Michael Restovich

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**Michael Restovich**

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks — No. --
Outfield
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 18, 2002 for the Minnesota Twins
Selected MLB statistics (through 2007)
Games	152
Batting average	.239
Runs batted in	21
Former teams
Minnesota Twins (2002–2004) Colorado Rockies (2005) Pittsburgh Pirates (2005) Chicago Cubs (2006) Washington Nationals (2007) Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks (2008)

Michael Jerome Restovich (born January 31, 1979, in Rochester, Minnesota) is a Major League outfielder for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Japan's Pacific League. Restovich attended Mayo High School^[1]. He is 6'4 and weighs 250 pounds. He was drafted in 1997 in the second round by the Minnesota Twins. In 1998, he was chosen as the Appalachian League Most Valuable Player. He made it to Triple-A in 2002, where he hit 29 home runs for Edmonton. He saw short stints in the major leagues from 2002 through 2004, never playing as many as thirty games. He was put on waivers by the Twins at the end of spring training in 2005, and he was picked up by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, only to be claimed off of waivers again, just seven days later, by the Colorado Rockies. He got into 14 games with the Rockies in 2005, hitting .290 in 31 at bats, before being traded, on May 11, 2005, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for a player to be named later. He appeared in 52 games as a Pirate, but hit just .214.

After the 2005 season, he was released by the Pirates, and signed by the Chicago Cubs to a minor league contract. He played almost the entire year in Triple-A Iowa, where he hit 27 homers and batted .293. At the end of the season, he opted for minor league free agency, and was signed by the Washington Nationals.

At the end of spring training in 2007, Restovich failed to make the team, but outfielder Kory Casto, after starting poorly, was optioned to Class AAA Columbus to play every day, and Restovich was called up. On the day Restovich was called up, April 18, he debuted for the Nats as a pinch hitter, hit a single, then stayed in the game, and hit a double in the 13th inning that lead to the winning run in a Nats 5-4 game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The following day, he got his first start. But after hitting .143, and going hitless in his last 19 at bats, he was sent back to Columbus in early May. At Columbus, Restovich finished the season well, hitting .270 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI over 356 AB. After the season, he was granted free-agency. On November 24, 2007, Restovich signed with the Philadelphia Phillies, but then signed with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, of Japan's Pacific League on December 8, 2007.