Mike Epstein
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Michael Peter Epstein (born April 4, 1943 in Bronx, New York) was a Major League Baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, and California Angels from 1966 - 1974.
The left-handed hitting first baseman was noted as a strong power hitter who did not hit for a high batting average, though he walked (and was hit by the pitch) so much that he finished with a respectable career .359 on base percentage.
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[edit] High school
Epstein was a member of the baseball and football teams at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
[edit] College and Olympics
Epstein played baseball at the University of California-Berkeley. As a junior in 1963 he hit .375 and was offered a contract by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but his father insisted he finish college.
A collegiate All-American in 1964, he was a member of the first U.S. Olympic team that year, and helped them win the gold medal.
[edit] Minor leagues
In 1965, Epstein began his professional baseball career in the Baltimore Orioles organization and was dubbed "Superjew" by a rival manager in the California League after Epstein led the league in batting and home runs that year. He was then named Sporting News Minor League Player Of the Year in 1966, after being named the International League MVP (.309, 20 HR, 102 RBI).
[edit] Major leagues
He was first brought up for 6 games by the Baltimore Orioles in 1966, at the age of 23, having hit over .300 with at least 29 home runs and 100 RBI in his first two minor league seasons.
In May 1967 he was traded by the Orioles with Frank Bertaina to the Washington Senators for Pete Richert.
In 1968 he was 4th in the league in hbp (9).
He had arguably his best season in 1969 with the Senators, when in only 403 at bats he hit 30 home runs (9th in the American League), had 85 Runs Batted In, and hit for a respectable .278 batting average (and .347 with runners in scoring position) with an excellent .414 on base percentage and .551 slugging percentage. He was 4th in the league in hbp (10), and hit a home run every 13.4 at bats. He was 25th in voting for the American League MVP. This was also the only year in which the reconstituted Senators finished above .500.
In 1970 he was 2nd in the league in hbp (13).
In May 1971 he was traded by the Senators with Darold Knowles to the Oakland Athletics for Frank Fernandez, Don Mincher, Paul Lindblad, and cash.
In 1971, while hitting 18 home runs in 329 at bats, he was hit by the pitch 12 times, leading the league.
In 1972 he hit 26 home runs (3rd in the league) for the world champion Athletics. He hit a home run every 17.5 at bats (3rd in the AL), had a .490 slugging percentage (5th), a .376 on base percentage (6th), 62 walks (10th), and was hit by a pitch 11 times (2nd). He was 16th in voting for the American League MVP.
In November 1972 he was traded by the Athletics to the Texas Rangers for Horacio Pina.
In May 1973 he was traded by the Rangers with Rich Hand and Rick Stelmaszek to the California Angels for Jim Spencer and Lloyd Allen. In 1973 he was 7th in the league in hbp (8).
On May 4, 1974, he was released by the Angels.
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Owing to his ethnic and religious background, along with his power, Epstein's nickname was "Superjew."
- Epstein had great success against Joe Niekro during his career, going 7-10 with 4 home runs and 4 walks.[1]
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Mike Epstein at Baseball Cube
Categories: 1943 births | Living people | Major league players from New York | Baltimore Orioles players | California Angels players | Jewish American sportspeople | Major league first basemen | Oakland Athletics players | Washington Senators (1961-1971) players | Texas Rangers players | Jewish baseball players | People from the Bronx