Mickey Tettleton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mickey Tettleton |
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| Catcher | |||
| Born: September 16, 1960 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| June 30, 1984, for the Oakland Athletics | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| July 2, 1997, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .241 | ||
| Home runs | 245 | ||
| Runs batted in | 732 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Mickey Lee Tettleton (born September 16, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for several teams. These included the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. Mickey mostly played as a catcher, but he also played first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter.
Mickey Tettleton was chosen for the All-Star team twice. He was known as one of the best-hitting catchers of his time. He won three Silver Slugger Awards for his great hitting. He was famous for hitting powerful home runs. For example, he was only the fifth player ever to hit two home runs over the right field roof at Tiger Stadium. In 1992, he was the first player to hit a ball onto Eutaw Street at Baltimore's Camden Yards.
After his playing career, Tettleton became a manager for a collegiate summer team. He has also coached college players since 2019.
Contents
Early Life and College Baseball
Mickey Tettleton was born in Oklahoma City. He was named after the famous baseball player Mickey Mantle. Like Mantle, Tettleton was a switch hitter. This means he could bat both left-handed and right-handed. He was known for his unique batting style. He stood almost straight up at the plate. He held his bat flat until the pitcher threw the ball.
Mickey also had some fun quirks. He often had a large wad of chewing tobacco in his cheek during games. He even joked that eating Froot Loops cereal gave him his hitting power!
Tettleton went to Southeast High School in Oklahoma City. Then he attended Oklahoma State University. In 1980, he played summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen. This was part of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team. They reached the finals of the 1981 College World Series. They lost to the Arizona State Sun Devils. Mickey was chosen for the 1981 College World Series All-Tournament Team as an outfielder.
Mickey's Professional Baseball Career
Starting with the Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics picked Mickey Tettleton in the fifth round of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft. He spent three seasons playing in the minor leagues. He started the 1984 season in Double-A. But he was called up to the major leagues in June. This happened when the Athletics' catcher, Jim Essian, broke his hand.
Mickey made his first MLB game appearance on June 30, 1984. He was 23 years old. He was a backup catcher to Mike Heath. In December 1985, the Athletics traded Heath away. This made Tettleton their main catcher.
For the 1986 season, Tettleton was the starting catcher. However, his hitting numbers were not very good. He had a .204 batting average in 90 games. He hit 10 home runs and had 35 runs batted in (RBI). His defense was considered okay. By the end of the season, the manager, Tony La Russa, started using him in a platoon. This meant he shared playing time with another catcher, Jerry Willard, who hit left-handed.
Mickey started the 1987 season as the main catcher again. But injuries and weak hitting limited him to only 82 games. Another player, Terry Steinbach, started to play well. Mickey ended the year with a low .194 batting average. On March 28, 1988, the Athletics let Tettleton go during spring training. A few days later, he signed with the Rochester Red Wings. This team was part of the Baltimore Orioles organization.
Playing for the Baltimore Orioles
Mickey Tettleton started the 1988 season in Rochester. But he was soon called back to the major leagues. He shared catching duties with Terry Kennedy. His batting average improved a lot to .261.
The 1989 was a fantastic year for Tettleton. He hit 13 home runs in April and May. This set a new major league record for catchers. By midseason, he had hit 20 home runs. This earned him a spot as a reserve player for the American League team in the 1989 All-Star Game. In August, Mickey had surgery on his left knee and missed almost a month. He finished the season with a .258 batting average, 26 home runs, and 65 RBI. He also had a great .369 on-base percentage. His hitting helped the Orioles go from last place in 1988 to second place in 1989. Tettleton's strong hitting earned him the 1989 American League Silver Slugger Award.
In 1990, Tettleton's hitting numbers dropped. He had a .223 batting average, 15 home runs, and 51 RBI. He struck out 160 times, which was a record for switch hitters. However, his on-base percentage actually went up to .376. This was partly because he had 106 walks. In October, he was chosen for the Associated Press All-Star team. At the end of the year, Tettleton became a free agent. He surprised the Orioles by accepting their salary offer. They had expected him to go to another team for more money. Two days after getting two expensive players, the Orioles traded Tettleton. He went to the Detroit Tigers for pitcher Jeff Robinson. This trade was seen as a way for the Orioles to save money.
Time with the Detroit Tigers
Mickey Tettleton's batting improved again in 1991. He hit his highest number of home runs that year. In late June, he hit 7 home runs in seven games! He also became only the fifth player in MLB history to hit two home runs over the right field roof of Tiger Stadium. By the end of the season, he had a .263 batting average, 31 home runs, 89 RBI, and a .387 on-base percentage. He won his second Silver Slugger Award. His play helped the Tigers finish second in their division. In October, he was again chosen for the Associated Press All-Star team. On October 27, 1991, the Tigers gave him a new three-year contract worth $8.5 million.
Tettleton had another great year in 1992. On April 20, he made history. He became the first player to hit a ball onto Eutaw Street at Baltimore's Camden Yards. Before the 1992 All-Star Game, American League managers voted for him to be the starting All-Star catcher. But fans voted for Sandy Alomar Jr. instead. Mickey finished the year with a .238 batting average, a career-high 32 home runs, 83 RBI, and a .379 on-base percentage. He led the American League with 122 walks. He won his third Silver Slugger Award. He also led American League catchers with a .996 fielding percentage. He made only 2 errors in 113 games as a catcher. In a 1992 computer ranking, Tettleton was ranked first among American League catchers. In October, he was chosen as the catcher for the Sporting News American League All-Star team.
Mickey continued to have good hitting numbers in 1993. By midseason, he was tied for the major league home run lead with 24. He also had 73 RBI. But fans did not vote him into the 1993 All-Star Game again. The American League manager, Cito Gaston, was criticized for not picking Tettleton as a reserve player. To get more hitters in the game, Detroit manager Sparky Anderson started using Tettleton at other positions. He played 59 games as a first baseman, 56 games as a catcher, and 55 games as an outfielder. He ended the season with a .245 batting average and a .372 on-base percentage. He also had 32 home runs and a career-high 110 RBI. This helped the Tigers lead the American League in runs for the second year in a row.
Tettleton had 14 home runs and 41 RBI by the All-Star break in 1994. This time, manager Gaston picked him as a reserve player for the 1994 All-Star Game. Mickey continued to play first base and outfield. However, he played most of his games as a catcher. The season ended early when major league players went on strike in August. In his last year with the Tigers, Tettleton's hitting numbers dropped slightly. He had a .248 average with 17 home runs and 51 RBI. But he had a career-high .419 on-base percentage.
Finishing with the Texas Rangers
Mickey Tettleton became a free agent. In April 1995, he signed a one-year contract to play for the Texas Rangers. Since Iván Rodríguez was the Rangers' main catcher, Tettleton mostly played as a right fielder and designated hitter. He had a .238 batting average and tied his career high with 32 home runs. He also had 72 RBI.
In December 1995, he turned down a big offer from the New York Yankees. He chose to stay with the Rangers. He signed a two-year contract. He continued to play mostly as a designated hitter and sometimes first baseman. He ended the year with a .246 average, 24 home runs, and 83 RBI. This helped the Rangers win the 1996 American League West Division title. In the 1996 American League Division Series against the New York Yankees, Tettleton struggled. He struck out seven times and had only an .083 batting average. The Rangers lost the series in four games. This was his only time playing in the post-season.
In 1997, he played only as a designated hitter. He was hitting just .091 in 17 games when he announced his retirement in July. He was 36 years old.
Career Highlights and Statistics
In his 13-year major league career, Mickey Tettleton played in 1,485 games. He had 1,132 hits in 4,698 at bats. His career batting average was .241. He hit 245 home runs and had 732 RBI. His on-base percentage was .369. He retired with a .991 fielding percentage as a catcher. He also had a .979 fielding percentage as an outfielder and a .986 fielding percentage as a first baseman.
Tettleton hit over 30 home runs four times in his career. He was also known for being patient at the plate. He had 949 career walks. He led the American League in 1992 with 122 walks. He finished in the top ten in walks in six other seasons. But his patient style, combined with his power hitting, also led to many strikeouts. He had 1,307 career strikeouts.
When he retired, Tettleton was eighth in major league history for career home runs by a switch hitter. As of 2024, he is tied with Nick Swisher for 22nd among switch hitters. Tettleton's .369 career on-base percentage ranks 29th all-time among major league catchers. His .821 on-base plus slugging percentage is 23rd all-time among major league catchers.
Baseball writer Bill James ranked Tettleton 37th all-time among major league catchers in his 2001 book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract.
Coaching Career
In 2019, Tettleton became an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University. He also worked as a hitting coach for the Chatham Anglers in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was no longer a coach at Oklahoma Christian in the 2021 season.
In 2023, he was the hitting coach for the Greeneville Flyboys, a collegiate summer team. He was named the manager of the Danville Otterbots before the 2024 season.
Personal Life
Mickey Tettleton and his wife, Shannon, have two children named Shannee Faye and Tate Dean. Mickey also has two other children, Tyler and Jessica, from a previous marriage.
In 1994, Tettleton appeared as himself in the baseball movie Little Big League.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
