Michael Todd Bordick (born July 21, 1965) is an American retired professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

. 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), ...

from 1990 to 2003 with four teams: the Oakland Athletics,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Early life

Bordick's father, Michael, was in the Air Force, and his family moved frequently. Mike Bordick was born in Michigan and spent parts of his early childhood in Maine and in upstate New York before the family settled in

Winterport, Maine Winterport is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,817 at the 2020 census. The Winterport Historic District, extending several blocks along Main Street (United States Route 1A), was listed on the National Register ...

, while he was in high school. He attended high school at

Hampden Academy Hampden Academy is a public high school located at 89 Western Avenue in Hampden, Maine, United States. The school is a part of Regional School Unit #22 (R.S.U. 22), with approximately 708 students from Hampden, Newburgh, Frankfort and Winterpo ...

Hampden, Maine Hampden is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,709 at the 2020 census. Hampden is part of the Bangor metropolitan statistical area. History The town was originally called Whe ...

along with longtime NASCAR veteran Ricky Craven. Bordick starred for the Hampden Academy Broncos and now the High School field is named in his honor.

Amateur career

Bordick attended the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the Black Bears. In 1986, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, and was signed by the Oakland Athletics and J.P. Ricciardi as an amateur free agent on July 10, 1986.

Professional career

Bordick made his Major League Baseball debut on April 11, 1990, with the Athletics. He signed with the Baltimore Orioles during the 1996 off season. The Orioles signed Bordick to take over at shortstop for Hall of Fame and Gold Glove shortstop

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...

, as Ripken moved to third base. Bordick set records for most consecutive error-less games (110) and chances (543) by a shortstop. He was selected to the 2000

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

. After an injury to the Mets'

Rey Ordóñez Reynaldo Ordóñez Pereira (born January 11, 1971) is a former professional baseball shortstop. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Chicago Cubs. Early life Ordóñez defected from ...

, on July 28, 2000, Bordick was traded to the

for Melvin Mora, and minor leaguers

Mike Kinkade Michael Arthur Kinkade (born May 6, 1973) is an American college baseball coach and former Major League Baseball player. He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Dodgers between 1998 and 2003, and is currently an assista ...

, Pat Gorman and Lesli Brea. Bordick was a member of the 1997 Orioles team that lost in the American League Championship Series to 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 ...

, and the New York Mets that lost the

Subway Series The Subway Series is a series of Major League Baseball (MLB) rivalry games played between the two teams based in New York City, the Yankees and the Mets. Previously, this applied to the Giants and Dodgers as well, before they moved out of New ...

to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in the

2000 World Series The 2000 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2000 season. The 96th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between crosstown opponents, the two-time defending World Series champions and ...

. Bordick also played briefly in the 1990 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in a defensive role only.

Coaching and broadcasting career

Following the end of his playing career, Bordick worked as a roving minor league instructor for the Blue Jays. In 2010, he rejoined the Orioles organization as the minor league offensive coordinator, and in 2011, he was the Orioles' temporary bullpen coach for several series. Since 2012 he has served as a part-time color analyst for Orioles telecasts on

MASN The Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (which ...

, alternating games with

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

. On January 26, 2021, Bordick was let go by

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordick, Mike 1965 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles announcers Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Michigan Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Huntsville Stars players Maine Black Bears baseball players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Medford A's players Modesto A's players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players People from Marquette, Michigan People from Winterport, Maine Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine Tacoma Tigers players Toronto Blue Jays players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Hampden Academy alumni