| Mitchell Page | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Designated Hitter /Left fielder | |
| Born:(1951-10-15)October 15, 1951 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
| Died: March 12, 2011(2011-03-12) (aged 59) Glendale, Arizona, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 9, 1977, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 1984, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .266 |
| Home runs | 72 |
| Runs batted in | 259 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As player As coach | |
Mitchell Otis Page (October 15, 1951 – March 12, 2011) was anAmerican professionalbaseball player andcoach.[1] He played inMajor League Baseball as anoutfielder anddesignated hitter from1977 to1984, most prominently as a member of theOakland Athletics where, he placed second toHall of Fame memberEddie Murray in the 1977American LeagueRookie of the Year balloting.
Page made an impressive start to his major league career when, he became the second player in Major League Baseball history with more than 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases in their rookie season however, his offensive production declined over the next few seasons and, he never lived up to the promise of his debut season.[2][3] He played his final season with thePittsburgh Pirates.[1]
After the conclusion of his playing career, Page became a successful hitting coach for theWashington Nationals and for the2004 National League championSt. Louis Cardinals.[2] He also authored a book onhitting.[4]
Page was born in Los Angeles, California where he was a star baseball player atCentennial High School inCompton, California alongside fellow future major league player,Al Cowens.[4] He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the fourth round of the1970 Major League Baseball Draft, but chose instead to attendCompton Community College.[4] He then transferred toCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona where he played alongside his future Athletics teammate,Wayne Gross.[4] Page was drafted by thePittsburgh Pirates in the third round of the1973 Major League Baseball Draft.[1][5]
Page made a methodical climb up theminor league ladder, and in 1976 he joined the Triple-ACharleston Charlies in theInternational League.[4] He had a .294 batting average with 22 home runs for the Charlies, earning him the team'sMost valuable player award however, he remained in the minor leagues because the Pirates hadAl Oliver,Richie Zisk, andDave Parker in their major league outfield.[4] Then on March 15, 1977, the Pirates and Oakland Athletics announced that Page was being traded along withTony Armas,Doc Medich,Doug Bair,Dave Giusti andRick Langford forPhil Garner,Chris Batton andTommy Helms.[6][7]
In Oakland, the star players of theSwingin' A's teams that won three consecutive World Series championships earlier in the decade had left the team by trades or viafree agency.[4] Page made his major league debut at the age of 25 on the opening day of the1977 season, replacing the departedJoe Rudi as the Athletics'left fielder.[1][4] His early performance indicated a promising career ahead of him when he began the season with an eight-game hitting streak along with a .500 batting average, as the Athletics surged to a 7-1 record.[4] Page was named the American LeaguePlayer of the Week on April 17th, just two weeks into his major league career.[8] On September 2, he earned his second Player of the Week award and ended the season with a .307batting average along with 21home runs, 75runs batted in and 42stolen bases for the Athletics, becoming the second player in Major League Baseball history afterTommie Agee (1965) with more than 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases in their rookie seasons.[1][8][3]Mike Trout (2012) andCorbin Carroll (2023) are the only other rookies to accomplish the feat.[3]
Page also set the American League record for consecutive steals without being caught, stealing 26 consecutive bases before beingcaught stealing, breakingDon Baylor’s American League record of 25 in a row.[4] He was fourth in the league with a 6.1Wins Above Replacement (WAR) behind onlyRod Carew,George Brett, andCarlton Fisk, and his .926On-base plus slugging (OPS) was fourth in the American League behind only Carew,Ken Singleton, andJim Rice.[4][9] Page was named theSporting News Rookie of the Year, and collected nine votes to Eddie Murray's twelve to finish second in voting for the AL Rookie of the Year Award.[10]
Page had a respectable1978 season, batting .285 with seventeen home runs and 70 RBIs.[1] He then played in the 1978-79Venezuelan winter league season for theNavegantes del Magallanes, helping the team win the league championship, thus qualifying for the1979 Caribbean Series held in Puerto Rico.[4] Page led the Magallanes to the Caribbean Series victory, leading theround-robin tournament with 2 home runs and 11 runs batted in, earning him the Series’ Most Valuable Player award in what he called the biggest thrill of his baseball career.[4]
Page was involved in a contract dispute with Athletics ownerCharlie Finley duringSpring training1979, and wound up getting suspended by the owner for refusing to play in exhibition games.[11] He was used as the designated hitter during the regular season as injuries had limited his range in theoutfield. He produced just a .247batting average with nine home runs and 42 RBIs in his new role.[1]
Page batted just .146 with four home runs and thirteen RBIs in the first half of thestrike shortened1981 season.[1] When play resumed in August, Page saw just three moreat-bats for the rest of the season, spending most of his time with the triple ATacoma Tigers. The Athletics won the first half of the season; Page was kept off the roster for1981 American League Division Series against theKansas City Royals and the1981 American League Championship Series against theNew York Yankees.[12] Page spent most of1982 with Tacoma and1983 on the disabled list.
Page was released by the Athletics during Spring training1984. He signed a minor league deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates shortly afterwards, and in twelve at bats, hit .333, with threewalks as apinch hitter in August.[1] Page played in his final major league game on September 30, 1984 at the age of 32.[1] After spending all of1985 with Pittsburgh'sTriple-A affiliate inHawaii, he was released.[1]
In an eight-year major league career, Page played in 673 games, accumulating 560 hits in 2,104 at bats for a .266 career batting average along with 72 home runs, 259 runs batted in, a .346 on-base percentage and 104 stolen bases.[1] He finished his career with a .963 fielding percentage.[1]
Page returned to Tacoma as their hitting coach from1992 through1994, and served as first base coach for theKansas City Royals from1995 to1997.[2]
He accepted a job with the St. Louis Cardinals as hitting coach for theMemphis Redbirds in1998. From there, he moved to minor league hitting coordinator in1999. Midway through the2001 season, he was promoted to the St. Louis Cardinals as hitting coach.[2] Page worked with rookieAlbert Pujols who went on to win the Rookie of the Year award and became one of the best hitters in Major League Baseball.[2] In2004, the Cardinals led the National League in batting average,runs andslugging percentage.[13] He remained with the club through the2004 World Series, but left the post immediately afterwards to enter an alcohol treatment facility near hisOakland, California home.[14] The Cardinals batted just .190 in theWorld Series against theBoston Red Sox.[15]
Page returned to baseball as minor league hitting instructor for theWashington Nationals in2005, and became the major league hitting coach in2006.[16] In 2006 he authored a book on hitting titled, TheComplete Manual of Hitting.[17] Page left the job in May 2007 due to a relapse of his alcoholism. He returned to the organization later in the year as a roving minor league instructor.[2] He rejoined the Cardinals' organization, and began2010 as a coach with theQuad Cities River Bandits, but left in May due to "personal reasons."[18]
Page played the role of theCalifornia Angelsfirst baseman, "Abascal", in the1994Disney movieAngels in the Outfield.[19]
Page died in his sleep on March 12,2011, at the age of 59.[2] The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.[20]