Mike Papi

Mike Papi
Cleveland Indians
Outfielder
Born: September 19, 1992
Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania
Bats: Left Throws: Right

Michael Joseph Papi (born September 19, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Cleveland Indians organization. Papi attended the University of Virginia, where he played college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers. In his collegiate career, Papi was named an All-American.

Career

Papi attended Tunkhannock Area High School in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. He played for the school's baseball team, competing in the Wyoming Valley Conference. With Tunkhannock, Papi was a member of two consecutive district champions, and his 2011 team reached the state championship.[1] The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim selected Papi in the 30th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, but he opted not to sign with the Angels.[2][3]

Papi enrolled at the University of Virginia, and played college baseball for the Virginia Cavaliers baseball team. In 2013, his sophomore year, Papi led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with a .381 batting average. Papi was selected to the First All-ACC team and was named an All-American by the American Baseball Coaches Association and Baseball America. He was named a preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association in 2014.[4][5]

The Cleveland Indians selected Papi with the 38th overall selection of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft.[2][6] Papi signed with the Indians, receiving a $1.25 million signing bonus, and made his professional debut with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers of the Class A-Short Season New York-Penn League.[7] After two games with Mahoning Valley, the Indians promoted Papi to the Lake County Captains of the Class A Midwest League.[8] He got off to a slow start with Lake County,[9] and finished the Lake County season with a .178 batting average.[10]

References

External links