1975
Born December 2, 1975
Whittier, CA, USA
Mark Kotsay Marquee
b. December 2, 1975 · Florida Marlins 1997–2000, San Diego Padres 2001–2003, 2012–2013, Oakland Athletics 2004–2007, Atlanta Braves 2008, Boston Red Sox 2008–2009, Chicago White Sox 2009–2010, Milwaukee Brewers 2011
He was the college player of the year at Cal State Fullerton in 1995, hit .261 as a rookie for the 1997 Florida club that won the World Series, and had 190 hits for Oakland in 2004. Seventeen seasons gave him 1,784 hits, 353 doubles, 127 home runs and a .276 average.
The throwing arm was the best part: he led National League outfielders in assists twice and threw runners out at home from center field often enough that clubs stopped trying. A back injury in 2006 took most of two seasons and turned him into a first baseman and pinch-hitter for the last five years.
He has managed Oakland since 2022, through the club's last seasons in that city. He was never an All-Star. He is not on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Player of the Week | 1 | 2006 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | FLA | 14 | 52 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | .192 |
| 1998 | FLA | 154 | 578 | 72 | 161 | 25 | 7 | 11 | 68 | 34 | 61 | 10 | .279 |
| 1999 | FLA | 148 | 495 | 57 | 134 | 23 | 9 | 8 | 50 | 29 | 50 | 7 | .271 |
| 2000 | FLA | 152 | 530 | 87 | 158 | 31 | 5 | 12 | 57 | 42 | 46 | 19 | .298 |
| 2001 | SDP | 119 | 406 | 67 | 118 | 29 | 1 | 10 | 58 | 48 | 58 | 13 | .291 |
| 2002 | SDP | 153 | 578 | 82 | 169 | 27 | 7 | 17 | 61 | 59 | 89 | 11 | .292 |
| 2003 | SDP | 128 | 482 | 64 | 128 | 28 | 4 | 7 | 38 | 56 | 82 | 6 | .266 |
| 2004 | OAK | 148 | 606 | 78 | 190 | 37 | 3 | 15 | 63 | 55 | 70 | 8 | .314 |
| 2005 | OAK | 139 | 582 | 75 | 163 | 35 | 1 | 15 | 82 | 40 | 51 | 5 | .280 |
| 2006 | OAK | 129 | 502 | 57 | 138 | 29 | 3 | 7 | 59 | 44 | 55 | 6 | .275 |
| 2007 | OAK | 56 | 206 | 20 | 44 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 1 | .214 |
| 2008 | ATL/BOS | 110 | 402 | 45 | 111 | 25 | 4 | 6 | 49 | 32 | 45 | 2 | .276 |
| 2009 | BOS/CHW | 67 | 187 | 16 | 52 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 23 | 15 | 21 | 3 | .278 |
| 2010 | CHW | 107 | 327 | 30 | 78 | 17 | 2 | 8 | 31 | 32 | 36 | 1 | .239 |
| 2011 | MIL | 104 | 233 | 18 | 63 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 31 | 21 | 27 | 3 | .270 |
| 2012 | SDP | 82 | 143 | 9 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 11 | 14 | 0 | .259 |
| 2013 | SDP | 104 | 155 | 8 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 0 | .194 |
| Career | — | 1914 | 6464 | 790 | 1784 | 353 | 48 | 127 | 720 | 554 | 757 | 98 | .276 |
On this day & linked events
1997
Major-league debut: Mark Kotsay
Mark Kotsay made a major-league debut on July 11, 1997.
2008
Mark Kotsay Hits for the Cycle, 2008
Mark Kotsay hit for the cycle for the Atlanta Braves against the Chicago Cubs on August 14, 2008.
2013
Final major-league game: Mark Kotsay
Mark Kotsay played a final major-league game on September 29, 2013.