Michael Wayne Reinbach (August 6, 1949 – May 20, 1989) was a

corner 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 cat ...

and

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

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), ...

who played for the

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 ...

in its 1974 season. Listed at 6' 2", 195 lb., Reinbach batted left handed and threw right handed. He was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

.MLB statistics and history
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on July 21, 2016.

Career and life

Reinbach was selected by the Orioles in the 1970 MLB draft out of

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, where he played for their

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...

baseball team. His rise through the Orioles Minor League system was highlighted by a splendid 1972 season, hitting a .348

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with 31

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, 113 RBI, and a 1.087 OPS between AA and AAAMiLB statistics
''Baseball Reference (Minor and Japanese leagues)''. Retrieved on July 21, 2016. while being named Southern League most valuable player, to become the first player to win this award in the league's history. He appeared in 12 games in his only season at Baltimore, going 5-for-20 for a .250 average with a

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * ...

, two runs and two RBI. Reinbach opened 1975 at Triple A Rochester Red Wings, where he batted .290 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI and was selected to the International League All-Star team. He then joined the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railwa ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

during five seasons spanning 1976–1980, becoming immediately a Tigers fans favorite for his timely hitting and solid play at first base and right field. Overall, Reinbach hit .296 with 94 homers and 324 RBI in 545 games for Hanshin and earned

Best Nine Award The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first present ...

honors in 1979.Mike Reinbach article
''Baseball Card Breakdown''. Retrieved on July 21, 2016. In six minor league seasons, Reinbach hit .284 with 68 homers and 331 RBI in 674 games. In between, he played winter ball with the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

club of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

during the 1973-74 tournament.Venezuelan Winter League statistics
''Pura Pelota''. Retrieved on July 21, 2016. Reinbach retired after his 1980 season at Japan and spent most of the decade as a pioneer in the burgeoning home computer industry. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1989, when his car went off a precipice in

Palm Desert, California Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs, northeast of San Diego and east of Los Angeles. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census. The city has bee ...

while driving to

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by land ...

. He was 39 years old.

Sources

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinbach, Mike 1949 births 1988 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Asheville Orioles players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from San Diego Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Hanshin Tigers players Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins (FSL) players Navegantes del Magallanes players Road incident deaths in California Rochester Red Wings players UCLA Bruins baseball players University of California, Los Angeles alumni Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players