| Mike Jorgensen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| First baseman /Manager | |
| Born: (1948-08-16)August 16, 1948 (age 77) Passaic, New Jersey, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 10, 1968, for the New York Mets | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 6, 1985, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .243 |
| Home runs | 95 |
| Runs batted in | 426 |
| Managerial record | 42–54 |
| Winning % | .438 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
As player
As manager | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Michael Jorgensen (born August 16, 1948) is an American former professionalbaseballfirst baseman andoutfielder who currently works in theSt. Louis Cardinals' front office. TheNew York Mets drafted him in the fourth round of the1966 Major League Baseball draft. In a 17-yearMajor League Baseball (MLB) playing career spanning from1968 to1985, he played primarily with the Mets andMontreal Expos and had brief stints with the Cardinals,Atlanta Braves,Texas Rangers andOakland Athletics. He also has served as a manager for the Cardinals. Jorgensen is the only major league baseball player to have been born the dayBabe Ruth died.
Jorgensen was raised inBayside, Queens, inNew York City.[1] He attendedFrancis Lewis High School.[1] The New York Mets signed a contract with him in 1966.[1]
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Jorgensen made hismajor league debut with theNew York Mets as a September call-up in1968. He played the entire1969 season in the minors. On April 5,1972, he was traded withTim Foli andKen Singleton to theMontreal Expos forRusty Staub.
It was inMontreal where Jorgensen enjoyed his greatest success. In1973, he earned his onlyGold Glove Award as afirst baseman, the only time between1967 and1977 that aLos Angeles Dodger first baseman did not win the Gold Glove Award: Jorgensen brokeWes Parker's six-year run from 1967-72 (after which season Parker retired from Major League Baseball), and precededSteve Garvey, who won the award from1974-77. In1974, he broke theExpos' single season record foron-base percentage with .444, on the way to setting career highs inbatting average (.310),slugging percentage (.488) andadjusted OPS (156).[2]The next year, he set more career highs with the bat—clubbing 18home runs, anddriving in 67 runs.[3]
Jorgensen became expendable when the Expos acquired first basemanTony Pérez and was traded to theOakland Athletics at the start of the1977 season. Following one season with the A's, he signed as a free agent with theTexas Rangers.
On May 28,1979, Jorgensen washit in the head by a pitch fromBoston Red Sox pitcherAndy Hassler.Dave Roberts entered the game to pinch run for Jorgensen, andPat Putnam took over as the Rangers' regular first baseman for the next month. Excluding onepinch-hitting appearance on May 31, he did not play again until July 1. After suffering headaches, it was discovered he had a small blood clot inside his head, which apparently caused a seizure, and could have resulted in death.[4] Following the season, he was traded back to the Mets to complete a mid-season deal in which the Mets had sentWillie Montañez to the Rangers for twoplayers to be named later (the other player the Mets received was pitcherEd Lynch).
On July 4,1980, Montreal Expos rookieBill Gullickson sailed a pitch over Jorgensen's head in the second game of adoubleheader. Jorgensen motioned towards Gullickson in disapproval. MetscatcherJohn Stearns then charged out of the dugout and slammed Gullickson to the ground.[5]
Jorgensen's second go-around with the Mets lasted until June 15,1983. The Mets sold him to theAtlanta Braves the day they acquired first basemanKeith Hernández from theSt. Louis Cardinals for pitchersNeil Allen andRick Ownbey. A year to the day later, the Braves traded him withKen Dayley to the Cardinals forKen Oberkfell. With the Cardinals, he reached his firstWorld Series in1985 in his final season. Coincidentally, Hassler was also a member of this team.
| Seasons | Games | AB | Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | HBP | Avg. | OBP | Slg. | Fld% |
| 17 | 1633 | 3421 | 429 | 833 | 132 | 13 | 95 | 426 | 58 | 44 | 532 | 589 | 25 | .243 | .347 | .373 | .993 |
FollowingJoe Torre's firing asmanager of the Cardinalsin 1995, Jorgensen finished the season as theirinterim manager. He led St. Louis to a 42–54 win–loss record beforeTony La Russa was hired to be the permanent manager for1996.[6]
In 2001, Jorgensen began working as a senior special assistant to St. Louis Cardinals general managerJohn Mozeliak, scouting the American League.[7] He had served for the previous 10 years as the Cardinals' director of player development (farm director) and prior to that was the team's minor league hitting instructor/coordinator in 1990 and 1991.[8]
· Baseball Almanac