Michael Terrance Cameron (born January 8, 1973) is an American former professional

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), ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, Cincinnati Reds,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

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 ...

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 ...

, Milwaukee Brewers,

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 ...

, and

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

over a 16 year career and is currently the Special Assignment Coach for the

. In 2002, Cameron became the 13th player to hit four home runs in one game. He was also an All-Star in 2001 and won Gold Gloves in 2001, 2003, and 2006. Mike Cameron has distinguished himself by being only one of 22 players in the history of baseball to have at least 250 home runs and 250 stolen bases and became the 20th member of this exclusive 250/250 club. Cameron is also the only MLB player to hit 2 home runs in the same game with 8 separate teams.

Early life

Cameron was born in La Grange, Georgia and raised on Render Street by his grandmother; he moved into her house when he was seven years old to keep her company after her husband died. Cameron attended LaGrange High School. His grandmother kept him from playing baseball as a high school junior because he failed a chemistry class. As a result, he drew less attention from scouts.

Playing career

Chicago White Sox

Cameron was drafted out of high school in the 18th round by the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. His major league debut took place on August 27, , with the Chicago White Sox. In he won a starting job as the team's regular center fielder.

Cincinnati Reds

He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Paul Konerko in .

Seattle Mariners

Along with three other players he was traded to the

for Ken Griffey Jr. before the season. Cameron tied a major league record on May 2, 2002 when he hit four home runs in one game becoming only the 15th player in MLB history to do this. In his fifth at bat, he hit one to the warning track, just missing what would have been a record-setting fifth home run. He played in the

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 ...

in and reached the postseason twice and won the Gold Glove Award in 2001 and 2003 for his defensive play in the outfield. He led all major league center fielders in range factor (3.42) in 2003.

New York Mets

On December 23, 2003, Cameron signed a three-year, $19.5 million contract to play center field for the

. In his first season with the Mets, Cameron hit a career-high 30 home runs. With the acquisition by the Mets of

Carlos Beltrán Carlos Iván Beltrán (; born April 24, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1998 to 2017 for the Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, New York Mets, San Fran ...

before the 2005 season, Cameron surrendered his position to the star center fielder and played most of his games in right field during the 2005 season. On August 11, 2005, in San Diego, Cameron collided with Beltran in the outfield as both made diving attempts to catch a fly ball. Cameron suffered a concussion and multiple fractures of his nose and cheekbones, and was removed from the field on a stretcher. Beltran also suffered a concussion but was able to walk off the field with help.

San Diego Padres

On November 15, Cameron was traded to the

for

Xavier Nady Xavier Clifford Nady VI (; born November 14, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. Nady played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Ari ...

. He won his first National League Gold Glove award during the season with San Diego. After leaving the Seattle Mariners in 2004 via

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

, Cameron played his first game back in Seattle during inter-league play in May 2006. Mariners fans greeted his return with a standing ovation. On October 31, 2007, it was announced that he had failed a test for banned stimulants for a second time and would miss the first 25 games of the 2008 season. Cameron has said he believes that a supplement he took was "tainted." However, given the requirement of two failed drug tests before an announcement is made, this explanation is questionable. He was just the second major leaguer to be suspended for a second positive test for stimulants, following Neifi Pérez.

Milwaukee Brewers

On January 14, he signed a 1-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. On March 13, 2008, Cameron applied for a therapeutic exemption to use stimulants during the 2008 season because of his outfield collision with former teammate

. He claimed to be struggling with after-effects of the collision that ended his 2005 season. If he had applied for the exemption in 2007, he could have avoided the 25-game suspension he had to serve to begin this season for testing positive for a banned stimulant for the second time. He also told

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

that he will see a

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

to determine if he is suffering from post-concussion syndrome. If the exemption is granted, Cameron would be permitted to use some

amphetamines Substituted amphetamines are a class of compounds based upon the amphetamine structure; it includes all derivative compounds which are formed by replacing, or substituting, one or more hydrogen atoms in the amphetamine core structure with sub ...

that are currently banned by the

Major League Baseball drug policy Major League Baseball's drug policy—the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program—was established by agreement between the Major League Baseball Players Association, MLB Players Association and the Commissioner of Baseball, Office of the Comm ...

. In November 2008, his club option was picked up by the Brewers for the 2009 season. On May 24, 2009, Cameron hit his 250th career home run against the Minnesota Twins, becoming the 20th player in the league to hit 250 home runs and steal 250 bases.

Boston Red Sox

On December 16, 2009, Cameron signed a 2-year deal with the

. He missed most of the season with a groin injury but managed to still hit 4 home runs on the season. Cameron made 70 plate appearances for Boston, batting .143, before being designated for assignment on June 29.

Florida Marlins

On July 5, he was traded to the

for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

or cash considerations. He was released on September 13, 2011.

Washington Nationals and Retirement with Mariners

On December 19, 2011, he agreed to a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. Cameron never played in any games for the Nationals and announced his retirement on February 19, 2012. He signed a one-day contract with Seattle on April 14, 2012, to officially retire as a Mariner before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at the Mariners' home opener that same day.

Personal life

Together with Greg Brown and Robin Roberts, Cameron wrote a book (aimed primarily at children) titled ''"It Takes a Team: Mike Cameron"'', , where he presents his views on the importance of

teamwork Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. This concept is seen within the greater framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individua ...

and describes his life. It was published in 2002 by Triumph Books. After being selected to the American League All-Star Team in 2001, Cameron used his salary bonus to purchase All-Star Game warm-up jackets for all of his Seattle Mariner teammates. He is known for routinely sitting on top of the dugout to sign autographs and talk with fans before games. He is also the founder of the Cam4Kids Foundation and was host of the First State Golf Tournament for Inner City Kids in Seattle in 2002; these in effort to raise money to provide scholarships to inner-city youth. He is actively involved with the

Make-A-Wish Foundation The Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in the United States that helps fulfill the wishes of children with a critical illness between the ages of and 18 years old. Make-A-Wish was founded in 1980 and headqu ...

as well as the

Starlight Foundation Starlight Children's Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1982. Starlight's programs include providing hospital wear, games, and deliveries to hospitalized children. The programs are provided directly to children through Starlight's ne ...

. Cameron married his former high school classmate, JaBreka, in or around 1999. As of 2002, they had three children, sons named Dazmon and Mehki and a daughter named T'aja. Cameron's son, Daz Cameron, played baseball at Eagle's Landing Christian Academy. He was drafted 37th overall by the Houston Astros in the 2015 MLB draft. Daz is currently an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers' organization. On April 26th. 2019, Mike returned to the

as a Special Assignment Coach.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Mike 1973 births Living people African-American baseball players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) People from LaGrange, Georgia Chicago White Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Seattle Mariners players New York Mets players San Diego Padres players Milwaukee Brewers players Boston Red Sox players Florida Marlins players American League All-Stars American sportspeople in doping cases Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses Gulf Coast White Sox players South Bend White Sox players Utica Blue Sox players Prince William Cannons players Birmingham Barons players Nashville Sounds players Norfolk Tides players St. Lucie Mets players Lake Elsinore Storm players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople