Mike Fontenot

Michael Eugene Fontenot (born June 9, 1980), is an American former professional baseball infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, and Philadelphia Phillies.

Mike Fontenot
Fontenot with the Philadelphia Phillies
Infielder
Born: (1980-06-09) June 9, 1980
Slidell, Louisiana
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 13, 2005, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
July 29, 2012, for the Philadelphia Phillies
MLB statistics
Batting average.265
Home runs27
Runs batted in163
Teams
Career highlights and awards

High school career

Mike Fontenot was a standout for Salmen High School in Slidell, Louisiana. After his senior year, he was drafted in the 21st round (625th overall) of the 1999 MLB Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but chose to attend Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship instead of going professional.

College career

At Louisiana State University, Fontenot received National Freshman of the Year recognition as LSU's starting second baseman, batting .353 (103-for-292) with 13 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, 64 RBI, 93 runs, and eight steals. He became the third LSU player to win National Freshman of the Year award, following second baseman Todd Walker (1992) and pitcher Brett Laxton (1993). Fontenot's 17 home runs set an LSU freshman record, surpassing the previous mark of 15 established by Blair Barbier in 1997.

In 2000, he was named to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional all-tournament team, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles, one home run, five RBI, and five runs scored. He was named to the College World Series all-tournament team as he hit a team-best .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, and six runs scored. He, along with future Chicago Cubs teammate Ryan Theriot, was a member of the LSU Tigers baseball team that won the 2000 College World Series. The second baseman was LSU's leading hitter in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, batting .432 (16-for-37) in nine games with four doubles, two home runs and nine RBI.

In 2000, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named the league's MVP.[1]

College awards and honors
2000
2001
  • Pre-Season Southeastern Conference All-Star 2B[2]

Professional career
Fontenot playing for the Chicago Cubs in 2010.

After his time at LSU, Fontenot was chosen in the first round (19th overall) of the 2001 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles.[3] Fontenot signed with the Orioles, garnering a $1,300,000.00 signing bonus as part of the deal.

Fontenot began his minor league career with the Frederick Keys of the Single-A advanced Carolina League in 2002. In 122 games, he batted .264 with 127 hits, eight home runs, and 53 RBI.[4] In 2003, he played for the Bowie Baysox of the Double-A Eastern League. In 126 games, he batted .325 (second in the league to Alex Ríos's .352) with 146 hits (ninth), 12 home runs, and 66 RBI.[5]

Fontenot played for the Ottawa Lynx of the Triple-A International League in 2004. In 136 games (tied with Earl Snyder for fourth in the league behind Bry Nelson's 142, Víctor Díaz's 141, and Jhonny Peralta's 138), he batted .279 with 146 hits, eight home runs, 49 RBI, and 10 triples (tied for second in the league with John Rodriguez and Pete Orr behind Mark Budzinski's 15).[6] Entering the 2005 season, Baseball America ranked Fontenot the seventh-best prospect in the Orioles' organization.[7]

Chicago Cubs

On February 3, 2005, Fontenot was traded to the Chicago Cubs along with 2B/OF Jerry Hairston, Jr. and RHP Dave Crouthers for slugger Sammy Sosa. Until his trade to the San Francisco Giants on August 11, 2010, Fontenot was the only remaining player from that trade still with the Cubs.[8] As part of the Cubs' farm system, Fontenot played for the Iowa Cubs of the AAA Pacific Coast League (2005–2007).

Fontenot made his Major League debut with the Cubs on April 13, 2005. In seven games with the team, he went 0-for-2 with 2 walks and 4 runs scored. In 2006, he spent the entire season with Iowa, batting .296 with 107 hits, eight home runs, and 36 RBI in 111 games.[4] He did not return to the Cubs until May 15, 2007, when he was promoted from AAA to replace relief pitcher Rocky Cherry. He wore Mark Grace's old number, 17. After a fast start, including finishing second in the National League Rookie of the Month voting for June 2007, he became the Cubs' starting second baseman in 2009. After batting .231 into mid-August, Fontenot lost his position as the Cubs everyday second baseman, splitting time with Jeff Baker.

On May 7, 2010, Fontenot hit his first career grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds. It was Fontenot's first home run of the 2010 season, coming in the eighth inning off the first pitch from Carlos Fisher, with the Cubs up 10–4.

During his time with the Cubs Fontenot played himself in the TBS comedy My Boys in the third season finale "Spring Training."

San Francisco Giants

On August 11, 2010, Fontenot was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Evan Crawford. On October 23, the Giants beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games to advance to the World Series. Fontenot got a hit in his only at-bat in the NLCS clinching game. He was part of the 25-man World Series roster and has the unusual distinction of being credited with appearing in the World Series with neither a plate appearance nor play in the field.[9] In the eighth inning of Game 2, the left-handed-hitting Fontenot was announced as a pinch-hitter with the Giants leading the Rangers, 6–0. The Rangers replaced their right-handed pitcher with a left-hander, prompting the Giants to replace Fontenot with the right-handed Aaron Rowand. Rowand tripled. Fontenot did not appear in another game in the World Series which the Giants won in five games.[10]

On April 13, 2011, Fontenot hit a go-ahead homer to help the Giants win 4-3 over the rival Los Angeles Dodgers.

On March 30, 2012, Fontenot was released by the Giants during Spring Training.

Philadelphia Phillies

On April 13, 2012, the Philadelphia Phillies agreed to sign Fontenot to a minor league contract.[11] He was initially assigned to the AAA Lehigh Valley IronPigs,[12] but returned to Majors in May.[13] On August 1, Fontenot was designated for assignment by the Phillies. Fontenot had a triple-slash of .289/.343/.340 in 45 games, but he was 1 for 15 against left-handed pitchers. Michael Martínez was recalled to take his place.[14]

Tampa Bay Rays

Fontenot was part of the Tampa Bay Rays organization in 2013, playing for the AAA Durham Bulls.[15]

Washington Nationals

On January 9, 2014 Fontenot signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He was released on March 26, 2014 after hitting just .105 in Spring Training.

Return To Tampa

Fontenot signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays on March 28, 2014, and was assigned to Triple-A Durham.[16]

Professional awards and honors

2003

  • Baltimore Orioles Minor League Player of the Year
  • Eastern League All-Star 2B

References
  1. Sean Walsh (June 6, 2001). "Cape League Cleans House In Draft". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. "Mike Fontenot Statistics (2002-2012)". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  3. "Orioles Warehouse: 2001 Draft". Oobleck.com. 2002-07-27. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  4. "Mike Fontenot Minor League Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com (Minors). Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  5. "2003 Eastern League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com (Minors). Retrieved March 16, 2013.
  6. "2004 International League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com (Minors). Retrieved March 23, 2013.
  7. Lingo, Will (2004-11-12). "Top Ten Prospects: Baltimore Orioles". Baseball America. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  8. "Trade Central". Baseball America. 2005-02-02. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  9. "Giants announce 25-man roster for 2010 World Series". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. 2010-10-27. Retrieved 2010-11-05.
  10. Tyler Kepner (2011-02-25). "How to Appear in the World Series (Without Actually Playing)". New York Times. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
  11. "Phillies To Sign Mike Fontenot". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  12. "Fontenot signing shouldn't affect Galvis". Retrieved 14 April 2012.
  13. "Hometown Heroes: Fontenot Back In Majors; Coleman Dealing; Miley Shines". May 21, 2012. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  14. Drellich, Evan (August 1, 2012). "Phillies designate Fontenot, recall Martinez". MLB.com.
  15. "Mike Fontenot Durham Bulls player page".
  16. "Durham Bulls Announce 2014 Opening Day Roster". Durham Bulls. March 30, 2014. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
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