Mitch Moreland

Moreland's 428-foot, 8th-inning blast off Giants pitcher Ryan Vogelsong was also the first Pinch hit home run hit into the Cove by any non-Giants player.

Mitchell Austin Moreland (born September 6, 1985), nicknamed "2-Bags", is an American former professional baseball first baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics.

At Amory, he was a 2004 Louisville Slugger All-American after posting a 7–1 win–loss record with a 0.53 earned run average (ERA) as a senior, while also batting .456 and striking out just three times during the season.

While in high school, he played on the same team as Derek Norris.

After high school, Moreland attended Mississippi State University to play college baseball for the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

There, he hit .343 with ten home runs his junior season and went 2–0 on the mound with a 3.46 ERA.

He also earned a degree in general business administration.

In 2006 and 2007, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Moreland attended Mississippi State University and was drafted by the Rangers as a first baseman and outfielder in the 17th round of the 2007 MLB draft.

Listed at 6 ft and 230 lb, Moreland both batted and threw left-handed.

Born and raised in Amory, Mississippi, Moreland attended Amory High School, where he competed in baseball and soccer.

The Texas Rangers selected Moreland in the 17th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft.

After he signed, Moreland began his professional career with the short-season Spokane Indians of the Northwest League.

He batted .259 with 28 hits, seven doubles, one triple, two home runs and 15 runs batted in (RBIs).

The following season, Moreland joined the Class-A Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League and hit .324 with 37 doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, 99 RBIs and two stolen bases.

He was named to the Mid-Season Midwest League All-Star Team on June 17 and the Post-Season Midwest League All-Star Team on August 26.

Moreland played in two different levels of the Rangers' organization in 2009.

He started the season with the Class-A Advanced Bakersfield Blaze and hit .341 with 19 doubles, eight home runs and 26 RBIs.

He was promoted to the Double-A Frisco RoughRiders where he batted .326 with 19 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 59 RBIs.

Moreland was assigned to the Arizona Fall League at the end of the season and played for the Surprise Rafters.

He was named the "Tom Grieve Minor League Player of the Year" by the Texas Rangers after the season.

The Rangers invited Moreland to spring training in 2010.

Moreland played with the Oklahoma City RedHawks (AAA) in the 2010 season until July 29.

As of July 29, he had a season batting average of .289 with the RedHawks.

On July 29, 2010, Moreland was called up by the Rangers to take the roster spot of Ian Kinsler, who was put on the disabled list.

Moreland had his first major league hit in his first at-bat, a single against Oakland Athletics pitcher Vin Mazzaro.

Moreland finished the game 2-for-4, with two singles, as the Rangers won 7–4.

On August 13, Moreland had the first home run of his major league career, off of Josh Beckett the Red Sox.

On September 26, Moreland had his first multi-home run game of his major league career, hitting his sixth and seventh home runs of the year, in a 16–9 win over the Oakland Athletics.

During the regular season, Moreland played in 47 games, batting .255 with nine home runs and 25 RBIs.

On October 30, Moreland hit a second inning, three-run home run off of Jonathan Sánchez to put the Rangers ahead 3–0 in Game 3 of the World Series.

He was the first Rangers player in the Series to hit a home run.

The Rangers eventually lost to the San Francisco Giants in five games.

On June 21, 2011, Moreland hit his first career walk-off home run off of Enerio del Rosario of the Houston Astros.

For the 2011 season, Moreland batted .259 with 16 home runs and 51 RBIs in 134 games played.

The Rangers were in the World Series for the second season in a row; Moreland had one home run during the Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, which the Rangers lost in seven games.

On June 9, 2012, Moreland became only the second American League batter—David Ortiz being the first —to hit a home run ball into AT&T Park's McCovey Cove.

During the 2012 season, Moreland batted .275 with 15 home runs and 50 RBIs in 114 games played.

Moreland batted a career-low .232 during the 2013 season, with 23 home runs and 60 RBIs in 147 games played.