Michael Robert Tauchman (born December 3, 1990) is an American 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

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). He has previously played in MLB for the

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

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 ...

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

, and

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 in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon that competes in the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. They have won the Korean Series once, in 1999, and the league penn ...

. In his senior year of college in 2013 at

Bradley University Bradley University is a private university in Peoria, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1897, Bradley University enrolls 5,200 students who are pursuing degrees in more than 100 undergraduate programs and more than 30 graduate programs in fiv ...

he batted .425, leading all

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

baseball players. The Rockies selected Tauchman in the 10th round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2017.

Early life

Tauchman attended

William Fremd High School William Fremd High School, or Fremd (initially Palatine High School South), is a public four-year high school located in Palatine, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Township High School Distr ...

Palatine, Illinois Palatine () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook and Lake County, Illinois, Lake counties, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 c ...

, where he played

, and was also the

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. In baseball, he batted .490 and was named

Mid-Suburban League The Mid-Suburban League (MSL) is an Illinois High School Association recognized high school extra-curricular league which includes 12 schools located in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. The conference is split up into two divisions fo ...

West Player of the Year as a senior. In football, he led a second-half comeback against future

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

quarterback

Jimmy Garoppolo James Richard Garoppolo (born November 2, 1991), nicknamed "Jimmy G", is an American professional football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Illinois Panther ...

in a game during his senior year. He attended

, majored in business management & administration, and 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

Bradley Braves The Bradley Braves are the intercollegiate athletics teams of Bradley University, located in Peoria, Illinois, United States. The Braves' athletic program is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and competes at the Division I (NCAA), ...

. In 2013, his senior year, Tauchman batted .425 (leading all

)/.513 (leading the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the fourth-oldest collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the Midwestern Unite ...

)/.591(1st) with 52

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

s (2nd), 15

double Double, The Double or Dubble may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Multiplication by 2 * Double precision, a floating-point representation of numbers that is typically 64 bits in length * A double number of the form x+yj, where j^2=+1 * A ...

s (6th), 5

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

s (3rd), 2

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 41 RBIs (8th), 10 HBP (4th), and 28

stolen base 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 ...

s (2nd) in 30 attempts. He won the 2013 MVC Baseball Player of the Year Award, was a

Rawlings Rawlings may refer to: *Rawlings (company), a U.S. sports equipment company *Rawlings, Maryland, an unincorporated community in Allegany County, Maryland *Rawlings (surname) Rawlings is an English-language surname. Notable people with the name in ...

American Baseball Coaches Association The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) is the world's largest Amateur baseball in the United States, amateur baseball Manager (baseball), coaching organization. It was founded in 1945 as the American Association of College Baseball Coach ...

First Team All-American, First Team All-MVC, and named to the MVC All-Defensive Team.

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

The

selected Tauchman in the 10th round of the

. In 2013 he played for the Short-Season

Tri-City Dust Devils The Tri-City Dust Devils are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pasco, Washington. The Dust Devils are members of the Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States ...

and batted .297/.388/.377 with 38 runs (5th in the league), 3 triples (4th), 33

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

s (7th), and 20 stolen bases (3rd) in 236

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s, and was named a

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

Mid-Season All-Star. In 2014 he played for Tri-City and then for the High-A

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 ...

Modesto Nuts The Modesto Nuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Modesto, California, and are named for the several types of nuts grown in the Central Valley. They ...

, batting a combined .293/.384/.437 with 4 home runs, 22 RBIs and 15 stolen bases in 222 at bats. In 2015 Tauchman played for the Double-A

New Britain Rock Cats The New Britain Rock Cats were a minor league baseball team that competed in the Eastern League (1938–2020), Eastern League. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for 12 years, the Minnesota Twins for 20 years and the Colorado ...

, batted .294 (4th in the league)/.355/.381 with 62 runs (10th), 6 triples (3rd), 3 home runs, 43 RBIs, 47 walks (7th), and 25 stolen bases (5th) in 507 at bats, and was named an Eastern League Post-Season All-Star. In 2016 he played for the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

, batting .286/.342/.373 with one home run, 51 RBIs, 6

sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, a ...

s (6th in the league), and 23 stolen bases (2nd) in 475 at bats. He then played for

Águilas del Zulia The Águilas del Zulia () is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. History The team was founded in 1969 and debuted in the 1969–70 season. The franchise began in 19 ...

in the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

, batting .269/.343/.328 with one home run, nine RBIs, and five stolen bases (10th in the league) in 119 at bats over 31 games. In 2017 he played for the AAA

and batted .331 (3rd in the league)/.386/.555, with 8 triples (9th), 16 home runs, 80 RBIs (8th), 3

intentional walk In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

s, and 10

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

(1st) in 420 at bats, and was named a

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

Post-Season All-Star and an MiLB.com Organization All-Star. The Rockies called Tauchman up to the majors for the first time on June 27, 2017. He batted 6-for-27 for the Rockies in 2017. Playing again for Albuquerque, Tauchman was named PCL Player of the Week for May 14–20, 2018, after batting .417 with eight runs, five home runs, eight RBIs, 27

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hit (baseball), hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single (baseball), single, 2 for a double (baseball), double, 3 for a triple (baseball), triple and 4 ...

, two multi-homer games, and a

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 ...

of 1.125. For the 2018 season in the PCL, he batted .323/.408/.571(7th in the league) with 20 home runs (6th), 81 RBIs (6th), and 6 sacrifice flies (6th) in 403 at bats, and was named a Mid-Season and Post-Season PCL All-Star and an MiLB.com Organization All-Star. He also played in 21 major league games in 2018, batting 3-for-32. In his minor league career through 2019, Tauchman played 278 games in

center field 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 cen ...

, 208 games in

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering syst ...

, and 120 games in

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

. He batted .303/.375/.453 in 2,358 at bats.

New York Yankees

On March 23, 2019, the Rockies traded Tauchman to the

in exchange for pitcher Phil Diehl. He made the Yankees'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster. On September 10 he was placed on the 10-day

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a left calf strain. He batted .277/.361/.504 with 13 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 6 stolen bases without being caught in 260 at bats over 87 games for the Yankees. He saw 4.34 pitches per

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 ...

, the highest rate of anyone on the Yankees roster who had at least 200 plate appearances. He was second in the AL in percentage of balls hit to the

opposite field This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

, at 35.3%, behind only Luis Arráez. He played all three outfield positions during the season, playing 473 innings in left field, 122 in right field, and 100 in center field. He also batted .274/.386/.505 in 95 at bats for the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. During the 2020 season for the Yankees, Tauchman batted .242/.342/.305 in 95 at bats with 14 RBIs and 6 stolen bases without being caught, and hampered by a lingering right shoulder injury did not hit any home runs. He began the 2021 season with the Yankees, with whom he had 14 at bats.

San Francisco Giants

On April 27, 2021, the Yankees traded Tauchman to the

in exchange for pitcher

Wandy Peralta Wandy Luis Peralta Dominguez (born July 27, 1991) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, and New Yo ...

and Connor Cannon. On May 28, Tauchman robbed

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (, ; born December 11, 1985) is a Dominicans, Dominican professional baseball Manager (baseball), manager and former first baseman and designated hitter who is the manager of the Leones del Escogido of the Domin ...

of a walk-off home run. 11 days later, he hit his first MLB career

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

to take the lead against the Texas Rangers. Three days after the grand slam, Tauchman robbed

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, and New York Y ...

of a game-tying home run to keep Anthony DeSclafani's

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

intact. On July 29, Tauchman was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

after hitting .178 with an OPS of .569 in 152 at bats. On August 2, Tauchman cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. On October 13, Tauchman elected free agency.

Hanwha Eagles

On December 9, 2021, Tauchman signed a one-year contract for $1 million with the

of the

. In 2022, he batted .289/.366/.430 with 12 home runs in 575 at bats, and was named an All-Star for Hanwha. He became a free agent after the year.

Chicago Cubs

On January 13, 2023, Tauchman signed a minor league contract with the

organization. He began the year with the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

, playing in 24 games and hitting .279/.427/.443 with 3 home runs and 15 RBI. On May 19, Tauchman was selected to the active roster. On July 28, 2023, with the Cubs leading the

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 ...

3-2 with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning, Tauchman robbed Alec Burleson of a walk-off home run. In 108 games for Chicago in 2023, he batted .252/.363/.377 with eight home runs, 48 RBI, and seven stolen bases. Tauchman made 109 appearances for the Cubs in 2024, slashing .248/.357/.366 with seven home runs, 29 RBI, and six stolen bases. On November 22, 2024, the Cubs non–tendered Tauchman, making him a free agent.

Chicago White Sox

On December 11, 2024, Tauchman signed a one–year, $1.95 million contract with the

Personal life

Tauchman and his wife, Eileen, married in January 2017.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tauchman, Mike 1990 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Arizona Complex League Cubs players Baseball players from Cook County, Illinois Bradley Braves baseball players Charlotte Knights players Chicago Cubs players Chicago White Sox players Colorado Rockies players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball outfielders Modesto Nuts players New Britain Rock Cats players New York Yankees players Sportspeople from Palatine, Illinois Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tri-City Dust Devils players 21st-century American sportsmen

Early life

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

New York Yankees

San Francisco Giants

Hanwha Eagles

Chicago Cubs

Chicago White Sox

Personal life

See also

References

External links