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Jim Eisenreich

Jim Eisenreich Marquee

b. April 18, 1959 · Minnesota Twins 1982–1984, Kansas City Royals 1987–1992, Philadelphia Phillies 1993–1996, Florida Marlins 1997–1998, Los Angeles Dodgers 1998

Involuntary tics and vocal outbursts forced him out of the Minnesota lineup in 1984, at twenty-five, when doctors could not identify the cause and the condition was wrongly treated as a psychological problem brought on by stage fright. He did not play a full major-league season again until 1987, once he was correctly diagnosed with Tourette syndrome and found medication that controlled it.

He then had one of the more productive second acts in the game: .289 across the rest of his career, .335 for the Phillies in a partial 1996 season, and a role on Philadelphia's 1993 pennant winner and Florida's 1997 World Series champion. Fifteen seasons gave him 1,160 hits, 221 doubles, 492 runs batted in, 105 stolen bases and a .290 average.

He became a public advocate for Tourette syndrome awareness after baseball and helped found a foundation for children with the condition. The 2004 ballot gave him three votes of 506.

Batting, season by season

YearTeam GABR H2B3B HRRBIBB SOSBAVG
1982 MIN 34991030 602 911130 .303
1983 MIN 2712 100 0110 .286
1984 MIN 123217 100 3242 .219
1987 KCR 441051025 824 217131 .238
1988 KCR 822022644 811 196319 .218
1989 KCR 13447564139 3379 59374427 .293
1990 KCR 14249661139 2975 51425112 .280
1991 KCR 13537547113 2232 4720355 .301
1992 KCR 1133533195 1332 28243611 .269
1993 PHI 15336251115 1747 5426365 .318
1994 PHI 1042904287 1544 4333316 .300
1995 PHI 12937746119 22210 55384410 .316
1996 PHI 11333845122 2433 41313211 .361
1997 FLA 1202933682 1912 3430280 .280
1998 FLA/LAD 1051912141 321 1316366 .215
Career 142239954921160 2213952 477324435105 .290

On this day & linked events

1959

Born April 18, 1959

St. Cloud, MN, USA

1982

Major-league debut: Jim Eisenreich

Jim Eisenreich made a major-league debut on April 6, 1982.

1998

Final major-league game: Jim Eisenreich

Jim Eisenreich played a final major-league game on September 26, 1998.

Image: Dealphungo, CC BY-SA 3.0