Michael Robert "Mickey" Morandini (born April 22, 1966), 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 ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and coach, who 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

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

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

, and

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. His career highlights include selection as a National League (NL) All-Star, playing for the Phillies in the NL Championship Series and

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

, and appearing for the Cubs in the NL Division Series.

Early life and career

Morandini grew up in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

suburb of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, where he attended Leechburg Area High School. After graduation, Morandini attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

, where he started his college career as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

, moving to the infield as a

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

after his freshman year. In 1987, he 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 ...

in 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 ...

(CCBL) for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, winning the league batting title, and being named league

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. In 2005, he was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame. Morandini declined the option to enter the

Major League Baseball draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

in 1987, citing his desire to play for the United States national team in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. After appearing in one game during the Olympics, he returned to Indiana for his senior season; he was named a second-team

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 ...

for the 1988 season. Morandini graduated as the Indiana University record-holder in several statistical categories, including

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted bal ...

(277), doubles (61),

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

(29), and

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

(127). The

selected Morandini in the fifth round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft.

Minor leagues

After drafting Morandini, the Phillies assigned him to the

Spartanburg Phillies Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

, one of their

A-level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...

affiliates In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or al ...

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in South Carolina, 11th ...

. He played in 63 games for Spartanburg in 1989, batting .338 with 19 doubles, earning him a promotion to the high-A Clearwater Phillies. In Florida, he notched 19

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

and 14 runs scored in 63 at-bats; he also batted in four runs. Finishing the season with the AA-level

Reading Phillies Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word re ...

, Morandini hit 5 home runs in 188 at-bats, posting a .351 average. Morandini won the 1989 Paul Owens Award as the top minor league position player in the Phillies organization. Morandini committed 22 errors in his first professional season as a shortstop and with Dickie Thon playing shortstop at the major league level, the Phillies organization shifted him to his eventual major league position,

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

during the 1989 Florida Instructional league season. Morandini spent the majority of the 1990 season with the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons. While playing in 139 games, he stole 16 bases and batted in 31 runs in 503 at-bats. He also batted .260 and scored 76 runs. During this season, Morandini was named 41st out of the top 50 prospects in

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

. The move to second base improved his fielding percentage greatly; Morandini cut his errors in half in only one season, posting 11 with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He also earned a short promotion to the major league club; he played in 25 games, hitting 4 doubles and 1 home run in 87

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

Major league career

1990–1997: Philadelphia Phillies

After a short stint in Scranton to start 1991, Morandini returned to the major leagues for the remainder of his career. He amassed four triples and thirteen stolen bases in his first full season, highlighting his speed. The following season produced one of the most memorable moments of Morandini's career. In a game against 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 ...

on September 20, 1992, he turned an

unassisted triple play In baseball, an unassisted triple play occurs when a defensive player makes triple play, all three outs by himself in one continuous play, without his teammates making any Assist (baseball), assists. Neal Ball was the first to achieve this in Majo ...

. In the sixth inning, Morandini caught a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

off of the bat of Jeff King, touched

to put out Andy Van Slyke, and tagged out

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

coming from

first base 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 ...

; the Pirates went on to win the game, 3–2, in

extra innings Extra innings is the extension of a baseball or softball game in order to break a tie. Ordinarily, a baseball game consists of nine regulation innings (in softball and high school baseball games there are typically seven innings; in Little Lea ...

. It was the first unassisted triple play since 1968, and the first in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

since 1927. Morandini was also the first second baseman in National League history, and the first in the

regular season In an organized sports league, a typical season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session: for example, in Major League Baseball the season lasts approximately from the last week of March to the last week of S ...

, to turn an unassisted triple play; all previous occurrences were made by

first basemen A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand p ...

or shortstops. The only other second baseman to achieve the feat prior was

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, who turned a triple play in the

1920 World Series The 1920 World Series was the championship series for Major League Baseball's 1920 season. The series was a best-of-nine format played between the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians and the National League (NL) champion Brookly ...

. The Phillies appeared in the World Series in 1993 with Morandini at the top of the lineup; he batted second in

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Jim Fregosi James Louis "Jim" Fregosi (April 4, 1942 – February 14, 2014) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played ...

's batting order more often than any other position. During the season, he turned 48

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

s with infield partner Kevin Stocker. Morandini had a .247 batting average during the season, the lowest among the Phillies' starters; he was second on the team in stolen bases to

Lenny Dykstra Leonard Kyle Dykstra ( ; born February 10, 1963), nicknamed Nails and Dude, is an American former professional baseball center fielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989� ...

, and led the team in triples with nine. His triples total was also tied for third-best in the National League. In 1994, Morandini posted the highest

on-base plus slugging On-base plus slugging (OPS) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power, two important offensive skills, are ...

percentage (OPS) of his career, with a .787 mark. He also walked 34 times in 316 plate appearances, but lost playing time to

Mariano Duncan Mariano Duncan Nalasco (born March 13, 1963) is a Dominican former second baseman and shortstop who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and ...

, who appeared at all four infield positions throughout the season. 1995 was arguably Morandini's finest season; he batted .283 with 6 home runs, 7 triples, and 49 RBI. He was also named to the 1995 All-Star team; he appeared in the game, going 0-for-1, and was one of five Phillies to be selected for the team. Morandini racked up the highest stolen base total of his career in 1996, with 26, though it was a down year for him statistically. His batting average was .250, with 3 home runs, 6 triples, and 24 doubles. He struck out 87 times while walking 49, and amassed 135 hits in 606 plate appearances. The following year, his batting average was at its highest point during his career as a Phillie; Morandini hit .295 and slugged .380. He posted a fielding percentage of .990, making only 6 errors while recording 87 double plays; Morandini's defense throughout his career earned him the nickname "Dandy Little Glove Man". After the 1997 season, Morandini was traded to the

for outfielder Doug Glanville.

1998–1999: Chicago Cubs

In 1998, Morandini posted a .296 batting average, along with 172 hits, 8 home runs, and 53 RBI, all career highs. He and the Cubs also appeared in the 1998 National League Division Series, but lost to 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 ...

. Morandini made his only appearance in the Most Valuable Player award balloting, tying with Javy López for 24th in the voting. Morandini's production declined in 1999, as he hit .241 and scored 60 runs, and he chose free agency after the season, signing with the

Montréal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (NL) East division from 19 ...

in January 2000.

2000: Last season and retirement

Two months after signing with Montréal, the Phillies purchased his rights from the Expos, and he returned to Philadelphia for the 2000 season. After batting .252 and hitting four triples for the Phillies, they traded him to the

in August for

Rob Ducey Robert Thomas Ducey (born May 24, 1965) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder and coach who played for six teams in Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Ducey was raised in Cambridge, Ontario and graduated from Seminole Communit ...

. Morandini played his final two months in 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 ...

, batting at the bottom of the order for the Jays. He had 29 hits in 107 at-bats, good for a .271 average, and stole a base.

Career statistics

In 1,298 games over 11 seasons, Morandini posted a .268

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 ...

(1,222-for-4,558) with 597 runs, 209 doubles, 54

, 32

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 ...

, 351 RBI, 123

, 437

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), better known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches during a plate appearance that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The bas ...

, .338

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and .359

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

. He finished his career with a .989

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

as a second baseman. In 10 postseason games, he batted .233 (7-for-30) with 3 runs, 1 triple, 3 RBI and 3 walks.

Post-player activities

Morandini and his wife, Peg have three sons and reside in

Chesterton, Indiana Chesterton is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester, Jackson Township, Porter County, Indiana, Jackson and Liberty Township, Porter County, Indiana, Liberty townships in Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U ...

, where the family opened a stationery business. He was the head baseball coach at Valparaiso High School until accepting the manager's position for the Williamsport Crosscutters, one of the Phillies' A-level affiliates, for the 2011 season. On November 21, 2011, he was named the 10th manager of the Philadelphia Phillies A-level Affiliate

Lakewood BlueClaws The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...

. On November 2, 2015, Morandini was named first base coach of the Philadelphia Phillies. After two years as a coach, the team promoted Morandini to an off-field role as club ambassador.

References

External links

Mickey Morandini
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Morandini, Mickey 1967 births Living people Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Baseball players from Armstrong County, Pennsylvania Chicago Cubs players Clearwater Phillies players Indiana Hoosiers baseball players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball second basemen Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Minor league baseball managers National League All-Stars Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball People from Chesterton, Indiana People from Kittanning, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Phillies coaches Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Spartanburg Phillies players Toronto Blue Jays players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players 20th-century American sportsmen