Anthony Recker
| Anthony Recker | |
|---|---|
 Recker with the New York Mets in 2015 | |
| Cleveland Indians | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: August 29, 1983 Allentown, Pennsylvania | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 25, 2011, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| MLB statistics (through 2015 season) | |
| Batting average | .185 |
| Home runs | 16 |
| Runs batted in | 55 |
| Teams | |
Anthony Vito Recker (born August 29, 1983) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Cleveland Indians organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs and New York Mets.
Baseball career
Amateur career
Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Recker attended Catasauqua High School where he also starred in football, and later continued his baseball career at Alvernia College, a small NCAA Division III school in Reading, Pennsylvania.[1] Despite growing up in Pennsylvania, Recker's favorite team growing up was the Oakland Athletics.[2]
Professional career
Oakland Athletics
2005 Draft
Recker was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 18th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft out of Alvernia College. He began catching and, on occasion, playing first base professionally.
2011
On August 23, 2011, he was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[3] He was named to the All-PCL Team in 2011.[4]
Chicago Cubs
2012
Recker was traded to the Cubs for Blake Lalli on August 27, 2012.
New York Mets
2013
On October 24, 2012, Recker was designated for assignment. He was claimed off waivers by the New York Mets.
He started his first game for the Mets on April 7, 2013 in a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins. Although Recker is a position player, he pitched the ninth inning for the New York Mets to preserve their regular pitchers in a lopsided game on June 30, 2013, where the Mets were defeated by the Washington Nationals by a score of 13-2. He was optioned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s on August 19. He was later called back up on August 28 as a back up to Travis d'Arnaud due to the trade that sent catcher John Buck and outfielder Marlon Byrd to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
2014
Recker made the Opening Day roster in 2014 as a backup to Mets' catcher Travis d'Arnaud. On April 4, he threw out Cincinnati Reds' young speedster Billy Hamilton who was trying to steal second base. On April 12, Recker hit a solo home run in the top of the 13th off Matt Shoemaker to break the 6-6 tie between the Mets and Angels and win the game for the Mets 7-6.
2015
On May 14, Recker had his first career multi-homer game against the Chicago Cubs, a game that the Mets went on to lose.[5] On November 6, Recker was outrighted off the 40-man roster making him a free agent.[6] Recker hit .125 with two home runs, five RBIs in 80 at-bats in 32 games in 2015. From 2013 to 2015 as a Met, Recker hit 15 home runs in 140 games. However, Recker did manage to hit 8 home runs in just 108 plate appearances while playing for the Las Vegas 51s.
Cleveland Indians
2016
On November 27, 2015, Recker signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians, including an invitation to spring training.[7]
Personal life
Recker married Kelly Shepardson on November 2, 2013. His wife Kelly gave birth to their first child Camden Anthony Recker on December 29, 2014.[8]
References
- ^ http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf/2014/09/catasauquas_anthony_recker_enj.html
- ^ http://articles.mcall.com/2011-08-23/sports/mc-recker-0822-20110823_1_catty-s-recker-anthony-recker-major-league
- ^ http://oakland.athletics.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110823&content_id=23620806&vkey=pr_oak&fext=.jsp&c_id=oak
- ^ http://www.i70baseball.com/2011/08/29/2011-all-pcl-team-announced/
- ^ "Recker hits 2 HRs, but passed ball sinks Mets". mlb.com. Retrieved May 15, 2015.
- ^ http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/113162/anthony-recker-wilfredo-tovar-removed-from-40-man-roster
- ^ Eddy, Matt (December 1, 2015). "Minor League Transactions: Nov. 21-27". Baseball America. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/sports/baseball/six-mets-players-get-engaged-in-off-season.html?_r=0
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Anthony Recker on Twitter
- 1983 births
- Living people
- Sportspeople from the Lehigh Valley
- Baseball players from Pennsylvania
- Major League Baseball catchers
- Oakland Athletics players
- Chicago Cubs players
- New York Mets players
- Alvernia Crusaders baseball players
- Vancouver Canadians players
- Kane County Cougars players
- Stockton Ports players
- Midland RockHounds players
- Leones del Escogido players
- Sacramento River Cats players
- Tennessee Smokies players
- Iowa Cubs players
- Las Vegas 51s players