Michael Joseph Stefanski (born September 12, 1969) is a former

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 ...

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, and most recently the catching coordinator for the

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

Playing career

Stefanski was selected by 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 ...

in the 40th round of the 1991 Free-Agent Draft. He played his entire career in the minor leagues, where he played for multiple teams. He received numerous accolades, including a trip to the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

All-Star Game, and was

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

Batter of the Week in May 1993. He was also won the

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it fo ...

batting title with a

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 ...

of .364. Stefanski played in the farm systems of the Reds, Brewers and

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

. He appeared in 786 games as a catcher, and even pitched four games in relief, compiling a 5.40

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

.The Official Site of The Cincinnati Reds: Team: Manager and Coaches
/ref> On January 27, he retired as a player and joined the Reds staff as the bullpen catcher. On December 4, 2013, he was promoted to the Reds' catching coordinator.

Personal

Stefanski graduated from

Redford Union High School Redford Union High School (RUHS) is a secondary school in Redford, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The school is affiliated with the Redford Union School District and serves grades 9-12. History Redford Union High School's first graduating ...

in Redford,

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

, in 1987, where he excelled in

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 ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

. He attended the

University of Detroit The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catho ...

, where Stefanski was twice named All-Conference in baseball.

References

Baseball Reference (minors)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stefanski, Mike 1969 births Living people Arizona League Brewers players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball catchers Baseball players from Flint, Michigan Beloit Brewers players Cincinnati Reds coaches El Paso Diablos players Louisville Bats players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball bullpen catchers Memphis Redbirds players New Orleans Zephyrs players Stockton Ports players Detroit Mercy Titans baseball players