Mike Fontenot
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Chicago Cubs — No. 17 | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: June 9, 1980 Slidell, Louisiana |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| April 13, 2005 for the Chicago Cubs | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2007) |
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| Batting average | .275 |
| Home runs | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 29 |
| Teams | |
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Michael Eugene "Mike" Fontenot (born June 9, 1980 in Slidell, Louisiana) is a Major League Baseball infielder for the Chicago Cubs.
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[edit] High school career
Mike Fontenot was a standout for Salmen High School in Slidell, Louisiana. After his Senior year, he was drafted in the 21st round (625th overall) of the 1999 MLB Amateur Entry Draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but chose to attend Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship instead of going professional.
[edit] College career
Mike Fontenot attended Louisiana State University. Fontenot received National Freshman of the Year recognition as LSU's starting second baseman, batting .353 (103-for-292) with 13 doubles, three triples, 17 home runs, 64 RBI, 93 runs, and eight steals. He became the third LSU player to win National Freshman of the Year award, following second baseman Todd Walker (1992) and pitcher Brett Laxton (1993). Fontenot's 17 home runs set an LSU freshman record, surpassing the previous mark of 15 established by Blair Barbier in 1997.
In 2000, he was named to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional all-tournament team, hitting .400 (6-for-15) with two doubles, one home run, five RBI, and five runs scored. He was named to the College World Series all-tournament team as he hit a team-best .462 (6-for-13) with two doubles, one home run, two RBI, and six runs scored. He, along with Chicago Cubs teammate Ryan Theriot, was a member of the LSU Tigers baseball team that won the 2000 College World Series. The second baseman was LSU's leading hitter in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, batting .432 (16-for-37) in nine games with four doubles, two home runs and nine RBI.
[edit] College awards and honors
- 2000
- Summer League First-Team All-American 2B
- Freshman First Team All-America 2B
- NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament Team
- College World Series All-Tournament Team 2B
- The Sporting News National Freshman of the Year
- Collegiate Baseball National Co-Freshman of the Year
- Baseball America First-Team Freshman All-American
- Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year
- 2001
- Pre-Season Southeastern Conference All-Star 2B[1]
[edit] Professional career
Fontenot was again chosen in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 2001 MLB Amateur Entry Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. Fontenot signed with the Orioles, garnering a $1,300,000 signing bonus as part of the deal.[2] As part of the Orioles' farm system, Fontenot played for the Frederick Keys of the High-A Carolina League (2002), the Bowie Baysox of the AA Eastern League (2003), and the Ottawa Lynx of the AAA International League (2004).
On February 3, 2005, Fontenot was traded to the Chicago Cubs along with 2B/OF Jerry Hairston, Jr. and RHP Dave Crouthers for slugger Sammy Sosa. Fontenot is the only remaining player from that trade that is still with the Cubs. [3] As part of the Cubs' farm system, Fontenot played for the Iowa Cubs of the AAA Pacific Coast League (2005-2007).
Fontenot made his Major League debut with the Cubs on April 13, 2005. In seven games with the team, he went 0-for-2 with 2 walks and 4 runs scored. Fontenot did not return to the Cubs until May 15, 2007, when he was promoted from AAA to replace relief pitcher Rocky Cherry. After a fast start, including finishing second in the National League Rookie of the Month voting for June 2007, he is now the Cubs' backup second baseman. He wears Mark Grace's old number, 17. Cubs fans refer to him as "Fonte-yes", when he has a good play or at-bat.
[edit] Professional awards and honors
2003
- Baltimore Orioles Minor League Player of the Year
- Eastern League All-Star 2B
[edit] Minor League statistics
Year Tm Level G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG
+---+----------+-----++---++---+---+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+---+----+----+----+
2002 Frederick A+ 122 481 61 127 16 4 8 53 13 42 117 .264 .333 .364
2003 Bowie AA 126 449 63 146 24 5 12 66 16 50 89 .325 .399 .481
2004 Ottawa AAA 136 524 73 146 30 10 8 49 14 48 111 .279 .346 .420
2005 Iowa AAA 111 379 60 103 22 10 6 39 3 59 77 .272 .377 .430
2006 Iowa AAA 111 362 54 107 28 2 8 36 5 47 64 .296 .375 .450
+---+----------+-----++---++---+---+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+---+----+----+----+
Updated statistics are available at: [4].
[edit] Major League statistics
Year Tm Level G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS +---+----------+-----++---++---+---+---+--+--+--+---+--+--+---+----+----+----+----+ 2005 Cubs MLB 7 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 .600 .000 .600 2007 Cubs MLB 86 234 32 65 12 4 3 29 5 22 43 .278 .336 .402 .738 2008 Cubs MLB 45 78 14 19 6 0 2 12 2 12 14 .268 .334 .398 .749
- Current as of June 4, 2008
