1st to do so since Darrell Porter, Sept. 7-8, 1977...Ed Kirkpatrick is the only other Royal to accomplish the feat (Sept. 28, 30, 1969)...Hit his 170th career home run May 10 at Toronto, moving past Frank White into 3rd on the Royals all-time list...hit all 7 of his May home runs in his 1st 9 games of the month...Missed 5 games May 12-17 with a sore right oblique muscle...Hit safely in 14 straight games April 30-May 20...hit .415 (22-for-53) over that span scoring 13 runs with 6 doubles, 7 home runs and 15 RBI...Doubled on May 28 at Los Angeles (A.L.), giving him 242 in his career and moving him past Willie Wilson for 5th place on the Royals all-time list...Missed 5 games June 8-12 with a sore right oblique muscle...Sprained his left wrist in a collision with Dodgers outfielder Jayson Werth on June 15...placed on the 15-Day Disabled List June 20 retroactive to the 16th...Was named the Royals July Player of the Month after hitting .337 (30-89) with 6 home runs and 20 RBI...the 20 RBI were his most in any month...Activated from the 15-Day D.L July 1 after missing 13 games...Chosen as the Royals All-Star representative July 3...named to the All-Star team for the 5th time in 6 years...1 of just 10 Major Leaguers to make 5 or more All-Star teams between 2000-2005...struck out against the Astros' Brad Lidge in his only at-bat of the game on July 12...Walked July 5 against Seattle snapping a streak of 21 games dating back to May 20 in which he had not drawn a walk...Recorded his 1st-career 5-hit game on July 9 vs. Minnesota, going 5-for-6 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI...had hits in 8 straight plate appearances dating back to July 8, equalling Joe Randa's franchise record set in 1999...Homered twice July 10 vs. Minnesota snapping a streak of 28 games without a homer...it was his longest homerless streak since going 33 games May 19-June 27, 1999...it was his 15th multi-home run game of his career...Hit .733 (11-for-15) with 2 home runs and 3 doubles with 7 RBI in the final 3 games of the 1st half, July 8-10...Set a new season high with his 4th multi-homer game of the season July 27 vs. Chicago (AL)...it was the 16th multi-homer game of his career...hit a 2-run shot in the 6th inning and a game-tying 3-run blast in the 8th inning.

2004

Hit .287 (118-411) with 23 doubles, 22 home runs and 79 RBI in 106 games for the Royals...led the team in HRs and RBI...Hit just .221 (25-113) vs. lefties after hitting .304 (239-786) in his career prior to 2004...Hit .324 (22-68) with 4 home runs in April, before going 51-for-207 (.246) in May and June...rebounded to hit .331 (45-136) in his final 35 games...Started at 1st base for the Royals on Opening Day, marking his 5th consecutive Opening Day start and 6th overall (also 1998 at catcher)...Delivered a 2-out, 2-run single in the 9th inning vs. Cleveland on April 10 in KC's 10-inning, 7-6 win..Tied a career high in hits by going 4-for-6 with 2 runs and 2 RBI at Cleveland on April 20...also had 4 hits in games at Baltimore on July 11 and vs. Minnesota on July 16...Became the 1st Royal since George Brett (July 27, 1985 vs. Cleveland) to draw 3-straight intentional walks at Boston on May 9...Delivered a game-winning, 2-run double to score Desi Relaford and Carlos Beltran with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th in KC's 4-3 win over Toronto on May 12...Moved past John Mayberry for 5th place on KC's all-time home run chart at 144 with a solo shot at Texas on May 19...Hit his 150th career home run in the 8th inning of KC's 8-1 win over Detroit on June 22...Tied a season-long 8-game hit streak by batting .343 (12-35) from June 19-27...also had an 8-game streak from April 9-17...Missed 6 games with back stiffness from July 2-7 (all KC losses)...returned to action on July 9 at Baltimore and delivered a 2-run double to score Desi Relaford and Tony Graffanino in the 6th inning of KC's 7-0 win...the runs snapped a club-record streak of 32-straight scoreless innings for the Royals...Went 4-for-6 with 2 home runs, 3 runs and 3 RBI at Baltimore on July 11...was his 11th career multihomer game and 1st since May 9, 2002 vs. Cleveland...Celebrated his 31st birthday by going 2-for-5 with 2 home runs and a career-best 7 RBI at Detroit on July 22...hit his 3rd career grand slam in the 2nd and a 3-run homer in the 8th...the 7 RBI matched a club record (7th time), while the performance was his 12th career multi-homer game and 2nd in 9 games (also July 11 at Baltimore)...Hit his 20th home run of the season vs. Cleveland on July 31, giving him 5 seasons with 20 or more homers in his career...Named Royals Player of the Month for July after batting at a club-best .344 (31-90) clip with 5 doubles, 7 home runs and 23 RBI...Left the Aug. 3 game vs. Chicago in the 5th inning with back spasms...returned to action on Aug. 7, going 2-for-5 with 2 doubles, 1 run and 1 RBI vs. Anaheim...Tied Frank White for 4th on the club's all-time home run chart at 160 with a solo homer in the 3rd inning of KC's 6-4 loss to Anaheim on Aug. 8...fi nished 3-for-4 with a double, run and 3 RBI...moved into sole possession of 4th place on Aug. 11 with a home run at Chicago...Left the Aug. 17 game vs. Seattle in the 3rd inning with lower back tightness...returned to the starting lineup on Aug. 21 (1-4, walk)...Was placed on the 15-day D.L. on Aug. 24 with a recurring disk injury and missed the remainder of the season.

2003

Named to his 4th consecutive Major League All-Star Game, despite playing in a season plagued by injuries...did not play in the game at U.S. Cellular Field...Joined closer Mike MacDougal at the Mid-Summer Classic, marking the 1st time since 2000 (Sweeney and Jermaine Dye) that KC had 2 representatives and just the 2nd time since 1989 (Bo Jackson and Mark Gubicza)...Was KC's Opening Day starter at 1st base for the 4th straight season...was the 5th time in his career he started on Opening Day (also at catcher in 1998)...Finished the season with a .293 average, his lowest since 1998 (.259)...played in just 108 games, also his fewest since 1998...recorded 18 doubles, 1 triple, 16 home runs and 83 RBI on the year...Posted a .398 (43-108) average with runners in scoring position...would have led the league with RISP by 41 points if he met the minimum plate appearance criteria...Led the American League in average with runners in scoring position through May 13, hitting .474 (9-19, HR, 16 RBI)...Was named the Royals Player of the Month for May after leading the club in average (.337), hits (30) and on-base percentage (.443)...Reached base safely in 33 straight games from April 22-June 2, before going 0-for-4 at Los Angeles (AL) ...he reached base 64 times in 139 plate appearances during the streak for a .460 on-base percentage (38 H, 26 BB, 0 HBP)...was the 5th-longest streak by a Royal since 1980 and was the longest since Jose Offerman's 43-game streak (July 11-Aug. 24, 1998)...Hit his 2nd career grand slam in KC's 13-11 win in game 1 of a doubleheader at Colorado on June 7...was his 1st slam since at Seattle on May 14, 1999...Delivered a game-winning, 2-run single with 2 outs in the 9th vs. San Francisco on June 15...Tied a then-career-high with 5 RBI (6th time) vs. Minnesota on June 16...went 2-for-4 with a homer...Hit safely in 32 of 35 games from May 23-Aug. 21...hit .357 (46-129) during the 35-game stretch with 5 homers and 31 RBI...Was placed on the Disabled List on June 26 (retro to June 19) with nerve irritation in neck/back...was reinsated on Aug. 8 after missing 45 games.

2002

Turned in one of the best seasons of his career, hitting .340 for the 2nd-highest batting average in the American League and the 2nd-highest in club history...Was in the hunt for the A.L. batting crown through the season's final weekend, before falling short of Boston's Manny Ramirez who hit a league-best .349...was hitting .347 on Sept. 24 before going 2-for-16 in his final 4 games...His .340 batting average was 2nd in club history to George Brett's .390 average in 1980, ranking ahead of the previous 2nd-place mark of .335 set by Brett in 1985...Was selected to his 3rd straight All-Star Game...had 1 at bat in the game and fouled out...Was named the Royals Player of the Year in a vote by local baseball writers, marking the 2nd time he has won the award (also 2000)...Signed a 5-year contract extension through 2007 on March 29, 2002...Led the team in slugging percentage (.563), on-base percentage (.417) and intentional walks (10)...ranked 3rd on the team with 86 RBI...Was among the league leaders in on-base percentage (.417, 4th), slugging percentage (.563, 7th), intentional walks (9th), and average with runners in scoring position (.402, 2nd)...Was the 3rd toughest player in the American League to strike out, striking out just 46 times in 545 plate appearances (1 per 11.8 plate appearances)...Became the 5th Royal in club history to record a straight steal of home and the 1st since Fred Patek vs. Minnesota on June 18, 1977 with a stolen base off New York's Andy Pettitte on Aug. 14...his stolen base came on a 1-2 count with left-hander Aaron Guiel at the plate and gave the Royals a 2-1 lead... KC lost the game 3-2 in 14 innings...Was placed on the D.L. for the 1st time in his career on July 26 (retroactive to July 14) with a lower back and hip strain...he hit .311 (51-164) after returning from the D.L...KC strung together a 9-game winning streak during Sweeney's absence, as he played in only the 1st game of the 9-game streak...Set a club record by homering in 5 straight games from June 25 to June 29...he homered 5 times in 17 at bats...Hit the 100th home run of his career on April 5 vs. Chicago, becoming the 10th player in club history to hit 100 home runs...scored the 400th run of his career on April 24 vs. Detroit in the 4th inning...Recorded his 500th career RBI at Oakland on Sept. 4 with a 3-run HR...Was twice named the American League Player of the Week (May 20-26 and June 24-30)...he hit .500 during the week of his 1st award (in 6 games with 2 homers, 3 doubles, 7 RBI and 5 runs)...for his 2nd award, he went 10-for-21 (.476) with 10 RBI and 9 of his 10 hits for extra bases (4 doubles, 5 home runs)..he had a 1.619 slugging percentage for the week...Won the Royals Player of the Month award in 4 of 6 chances, winning the honor in April (.326), May (.357), June (.400) and September (.330)...Hit .361 prior to the All-Star Break, becoming the 1st Royal since George Brett in 1985 to lead the Majors in batting average at the All-Star Break...Put together a 12-game hitting streak from June 16-29, the longest streak by any Royals player during the season...he hit .545 (24-for-44) during the streak with 4 doubles, 6 home runs, 12 RBI and 12 runs scored...also had an 11-game hitting streak from Sept. 4-15...Had his 10th multi-homer game on May 9 vs. Cleveland, hitting a pair of 2-out solo shots off Bartolo Colon in the 6th and 8th innings...Raised his average from .309 on May 18 to a season-best .367 on June 28 with 53 hits in a 34-game stretch... he hit .424 during that span (53-125) with 12 doubles, 8 home runs and 23 RBI during that stretch.

2001

Batted .304 in 147 games and led the club in doubles (46), home runs (29), and walks (64)...earned his 2nd All-Star appearance as an A.L. reserve infielder at the 2001 All-Star Game in Seattle...Established career highs in doubles (46) and stolen bases (10), surpassing his total of 44 and 8, set in 1999 and 2000, respectively...also tied his career high of 29 HRs (2000)...Ranked 2nd in the A.L. in doubles (46), 1 behind Jason Giambi (OAK)...drew 13 intentional walks on the season, the 6th-most in the league...His 46 doubles tied for 2nd on the club's single season charts with Hal McRae (1982)...Fell 1 RBI short of becoming the 1st player in club history to record 3 consecutive 100 RBI seasons...Smashed 17 doubles in May, 1 shy of the club record set by George Brett in July, 1990...hit 9 doubles in a 6-game stretch, including a 3 at Minnesota on May 12 (Joe Randa also had 3 doubles in the game)...Hit a walk-off home run in the 13th inning vs. St. Louis on June 14 to lift the Royals to a 3-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium and give the Royals their 1st-ever sweep over St. Louis...Hit .520 (26-for-50) with 19 RBI and 6 HRs during a 13-game hitting streak from June 22-July 5...Became the 11th player in franchise history to homer in 4 straight games June 28-July 1...hit 5 home runs in the stretch of 13 at bats...hit 8 home runs in a 12-game stretch (June 18-July 1)...Was named the American League Player of the Month for June after hitting .392 (38-for-97) with 6 doubles, 11 home runs and 29 RBI...Raised his batting average to a season-high .344 on July 4 (game 83) after going 2-for-4 at Detroit...it was the same day he was named to his 2nd All-Star Game...Was ejected vs. Detroit Aug. 10 (1st career ejection) after charging pitcher Jeff Weaver in the 6th inning...he missed the next 15 games, 5 due to a bruised hand and the next 10 to serve a suspension (1st career suspension)...prior to that, he had played in 171 consecutive games.

2000

Recorded career-bests in average (.333), hits (206), home runs (29) and RBI (144)...Earned his 1st All-Star selection when he was named a reserve for the A.L. club in Atlanta on July 11...joined Jermaine Dye to become the 1st pair of Royals to go to the Mid-Summer Classic since 1989 (Bo Jackson and Mark Gubicza)...Finished 2nd in the league with a club record 144 RBI, breaking Hal McRae's mark of 133 set in 1982...Seattle's Edgar Martinez took the RBI crown with 145 on the season...Finished 3rd in the A.L. with 206 hits, behind Darin Erstad (240) and Johnny Damon (214)...Led the A.L. hitting at a .385 clip (79-for-205) with 10 HRs and 102 RBI with RISP...Logged the 2nd-best road average in the league by hitting .359 (111-for-309) with 12 homers and 71 RBI away from Kauffman Stadium...Tied Carlos Delgado as the most frequently-hit batter in the A.L...both were hit by 15 pitches...also finished 2nd in the league with 13 sacrifice flies...Named Royals Player of the Month for May after hitting at a team-high .385 clip, then the highest monthly average of his career...registered 28 RBI in 27 games, the most of any Royal during the month...Tied John Mayberry's 1973 club record with 74 RBI through June...Owned a .360 average with 15 homers and 78 RBI at the All-Star break...batted at a .301 clip with 14 homers and 66 RBI after the break...Passed the 100-RBI mark for the 2nd straight year on Aug. 13, reaching the century mark faster than any player in Royals history...Hal McRae collected RBI No. 100 on Aug. 16, 1982...Put together a 16-game hitting streak from Aug. 13-30, tying Johnny Damon for the longest streak by a Royal on the season...went 23-for-63 (.365) during that stretch...Tied the club record for RBI in a single season by belting 2 solo homers in Kansas City's 11-3 loss at Seattle on Sept. 12...Set the Royals single-season RBI record by hitting a sacrifice fly to give the Royals 10-9 lead at Texas on Sept. 15...Kansas City lost the game by a 12-11 count in 10 innings.

1999

Began the year as the club's 3rd catcher and part-time designated hitter but put together one of the top offensive campaigns in club history, earning the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award...Led the team with a .322 average, tied for 2nd in doubles (44), home runs (22) and runs scored (101), and was 3rd in RBI (102). Tied for 2nd in the American League in doubles and was the league's 3rd-toughest batter to fan, striking out just once every 13.4 plate appearances...Became the 4th Royal to score 100 runs and drive in 100 runs in the same season, joining Darrell Porter (1979), George Brett (1979 & 1985) and Carlos Beltran, who also accomplished the feat in 1999...Connected for a pair of homers at Tampa Bay on May 5, both off Ryan Rupe...it was the first of his 3 multi-home run games. Belted his 1st career grand slam at Seattle on May 14 off Jeff Fassero...the 4 RBI in the contest matched his career high...Primarily used as the designated hitter in the first 2 months of the season...made his Major League debut at 1st base on June 5 in the 2nd game of the twinbill vs. Cincinnati and logged more time at 1st base than any other player after that time...Hit safely in 16 straight games from June 22-July 7...was 26-for-65, .400, during the streak with 16 runs scored and 19 RBI...Set a club record and tied the American League record by collecting an RBI in 13 straight games from June 23-July 4...recorded 19 RBI in the 13 contests...the 58-year-old AL record was originally set by Chicago's Taffy Wright in 1941...Earned him AL Player of the Week honors for June 27-July 4...batted .400 (12-for-30) during the week with 2 doubles, 4 homers, 26 total bases and an .867 slugging percentage...Put together a career-high 25-game hitting streak from July 18-Aug. 13...was 42-for-102 (.412) during the hot stretch with 23 runs scored and 25 RBI...it was the 3rd-longest streak in the league in 1999 and was the 3rd-longest single-season hitting streak in club history, behind only George Brett's 30-game streak in 1980 and Jose Offerman's 27-game streak in 1998...Garnered more at-bats as the designated hitter than any other player on the club, batting at a .333 clip (91-for-273) with 13 homers and 53 RBI in 71 contests as the DH...Posted a .981 fielding percentage at 1st base, committing a dozen errors...played in just 4 games making 3 starts in back of the plate without an error.

1998

Split time behind the plate with Sal Fasano...posted a .259 batting average with 8 home runs and 35 RBI in 92 games in his 1st full season at the big league level...Was the Royals Opening Day backstop, the 4th different catcher to start on Opening Day for Kansas City in the last 4 years...Tied a club record with 2 hits in an inning vs. Oakland on May 31...Recorded a career-high 4 hits and matched his career high with 4 RBI vs. Oakland on Sept. 14...recorded a single, 2 doubles and a home run in the contest...missed hitting for the cycle by about 40 feet, when he retreated to 2nd base on what appeared to be a sure triple in the 8th inning with the Royals leading by a 12-6 score...Was a .282 hitter (22-for-78) when batting with runners in scoring position, including a .333 mark (8-for-24) with a runner on 3rd base. Threw out 17 of 67 runners (25 percent) attempting to steal.

1997

Mike split the catching duties with Mike Macfarlane in 1997...made 76 appearances in back of the plate including 63 starts...Made the Opening Day roster out of spring training...optioned to Omaha (AAA) but recalled just 3 days later...Belted a 2-run 9th inning game-winning home run off Detroit's Doug Brocail on May 15...Optioned to Omaha for a 2nd time on May 28...recalled July 9 to begin the season's 2nd half...Threw out 23 of 55 runners attempting to steal (42 percent).

1996

Started the year at the Double-A level and progressed up the ladder, finishing the season with Kansas City...earned Royals Minor League Player of the Year honors in the process...Recalled by Kansas City on July 17...notched a .279 average with 4 home runs and 24 RBI in 50 contests at the big league level. Made his 1st big league start of the season on July 18 at Chicago as the designated hitter...responded with 2 hits in 3 at-bats. 1st homer was a 3-run shot off Jamie Moyer at Seattle, Aug. 12...Threw out 6 of 17 runners attempting to steal (35 percent)...Named the catcher on the Minor League All-Star team by Baseball America and was the catcher on the Howe SportsData All-Star team...named the 7th-best prospect in the Texas League in a Baseball America survey of the league's managers.

1995

Recalled by the Royals in September...his 1st Major League hit, a single, came as a pinch hitter off Cleveland's Paul Assenmacher at Jacobs Field in the final game of the season.

1994

Earned the Midwest League's Player of the Week honors April 24-30...selected to play in the league's All-Star game.

1993

Named to Northwest League All-Star team after hitting .240 with 6 home runs and 29 RBI in 53 games for Eugene.

1992

Hit .221 with 4 home runs and 28 RBI in 59 games with Single-A Eugene.

1991

Made his pro debut with the Royals affiliate in the Gulf Coast League.