Michael Tucker (baseball)

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**Michael Tucker**

Free Agent — No. --
Right fielder
Born: June 25, 1971 (1971-06-25) (age 36)
Bats: Left	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 26, 1995 for the Kansas City Royals
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
Avg	.257
Home runs	125
RBIs	528
Teams
Kansas City Royals (1995-1996, 2002-2003) Atlanta Braves (1997-1998) Cincinnati Reds (1999-2001) Chicago Cubs (2001) San Francisco Giants (2004-2005) Philadelphia Phillies (2005) New York Mets (2006)

Michael Anthony Tucker (born June 25, 1971 in South Boston, Virginia) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball. Tucker played with the Kansas City Royals (1995-96, 2002-03), Atlanta Braves (1997-98), Cincinnati Reds (1999-2001), Chicago Cubs (2001), San Francisco Giants (2004-2005), Philadelphia Phillies (2005), and New York Mets (2006). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

He attended the then Longwood College (at the time a NCAA Division II school) from 1990 through 1992. In November 2005 Tucker was among the selection of Longwood's first Hall of Fame class, including basketball player Jerome Kersey and LPGA golfer Tina Barrett.

After college, Tucker begin his pro baseball career in the minors in 1993. Tucker spent most of the 1993 season with the class-A Carolina League Wilmington Blue Rocks. Before making the move up to double A and spending time with the Memphis Chicks (now West Tenn. Diamond Jaxx) of the Southern League. In 1994 Tucker played in triple A with the Omaha Royals of the American Association before joining Major League Baseball and the Kansas City Royals.

Through 2006, Tucker posted a .256 batting average with 125 home runs and 528 RBI in 1417 games.

Tucker was basically a streaky line drive hitter with gap power whose struggles against left-handed pitching made him a platoon player throughout his career. Although his 108 stolen bases career total doesn't show it, he was an aggressive and smart base runner. In the field, Tucker had the ability to play all outfield positions well, particularly in right field. He had good range and a strong and secure arm.

Tucker enjoyed his most productive season in 1997 with the Braves, when he posted career highs in batting average (.283), runs (80) and hits (141) in 138 games. In 2004 for the Giants, he played 106 games in right field and 25 in center. He ended the year with a .256 average, 13 home runs, 62 RBI, 77 runs, and a significant .340 on base percentage. In nine of his ten seasons, he collected 11 or more home runs, with a career-high 15 in 2000.

In August 2005, San Francisco traded Tucker to the Philadelphia Phillies for a minor league player. Tucker, whose playing time has been limited that season after starting for most of 2004, joined a Phillies team in the heart of the playoff chase.

On January 9, 2006, Tucker agreed to a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals. On August 9, Tucker's contract was purchased by the New York Mets from the Norfolk Tides after Cliff Floyd was placed on the 15-Day DL. On May 17, 2007, Tucker signed a minor league contract with the Boston Red Sox, but was released on July 7 of the same year.^[1]

[edit] Trivia

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Tucker has the final hit of the final game at Milwaukee's County Stadium, a slow ground ball to the first baseman that wasn't fielded properly.

Tucker hit the first ever home run in Atlanta's Turner Field.

Tucker is actually from Chase City, Virginia in Mecklenburg County. South Boston is listed as his birthplace because there is no hospital in Chase City. South Boston is around 40 minutes west of Chase City in neighboring Halifax County.