B.J. Surhoff
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William James "B.J." Surhoff (born August 4, 1964 in the Bronx, New York City, New York) is a outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who last played for the Baltimore Orioles in 2005. He has not played since the 2005 season. After playing for them from 1996 to 2000, he rejoined the team in 2003 and played through the 2005 season and was always a fan favorite in Baltimore. He started his career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1987-95) and also played for the Atlanta Braves (2000-02). Position wise, Surhoff began his career as a catcher, and after playing third base in the mid-1990s, shifted to become primarily a left fielder.
After attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was honored as the 1985 ACC Male Athlete of the Year, and playing for the 1984 Olympic baseball team, Surhoff was selected by the Brewers with the first pick of the 1985 amateur draft. Surhoff was defined as being a very versatile player, having appeared at every position except pitcher over the course of his career. He has 2,326 hits and 1,153 RBIs in his career. Although always a consistent hitter, having hit over .280 in 12 of his 19 seasons, Surhoff's finest season was his 1999 campaign with the Orioles, in which he led the American League in at-bats (673), ranked 2nd in hits (207) and was selected to the American League All-Star team. In other notable seasons he finished 6th in the AL in doubles in 1993 with the Brewers and finished 5th in batting average in the AL with the Brewers in 1995 with a .320 average.
The Orioles declined to offer Surhoff arbitration for 2006. However Surhoff has not annouced retirement despite the fact that he now manages the Aberdeen Ironbirds signaling that Surhoff may return to active play in the Majors.
[edit] External link
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
| Preceded by Michael Jordan |
ACC Male Athlete of the Year 1985 |
Succeeded by Len Bias |
| Preceded by Shawn Abner |
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1985 |
Succeeded by Jeff King |
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Categories: Major league players from New York | American League All-Stars | Atlanta Braves players | Baltimore Orioles players | Milwaukee Brewers players | Major league left fielders | Major league catchers | Major league first basemen | 1964 births | Living people | People from the Triangle, North Carolina | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Baseball players at the 1984 Summer Olympics | People from the Bronx | People from New York City | People from Baltimore | ACC Athlete of the Year | Baseball left fielder stubs | Baseball catcher stubs
