Michael Robert Neill (born April 27, 1970) is an American former

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 ...

and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

baseball player.

Career

His baseball career included a stint with 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 ...

and ended with the

gold medal team in the 2000 games in

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. He was named Delaware Athlete of the Year in 2000. At

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

he compiled a .417 career batting average, led the Wildcats to the 1989 and 1991 Big East Conference crowns and was named 1991 Big East Player of the Year. He established team records of 232 hits, 53 doubles and 379 total bases as well as several single-season records. Neill won two

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

batting championships and had a .307 batting average over 11 years. He was selected to four all-star teams and was a key player in the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bail ...

' 1999 AAA World Series victory. He was called up by the

in but was sidelined with an injury. Neill led the 2000 USA Olympics team to a 4–0 win over Cuba in the gold-medal game with a first-inning home run and a dramatic sliding catch in the ninth inning. His walk-off homer against Japan won the team's first-round Olympic contest. During the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

he had the game-winning hit to clinch the Olympic berth for the USA.

References

Baseball Almanac
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neill, Mike 1970 births Living people All-American college baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Virginia Edmonton Trappers players Huntsville Stars players Modesto A's players Baseball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Oakland Athletics players Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in baseball Pawtucket Red Sox players Sportspeople from Martinsville, Virginia Reno Silver Sox players Southern Oregon A's players Tacoma Rainiers players Tacoma Tigers players Vancouver Canadians players Villanova Wildcats baseball players Baseball players at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball

Career

See also

References