James Michael Maler (born August 16, 1958) is a former

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 ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played for the

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

from to . He was tall and he weighed 230 pounds.

The draft and minor league career

Jim Maler was the "Miami Herald Athlete Of The Year" in 1976 while playing baseball, football and basketball at Coral Gables High School. He was the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

"Athlete Of The Year" in 1977 while playing baseball and football at UM. His freshman

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pl ...

record lasted 30 years until it was broken in 2007. Maler was taken in the first round, fifth overall, in the January Regular Phase draft by the Mariners out of

Miami-Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public college located in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest institution in the Florida Colle ...

(University of Miami). Maler suffered a severe knee injury his first year in the minor leagues with Seattle, which slowed his career. A power hitter in the minors, he hit as high as .310, hit as many as 24 home runs and drove in as many as 100 runs. Maler hit 97 home runs, 170 doubles, 27 triples and over 500 RBIs in his minor league career.

Major league career

On September 3, , at the age of 22, Maler made his big league debut, collecting 2 hits in 4 at-bats against the

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, with his first at-bat turning into a double off the "Green Monster" at

Fenway Park Fenway Park is a ballpark located in Boston, Massachusetts, less than one mile from Kenmore Square. Since 1912, it has been the home field of Major League Baseball's (MLB) Boston Red Sox. While the stadium was built in 1912, it was substantia ...

against pitcher

Tom Burgmeier Thomas Henry Burgmeier (born August 2, 1943) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's from 1968 to 1984. He has also served as the ...

. His debut game was a 19-inning contest, with the Mariners beating the Red Sox 8–7, that set the Fenway Park longest game record for innings played. He played 12 games in the majors in 1981, hitting .348 in 23 at-bats. In , he appeared in 64 games, batting .226 in 221 at-bats. One of the highlights of his 1982 season was a grand slam he hit on May 22 off of Randy Lerch of the

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

. Perhaps the best game of his career came on April 6 - his first game of the year. Maler went 3 for 4 with a home run and five RBI in an 11–7 win over the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. Maler had the first single ever hit in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. In 1983 in 66 at-bats, he hit .182. In January 1984, he was traded to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

for minor leaguer John Semprini. It seems that, just as quickly as Maler's promising young career began, it was over. He played his final big league game on July 24, . His big league career was over before his 25th birthday as he suffered another devastating knee injury in 1984 that ended his Major League career.

Career statistics

Maler hit .226 in 102 major league games. In 310 at-bats, he collected 70 hits (including five home runs), drove in 31 runs, scored 24 runs, walked 19 times and struck out 47 times. He posted a solid .994 career fielding percentage.

Other information

* Maler wore number 11 (1981) and 33 (1982 and 1983) *Maler is one of two first basemen to hold the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

record for most assists in an inning, with three. Dick Stuart is the other AL first baseman.

External links

Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maler, Jim 1958 births Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Living people Major League Baseball first basemen Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Miami Hurricanes baseball players Oklahoma City 89ers players Portland Beavers players Salt Lake City Gulls players Seattle Mariners players Baseball players from New York City Spokane Indians players Stockton Mariners players Tidewater Tides players Miami Hurricanes football players Coral Gables Senior High School alumni