Kevin Jeffrey Plawecki (; born February 26, 1991) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played in

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 ...

(MLB) for 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 ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

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 ...

, and Texas Rangers. Plawecki starred in baseball for Westfield High School in Indiana. He then attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Boilermakers, was named an All-American in 2012, and won the Big Ten Conference Baseball Player of the Year in 2012. The Mets selected him with the 35th overall pick in the 2012 MLB draft.

Amateur career

Plawecki was born in Hinsdale, Illinois, on February 26, 1991, to Jeff and Lynne Plawecki. He attended Westfield High School in Westfield, Indiana, where he played for the school's baseball team. He was named an All-State Class 4A honorable mention at

in his senior year. He was not selected in the MLB draft following his senior year of high school. He enrolled at

, to play

for the Purdue Boilermakers baseball team. As a freshman at Purdue University in 2010, Plawecki had a .343 batting average, a .384 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .529 SLG, with eight home runs. He was named a freshman

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

by Louisville Slugger and the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

(Big Ten) All-Freshman of the Team. Following his freshman season at Purdue, Plawecki played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the Richmond RiverRats of the Prospect League, where he batted 65-for-211 (.308) with fifteen doubles and 27 RBIs. As a sophomore in 2011, Plawecki batted .341 with a .436 SLG, 2 home runs, and 39 RBIs. He was named first team All-Big Ten. That summer, Plawecki played for the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star. In the 2012 season as a junior, Plawecki hit .359 batting average, a .445 on-base percentage (OBP), and a .578 SLG, with seven home runs. Plawecki was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 Big Ten Conference baseball tournament and 2012 Big Ten Conference Baseball Player of the Year. He was a semifinalist for the Johnny Bench Award in 2011 and one of its three finalists in 2012.

Professional career

New York Mets

The

selected Plawecki in the first round, with the 35th overall selection, in the 2012 Major League Baseball draft. In 2013, he played for the Savannah Sand Gnats of the Single-A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. He was promoted to the St. Lucie Mets of the High-A Florida State League, and to the Binghamton Mets of the Double-A Eastern League for the Eastern League playoffs. In 2014, the Mets invited Plawecki to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. He started the 2014 season with the Binghamton Mets, where he hit .326 with six home runs and 43 RBIs in 224 at-bats. Plawecki was selected to play for the U.S. Team in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game, along with Noah Syndergaard. After batting .326 for Binghamton, the Mets promoted Plawecki to the Las Vegas 51s of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League on June 24. The Mets invited Plawecki to spring training in 2015, and reassigned him to minor league camp so that he could start the 2015 season with Las Vegas. After Travis d'Arnaud went on the disabled list with a broken hand on April 19, 2015, the Mets announced they would promote Plawecki to the major leagues. Plawecki made his Major League debut on April 21, 2015, against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. He got his first career hit off Trevor Cahill and finished the game 2-for-4, with two runs scored. During a game against the

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

on April 25, 2015, Plawecki hit his first career home run off CC Sabathia en route to an 8–2 victory. Plawecki became the first player to hit his first career home run in a Mets-Yankees Subway Series game. Plawecki began experiencing

dizziness Dizziness is an imprecise term that can refer to a sense of disorientation in space, vertigo, or lightheadedness. It can also refer to Balance disorder, disequilibrium or a non-specific feeling, such as giddiness or foolishness. Dizziness is a ...

in June, which sidelined him from playing for several games. He was demoted to the Las Vegas 51s on August 11, and recalled on September 1 due to expanded rosters in September. Plawecki finished the season with a .219 batting average with three home runs and 21 RBIs in 73 games played. Plawecki had surgery on his

paranasal sinuses Paranasal sinuses are a group of four paired air-filled spaces that surround the nasal cavity. The maxillary sinuses are located under the eyes; the frontal sinuses are above the eyes; the ethmoidal sinuses are between the eyes and the sphe ...

during the 2015–16 offseason to address his dizziness. He batted .197 in 48 games for the Mets in 2016, spending the rest of the season with Las Vegas. In an April 30, 2017, game against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

at Nationals Park, Plawecki was brought in to pitch for the first time since he was 14 years old. He threw only

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

s, giving up four runs over two innings. One of those was

Anthony Rendon Anthony Michael Rendon (, ; born June 6, 1990) is an American baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the Washington Nationals and was a member of the Nationals' 2019 World S ...

's third home run of the game. The Mets lost 23-5. Plawecki suffered a broken hand on April 11, 2018.

Cleveland Indians

On January 6, 2019, the Mets traded Plawecki to the

in exchange for Walker Lockett and Sam Haggerty. With the 2019 Indians, Plawecki appeared in 59 games, batting .222 with three home runs and 17 RBIs. He also made two pitching appearances, pitching a total of two innings without allowing a hit, walk, or run. On December 2, 2019, Plawecki was non-tendered and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

Boston Red Sox

On January 3, 2020, the Red Sox signed Plawecki to a one-year, $900,000 contract. Overall with the 2020 Red Sox, Plawecki batted .342 with one home run and 17 RBIs in 23 games. In early December 2020, Plawecki and the Red Sox reached a one-year deal for the 2021 season. On February 17, 2021, he was placed on the COVID-19 injured list. He made the team's 2021 Opening Day roster to backup Christian Vázquez. Plawecki was placed on the injured list with a left hamstring strain on June 22, and returned to the team on July 9. Plawecki made 64 regular-season appearances for Boston, batting .287 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. He also played in five postseason games, batting 1-for-7, as the Red Sox advanced to the

American League Championship Series The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. The winner of the ALCS wins the AL pennant and ...

. On December 1, 2021, Plawecki and the Red Sox agreed to terms on a one-year contract for 2022, reportedly worth $2.25 million. He began the season again serving as backup to Vázquez. Plawecki missed a week of action in late April, spending time on the COVID-related list. He was again on the COVID-related list for two days during the first-half of July. On September 17, Plawecki was designated for assignment, as the team added pitcher Frank German to the roster, and was released two days later. Plawecki appeared in 73 games while batting .217 with one home run and 12 RBIs for the 2022 Red Sox.

Texas Rangers

On September 21, 2022, Plawecki signed a major-league contract with the Texas Rangers. In three games with Texas late in the 2022 season, he batted .273 (3-for-11) with one RBI.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On February 12, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the

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

organization. He failed to make the Pirates’ Opening Day roster in spring training and was released by the team on March 27.

Washington Nationals

On April 1, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the

organization. Playing in 24 games for the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

, he hit .256/.351/.342 with 1 home run and 6 RBI. On May 16, Plawecki exercised the opt-out clause in his contract and became a free agent.

San Diego Padres

On May 20, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

organization. In 33 games for the Triple–A El Paso Chihuahuas, he hit .276/.333/.439 with 3 home runs and 21 RBI.

Texas Rangers (second stint)

On July 28, 2023, Plawecki was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. In 10 games for the Triple–A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, he hit .294/.400/.324 with 2 RBI. On August 15, Plawecki was released by the Rangers organization.

San Diego Padres (second stint)

On December 30, 2023, Plawecki signed a minor league contract with the

. In 75 games for the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas, he slashed .260/.340/.443 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI. Plawecki elected free agency following the season on November 4, 2024. On January 18, 2025, Plawecki announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Coaching career

On January 18, 2025, Plawecki joined the

as an instructor for their rookie-level affiliate, the Arizona Complex League Padres.

Personal life

Plawecki grew up in Westfield, Indiana, with his parents and younger brother. His father coached his youth baseball teams. Plawecki and his wife, Tayler, were married in November 2015. They have two sons. Plawecki is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plawecki, Kevin 1991 births Living people Baseball players from Hinsdale, Illinois People from Westfield, Indiana Sportspeople from Hamilton County, Indiana Baseball players from Indiana Purdue Boilermakers baseball players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Major League Baseball catchers New York Mets players Cleveland Indians players Boston Red Sox players Texas Rangers players Brooklyn Cyclones players 21st-century American sportsmen Savannah Sand Gnats players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Las Vegas 51s players Rochester Red Wings players El Paso Chihuahuas players Round Rock Express players American people of Polish descent