Kevin Kouzmanoff
| Kevin Kouzmanoff | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Kansas City Royals | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: July 25, 1981 Newport Beach, California |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| September 2, 2006 for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) |
|
| Batting average | .255 |
| Home runs | 85 |
| Runs batted in | 361 |
| Teams | |
Kevin Kouzmanoff (born July 25, 1981, in Newport Beach, California) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Kansas City Royals organization. He has previously played for the Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, and Colorado Rockies.
Kouzmanoff had trouble with various sports in high school. He got special help for batting practice, just to learn how to swing a bat for three years, implementing a swing. He dedicated all his time and effort to make it to college baseball and get drafted.[1] Kouzmanoff is the third player of only four players in history to hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat, after Bill Duggleby in 1898 and Jeremy Hermida in 2005,[2] and followed by Daniel Nava in 2010. Both Kouzmanoff and Nava hit their slam on the first pitch they saw.
Kouzmanoff is of Macedonian descent.[3][4][5]
Contents |
[edit] Amateur career
[edit] High school
Kouzmanoff grew up in Newport Beach, California and then moved to Evergreen, Colorado just before high school started, where he played high school baseball at Evergreen High School.
[edit] College
In 2002, he attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he hit .364.
In 2003, he attended the University of Nevada-Reno where as a walk-on he hit .361.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] Cleveland Indians
In the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, the Cleveland Indians selected Kouzmanoff in the 6th round (168th overall).
Kouzmanoff made his professional debut later in 2003 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, hitting .272 with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 206 at-bats. Kouzmanoff also played for the Winchester Royals in Virginia.
In 2004, Kouzmanoff hit 16 home runs, 87 RBI and a .330 average with the Lake County Captains of the South Atlantic League. Bothered by back problems in 2005, he was limited to only 254 at-bats with the Kinston Indians, but still hit .339 with 12 home runs and 58 RBI.
Starting the 2006 season with Double-A Akron, Kouzmanoff flirted with a .400 average[6] before finishing at .389 and being promoted to the Buffalo Bisons in July. He was named the Indians' 2006 Minor League Player of the Year (receiving the "Lou Boudreau Award").[7][8]
On September 2, 2006, Kouzmanoff became the 23rd major leaguer to hit a home run on his first Major League pitch, the 12th American Leaguer to do so, and the second of 2006 (along with Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals). Kouzmanoff hit a grand slam off of then-Texas Ranger Edinson Volquez on the first pitch he ever saw in the major leagues, the first player in MLB history ever to do so on the first pitch. (The first-pitch slam feat was equalled by Boston Red Sox rookie Daniel Nava on June 12, 2010, at Fenway Park against Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Joe Blanton.[9])
On November 8, 2006, Kouzmanoff was traded with pitcher Andrew Brown to San Diego in exchange for second baseman Josh Barfield.
[edit] San Diego Padres
Padres fans were slow to embrace Kouzmanoff at the beginning of the season; Barfield had been popular with fans, and Kouzmanoff endured a slow start. However, he gradually increased his production and fans affectionately began to root “Koooz” when he made plays or got base hits, leading some uninitiated spectators to believe he is being booed.
In 2007, Kouzmanoff was ninth among all NL rookies in RBI (74; behind Troy Tulowitzki and Ryan Braun), 7th in home runs (18; behind Braun, Chris Young, Tulowitzki, and Josh Hamilton), hits (133), and extra base hits (50), and tied for 10th in runs (57).
In 2008 he had the worst strikeout-to-walk ratio in the majors, 6.04.[10]
In 2009 he set a National League single-season record for third basemen with a .990 fielding percentage, committing three errors in 309 total chances. This led to the Hall of Fame calling him and asking if he would donate his glove to them on which he responded; "I have to pick the glove. They aren't getting my gamer!"
Kouzmanoff broke the record of .987 by Colorado's Vinny Castilla in 2004.[11]
[edit] Oakland Athletics
On January 16, 2010, Kouzmanoff and minor league infielder Eric Sogard were traded to the Oakland Athletics for outfielders Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.[12]
[edit] Colorado Rockies
On August 23, 2011 the Colorado Rockies acquired Kouzmanoff for a player to be named later or cash considerations. [13] Following the season, he was outrighted from the 40-man roster and on October 6, he elected free agency.[14]
[edit] Kansas City Royals
On January 14, 2012, Kouzmanoff signed a minor league deal that included an invitation to Spring Training with the Kansas City Royals. If he makes the majors, he will earn $1 million, with up to $.3 million in incentives related to plate appearances. He is expected to serve as insurance to Mike Moustakas.[15]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100610&content_id=11029062&vkey=news_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak
- ^ ESPN article on Kouzmanoff's first game
- ^ Thames meets heroes, hits game-winning homer for Tigers
- ^ Boos turn into Kooooz PE.com
- ^ Call it a hunch: the final 2007 NL standings
- ^ May 18, 2006 Leader article about Kouzmanoff
- ^ "Minor League Player of the Year by Team". The Baseball Cube. http://www.thebaseballcube.com/awards/Minor_League_Player_of_the_Year_by_Team.shtml. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ^ "Cabrera, Laffey Receive '07 Honors". Scout.com. November 28, 2007. http://cubs.scout.com/a.z?s=260&p=2&c=706239. Retrieved July 25, 2011.
- ^ Nava hits slam on first pitch he sees in Majors
- ^ 2008 Major League Baseball Batting Ratios
- ^ San Diego's Kouzmanoff sets NL record at 3B
- ^ A's Acquire 3B Kevin Kouzmanoff from San Diego
- ^ Rockies acquire Kouzmanoff from A's
- ^ Dierkes, Tim (6 October 2011). "Kouzmanoff Elects Free Agency". MLBTradeRumors.com. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2011/10/rockies-removing-kouzmanoff-from-roster.html. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
- ^ Crasnick, Jerry (January 14, 2012). "Kansas City Royals, Kevin Kouzmanoff agree to minor league deal". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7461329/kansas-city-royals-kevin-kouzmanoff-agree-minor-league-deal.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kevin Kouzmanoff |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
| Preceded by Jeremy Sowers |
Indians' Minor League Player of the Year (the Lou Boudreau Award) 2006 |
Succeeded by Jordan Brown |
- 1981 births
- Living people
- Cleveland Indians players
- San Diego Padres players
- Oakland Athletics players
- Colorado Rockies players
- Kinston Indians players
- Akron Aeros players
- Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
- Baseball players from California
- Major League Baseball third basemen
- Mahoning Valley Scrappers players
- American people of Macedonian descent
- Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players
- Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans baseball players
