Intro

Constantly hampered by injuries, when Mickey Tettleton managed to stay healthy, he was an excellent hitting catcher. A switch-hitter, Tettleton hit 30 homers in a season four times, and was the only player in baseball to draw at least 90 walks every year from 1990-1996. The quiet professional was never considered a great defensive catcher, but he won three Silver Slugger Awards and was named an All-Star twice. He belted 245 homers and drew nearly 1,000 free pases in his 14-year career, all spent in the American League, before knee injuries sidelined him for good.

Replaced By

His last catching job was with Detroit in 1994. He was replaced by Chad Kreuter and John Flaherty. In his final seasons, with Texas, he was a DH. He was eventually replaced in that role by a committee of players, including right fielder Juan Gonzalez and Lee Stevens.

Best Season

In Detroit, Sparky Anderson used Mickey at DH enough to keep him healthy and rested for his spells behind the plate. In '93, the switch-hitter slugged 32 homers and drove in a career-high 110 runs. He drew more than 100 walks for the fourth straight season.

Factoid 1

Through the first two months of the 1989 season, Tettleton was tied for the league lead in homers. He credited his power surge to his breakfast selection: Tettleton ate a bowl of Froot Loops every morning.

Strengths

Power from the right-side of the plate.

Weaknesses

Oddly, Tettleton hit poorly with men in scoring position. He batted .208 with a .396 SLG percentage. He was 15-for-81 (.185) with two homers with the bases loaded.

Description

Tettleton resembled Brian Downing in the face, and like Downing, Tettleton used an odd batting stance. Mickey stood erect, with his arms relaxed, and his bat angled parallel to the ground, held near his belt.