Eric Munson
Eric Munson | |
---|---|
Third baseman / Catcher | |
Born: San Diego, California, U.S. | October 3, 1977|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
July 18, 2000, for the Detroit Tigers | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 21, 2009, for the Oakland Athletics | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .214 |
Home runs | 49 |
Runs batted in | 147 |
Teams | |
|
Eric Walter Munson (born October 3, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current minor-league baseball coach. He was the third overall pick in the 1999 Major League Baseball draft by the Detroit Tigers, behind Josh Hamilton and Josh Beckett.
Amateur career
Munson graduated from San Diego's
Professional career
Minor leagues
The Tigers signed Munson to a $3.50 million signing bonus, a team record until
, Munson was named the Detroit Tigers Minor League Player of the Year.Detroit Tigers
Munson began his major league career with the
Later playing career
He signed with the
Prior to the 2006 season, Munson was signed as a minor league free agent by the Houston Astros. With Houston, he backed up Brad Ausmus at catcher, the position he played in college at USC. On August 20, 2006, Munson was designated for assignment by the Astros and he accepted a demotion to their Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express, in the Pacific Coast League. He returned to Houston when the major league rosters expanded in September. Munson again signed a minor league contract with the Express for 2007, and began the season in the minors. Due to the injury to Astros catcher Héctor Giménez, Munson was recalled to the major league roster on June 2, 2007.
The Milwaukee Brewers claimed Munson off waivers on October 15, 2007. On March 26, he was sent outright to the Brewers' Triple-A club in Nashville. There, he split his time between first base and catcher. He became a free agent at the end of the season.
Munson signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics on March 27, 2009[3] and reported to the Athletics' Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. On September 11, 2009, Munson's contract was purchased from triple-A and he joined the A's as a September call-up. In October 2009, Munson was granted free agency.
On February 25, 2010, Munson signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. On July 6, 2010, the Portland Beavers (the Padres' AAA franchise) released Munson.
In August 2010, Munson signed to play for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League.
Post-playing career
In September 2011, Munson joined the USC baseball coaching staff as an undergrad assistant coach under head coach Frank Cruz.
Munson joined the University of Dubuque Baseball staff as an assistant coach for the 2013 season. Munson will primarily work with the hitters and catchers while also providing a wealth of knowledge and on the field experience.[4]
Munson opened up his own training facility, Gold Standard Athletics by Eric Munson, in the fall of 2013. He also coached for the 18U USA Baseball National Team where they won a gold medal in Taiwan.
Before the 2022 season, Munson was named hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates' Triple–A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians.[5]
References
- ^ "1996 ABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Teams". abca.prestosports.com. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2018.
- ^ Beck, Jason (22 July 2012). "Miggy reaches 300-homer mark with big blast". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012.
- ^ A's add Munson
- ^ "Baseball".
- mlb.com. January 12, 2022.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)