Mickey Tettleton

His .369 career on-base percentage ranks him 10th highest all-time among major league catchers.

Mickey Lee Tettleton (born September 16, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player.

He played in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers.

Although Tettleton played mostly as a catcher, he also played as a first baseman, an outfielder, and as a designated hitter.

A two-time All-Star, Tettleton was considered one of the best-hitting catchers of his era, winning three Silver Slugger Awards.

In 1980, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

He played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team that reached the finals in the 1981 College World Series, before losing to the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Tettleton was named to the 1981 College World Series All-Tournament Team as an outfielder.

Tettleton was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fifth round of the 1981 Major League Baseball draft.

He spent three seasons in the minor leagues playing for the Modesto Athletics of the California League.

His .821 on-base plus slugging percentage is 11th highest all-time among major league catchers.

Tettleton was born in Oklahoma City and was named after Baseball Hall of Fame member and fellow Oklahoman Mickey Mantle.

Like Mantle, Tettleton was a switch hitter and was recognized for having an unusual batting stance: he stood almost straight up at the plate, holding his bat horizontal and bending only when the pitcher began his delivery.

He was also distinguished by the huge wad of chewing tobacco he kept in his cheek during games, as well as his claim that Froot Loops were the source of his hitting power.

Tettleton attended Southeast High School in Oklahoma City before enrolling at Oklahoma State University.

He began the 1984 season with the Double-A Albany A's but was promoted to the major leagues in June when Athletics catcher Jim Essian suffered a broken hand.

Tettleton made his major league debut with Oakland on June 30, 1984, at the age of 23.

He served as a backup catcher to Mike Heath until December 1985, when the Athletics traded Heath and Tim Conroy to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joaquín Andújar, keeping Tettleton as their starting catcher.

Tettleton was given the starting catcher's job for the 1986 season, but his offensive statistics failed to impress.

He posted a .204 batting average in 90 games, along with 10 home runs and 35 runs batted in.

His defensive abilities were termed as adequate.

By the end of the season, Athletics manager Tony La Russa had Tettleton platooning with the left-hand hitting catcher, Jerry Willard.

Tettleton began the 1987 season as the Athletics starting catcher.

However, injuries and weak hitting limited him to 82 games, as newcomer Terry Steinbach began to make a positive impression.

He ended the year with a dismal .194 batting average.

On March 28, 1988, the Athletics released Tettleton during spring training.

On April 5, he signed a contract to play for the Rochester Red Wings in the Baltimore Orioles organisation.

Tettleton started the season in Rochester but was soon called back to the major leagues, where he shared catching duties with Terry Kennedy in 1988, and improved his batting average significantly to .261.

He finished the season with a .258 batting average, 26 home runs, 65 runs batted in, and an impressive .369 on-base percentage, helping the Orioles improve from last place in the American League East in 1988 to second place in 1989, two games behind the Toronto Blue Jays.

1989 was a breakout year for Tettleton as he started the season hitting 13 home runs in April and May, setting a new major league record for catchers.

He hit 20 home runs by midseason, earning him a place as a reserve player for the American League team in the 1989 All-Star Game.

In August, Tettleton had to undergo surgery to remove a cyst from his left knee and missed almost one month.

Tettleton's hitting performance earned him the 1989 American League Silver Slugger Award, which is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position.

Tettleton's offensive output dropped in 1990 with a .223 batting average, 15 home runs, and 51 runs batted in.

Although he struck out 160 times, setting a major league strikeout record for switch hitters, his on-base percentage increased from the previous year to .376, in part due to the 106 base on balls.

In October, he was selected to the Associated Press All-Star team.

At the end of the year, Tettleton opted for free agency, then surprised the Orioles by accepting their salary arbitration offer.

They had expected him to accept a higher offer from another team and were not prepared to pay him more than $1 million.

His powerful hitting was highlighted when he became only the fifth player in major league history to hit two home runs over the right field roof of Tiger Stadium and, in 1992 he became the first player to hit a ball onto Eutaw Street which runs behind right field at Baltimore's Camden Yards.

At the time of his retirement, Tettleton ranked eighth in major league history in career home runs by a switch-hitter.