Michael Todd Bordick (born July 21, 1965) is an American retired 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 ...

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 ...

. 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 ...

from 1990 to 2003 with four teams: the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

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 ...

, 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 ...

Early life

Bordick's father, Michael, was in the Air Force, and his family moved frequently. Mike Bordick was born in Michigan and spent parts of his early childhood in Maine and in upstate New York before the family settled in Winterport, Maine, while he was in high school. He attended high school at Hampden Academy in

Hampden, Maine Hampden is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 7,709 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Hampden is part of the Bangor, Maine, Bangor metropolita ...

along with longtime NASCAR veteran

Ricky Craven Richard Allen Craven (born May 24, 1966) is an American stock car racing analyst and former driver. Prior to his broadcasting duties, he was a NASCAR driver who won in four different series—the ARCA Menards Series, and the three national series. ...

. Bordick starred for the Hampden Academy Broncos and now the High School field is named in his honor.

Amateur career

Bordick attended the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine, United States. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universitie ...

, 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 Black Bears. In 1986, 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 ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, and was signed by the Oakland Athletics and J.P. Ricciardi as an amateur free agent on July 10, 1986.

Professional career

Bordick made his Major League Baseball debut on April 11, 1990, with the Athletics. In 1992, he would finish 21st in AL MVP voting after batting .300 (10th in the AL) and providing excellent defense to the division winning Athletics. He signed with the Baltimore Orioles during the 1996 off season. The Orioles signed Bordick to take over at shortstop for Hall of Fame and Gold Glove shortstop Cal Ripken Jr., as Ripken moved to third base. He was selected to the 2000

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that showcases the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or division, bu ...

. After an injury to the Mets' Rey Ordóñez, on July 28, 2000, Bordick was traded to the

for

Melvin Mora Melvin Mora Diaz (born February 2, 1972) is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). From his ...

, and minor leaguers Mike Kinkade, Pat Gorman and Lesli Brea. Bordick was a member of the 1997 Orioles team that lost in 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 ...

to the

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 ...

, and the New York Mets that lost the Subway Series to 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 ...

in the 2000 World Series. Bordick also played briefly in the 1990 World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in a defensive role only. Renowned for his defensive prowess, Bordick set MLB records for most consecutive error-less games (110) and chances (543) by a shortstop. He would lead the AL in SS fielding percentage twice (1999 and 2002) with six other seasons in the top-5. His 2002 season featured only one error in 1007 innings. Bordick currently stands 6th all-time in SS fielding percentage (.982).

Coaching and broadcasting career

Following the end of his playing career, Bordick worked as a roving minor league instructor for the Blue Jays. In 2010, he rejoined the Orioles organization as the minor league offensive coordinator, and in 2011, he was the Orioles' temporary bullpen coach for several series. From 2012 to 2020 he served as a part-time

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

for Orioles telecasts on

MASN Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between two Major League Baseball franchises, the Baltimore Orioles (which owns a controlling 77% interest) and the Washington Nationals (which o ...

, alternating games with

Jim Palmer James Alvin Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984). Palmer was the winningest MLB pitcher in the ...

. On January 26, 2021, Bordick was let go by

. Bordick works as a coach at The Baseball Warehouse.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bordick, Mike 1965 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles announcers Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Michigan Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Huntsville Stars players Maine Black Bears baseball players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Medford A's players Modesto A's players New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players People from Marquette, Michigan People from Winterport, Maine Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine Tacoma Tigers players Toronto Blue Jays players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players Hampden Academy alumni 20th-century American sportsmen