Kevin Kouzmanoff (born July 25, 1981) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, Oakland Athletics, Colorado Rockies and Texas Rangers. Kouzmanoff is the third of only four players in history to hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

in his first major league at-bat, after Bill Duggleby in 1898 and Jeremy Hermida in 2005, and followed by Daniel Nava in 2010. Both Kouzmanoff and Nava accomplished this feat on the first pitch they saw. Kouzmanoff is of Macedonian descent.

Amateur career

High school

Kouzmanoff grew up in Newport Beach, California and then moved to Evergreen, Colorado just before high school started, where he played high school baseball at Evergreen High School.

College

In 2002, he attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.364. In 2003, he attended the

University of Nevada-Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12 ...

where as a walk-on he hit .361.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

In the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, the

selected Kouzmanoff in the 6th round (168th overall). Kouzmanoff made his professional debut later in 2003 with the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

, hitting .272 with eight

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 33 RBI in 206 at-bats. Kouzmanoff also played for the Winchester Royals in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. In 2004, Kouzmanoff hit 16 home runs, 87 RBI and a .330 average with the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. Bothered by back problems in 2005, he was limited to only 254 at-bats with the

Kinston Indians The Kinston Indians were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League (CL) located in Kinston, North Carolina, from 1978 to 2011. They played their home games at Grainger Stadium, which opened in 1949. The team began play in 1978 as the Ki ...

, but still hit .339 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI. Starting the 2006 season with Double-A

Akron Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

, Kouzmanoff flirted with a .400 average before finishing at .389 and being promoted to the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

in July. He was named the Indians' 2006 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the " Lou Boudreau Award"). On September 2, 2006, Kouzmanoff became the 23rd major leaguer to hit a home run on his first Major League pitch, the 12th

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

r to do so, and the second of 2006 (along with Adam Wainwright of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

). Kouzmanoff hit a grand slam off of then- Texas Ranger

Edinson Vólquez Edinson Vólquez (; born July 3, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Kansas City R ...

on the first pitch he ever saw in the major leagues, the first player in MLB history ever to do so on the first pitch. (The first-pitch slam feat was equalled by

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

outfielder Daniel Nava on June 12, 2010, at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a baseball stadium located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, near Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home of the Boston Red Sox, the city's American League baseball team, and since 1953, its only Major League Bas ...

against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher

Joe Blanton Joseph Matthew Blanton (born December 11, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Kansas City Royals, Pi ...

.) On November 8, 2006, Kouzmanoff was traded with

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Andrew Brown to San Diego in exchange for second baseman

Josh Barfield Joshua LaRoy Barfield (born December 17, 1982) is a former American professional baseball second baseman. He is the son of former major league outfielder Jesse Barfield. Barfield was born in Venezuela during his mother's two-week winterball visi ...

San Diego Padres

Padres fans were slow to embrace Kouzmanoff at the beginning of the season; Barfield had been popular with fans, and Kouzmanoff endured a slow start. However, he gradually increased his production and fans affectionately began to root "Koooz" when he made plays or got base hits, leading some uninitiated spectators to believe he was being booed. In 2007, Kouzmanoff was ninth among all NL rookies in RBI (74; behind

Troy Tulowitzki Troy Trevor Tulowitzki (born October 10, 1984), nicknamed "Tulo", is an American retired professional baseball shortstop, who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Colorado Rockies. He also played for the Toronto B ...

and

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and f ...

), 7th in home runs (18; behind Braun, Chris Young, Tulowitzki, and

Josh Hamilton Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder from to , most prominently as a member of the Texas Rangers teams that won two consecutive Americ ...

), hits (133), and

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

s (50), and tied for 10th in runs (57). In 2008, he had the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors, 6.04. In 2009, he set a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

single-season record for third basemen with a .990 fielding percentage, committing three errors in 309 total chances. This led to the Hall of Fame calling him and asking if he would donate his glove to them on which he responded; "I have to pick the glove. They aren't getting my gamer!" Kouzmanoff broke the record of .987 by Colorado's

Vinny Castilla Vinicio "Vinny" Castilla Soria (; born July 4, 1967) is a Mexican former Major League Baseball third baseman who played his best years with the Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves. Previously, he played with the Atlanta Braves (1991–1992, 200 ...

in 2004.

Oakland Athletics

On January 16, 2010, Kouzmanoff and minor league infielder

Eric Sogard Eric Sidney Sogard (born May 22, 1986) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago C ...

were traded to the Oakland Athletics for outfielders Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.

Colorado Rockies

On August 23, 2011, the Colorado Rockies acquired Kouzmanoff for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Following the season, he was outrighted from the 40-man roster and on October 6, he elected free agency.

Kansas City Royals

On January 14, 2012, Kouzmanoff signed a minor league deal that included an invitation to Spring training with the Kansas City Royals. If he made it to the majors, he would have earned $1 million, with up to $300,000 in incentives related to plate appearances. Kouzmanoff did not make it to the major leagues in 2012, instead splitting his time with Triple-A Omaha and Double-A

Northwest Arkansas Northwest Arkansas (NWA) is a metropolitan area and region in Arkansas within the Ozark Mountains. It includes four of the ten largest cities in the state: Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville, Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Rogers, Arkansas, ...

, where he hit .276/.309/.382 with 2 HR and 46 RBI in 90 games combined.

Miami Marlins

On November 3, 2012, Kouzmanoff signed a minor league deal with the Miami Marlins with an invitation to spring training. He was granted free agency on November 5, 2013.

Texas Rangers

Kouzmanoff signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on December 12, 2013. He was called up to the Major Leagues on April 9, 2014, to replace the injured

Adrián Beltré Adrián Beltré Pérez (born April 7, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman. During his career, Beltré played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball. ...

. He hit safely in his first 10 games with the Rangers. He was named American League Player of the Week in his first week as a Ranger, batting .345 with eight

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

, six runs scored, and four doubles. He also had a .690 slugging percentage, which was tied for third in the league. He ultimately appeared in 13 games for the Rangers, hitting .362 on the season, with 2 HR and 10 RBI. He was granted free agency on October 7, 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kouzmanoff, Kevin 1981 births Living people Cleveland Indians players San Diego Padres players Oakland Athletics players Colorado Rockies players Texas Rangers players Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players Little Rock Trojans baseball players Kinston Indians players Lake County Captains players Akron Aeros players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Sacramento River Cats players Omaha Storm Chasers players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players New Orleans Zephyrs players Round Rock Express players Baseball players from California Major League Baseball third basemen American people of Macedonian descent Peoria Javelinas players Cochise Apaches baseball players