Michael Lynn Squires (born March 5, 1952) is an American former

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), ...

player who 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 p ...

primarily as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

from 1975 and 1977 to 1985. He won the American League Gold Glove Award at first base in 1981. Squires was best known as a defensive player, often coming on in late inning situations when the White Sox had a slim lead. He did not have the typical power associated with a corner infielder, never hitting more than two home runs in a season. Nonetheless, he was a valuable member of the White Sox of the early

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

era, particularly in their 1983 AL West championship run. On May 4, 1980, Squires became the first left-handed-throwing

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

in Major League Baseball since

Dale Long Richard Dale Long (February 6, 1926 – January 27, 1991) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball with the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees and Washington Senators between ...

in 1958 when he was shifted from first base in the ninth

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

of an 11–1 loss to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

. He would go behind

home plate A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

one more time three days later on the same homestand, coming off the bench in the ninth inning of a 12–5 defeat to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. He replaced

Bruce Kimm Bruce Edward Kimm (born June 29, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher, manager and coach. He played all or part of four seasons in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox between 1976 u ...

in both instances. He became the first left-handed-throwing

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 ...

in at least 50 years on August 23, 1983 when he entered the game for

Vance Law Vance Aaron Law (born October 1, 1956) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1980–81), Chicago White Sox (1982–84), Montreal Expos (1985–87), Chicag ...

in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 10–2 loss to the Royals in Kansas City. He would play thirteen more games at third base the following season, including four starts at the position.Mike Squires (statistics & history)
– Baseball-Reference.com In a 10 year, 779 game major league career, Squires compiled a .260

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 ...

(411-for-1580) with 6

home runs 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 ...

, 211 runs and 141 RBI. Defensively, he recorded a .995

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Between 1982 and 1984, the White Sox went 242–120 for a .669 winning percentage during games Squires played, and without Squires, the White Sox were 18–106 for a .145 winning percentage – a split of .523 points – the highest winning percentage split with or without a single player over a three season span in baseball history. Squires currently works as a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. Schwarz, Alan
"Left-Handed and Left Out"
''The New York Times'', Sunday, August 16, 2009

References

External links

WHAT'S UP WITH MIKE SQUIRES
by Joe Goddard ''Chicago Sun-Times'', August 19, 2001

By ALAN SCHWARZ "New York Times", AUG. 15, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Squires, Mike 1952 births Living people Appleton Foxes players Baseball players from Michigan Chicago White Sox coaches Chicago White Sox players Chicago White Sox scouts Cincinnati Reds scouts Glens Falls White Sox players Iowa Oaks players Knoxville Sox players Major League Baseball first basemen Sportspeople from Kalamazoo, Michigan St. Louis Cardinals scouts Western Michigan Broncos baseball players

See also

References

External links