Douglas Andrew Mientkiewicz (/mɪntˈkeɪvɪtʃ/ mint-KAY-vitch; born June 19, 1974) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from 1998 to 2009, most prominently as a member of the Minnesota Twins where he was a Gold Glove Award winner. Mientkiewicz was also a member of the 2004 World Series winning Boston Red Sox team. He is one of five players to win both an Olympic gold medal and a World Series championship.
Basics
- Positions
- First Baseman
- Major League Debut
- September 18, 1998
- Mientkiewicz got the start on for the Minnesota Twins visiting the Detroit Tigers. He went 0 for 3 with a walk, and was credited with 11 put outs.1
- September 18, 1998
- Last MLB Appearance
- October 4, 2009
- Mientkiweicz got the start for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the visiting Colorado Rockies. He went 3 for 4 with an RBI, and was credited with 8 put outs.2
- October 4, 2009
Teams Played for
- Florida State Seminoles – Atlantic Coast Conference (NCAA)
- Fort Myers Miracle – Florida State League (A+)
- New Britain Rock Cats – Eastern League (AA)
- Navegantes del Magallanes – Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional
- Minnesota Twins – American League
- Salt Lake Buzz – Pacific Coast League (AAA)
- Boston Red Sox – American League
- New York Mets – National League
- GCL Mets – Gulf Coast League (Rookie)
- St. Lucie Mets – Florida State League (A+)
- Kansas City Royals – American League
- New York Yankees – American League
- Tampa Yankees – Florida State League (A+)
- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees – International League (AAA)
- Pittsburgh Pirates – National League
- Los Angeles Dodgers – National League
- Albuquerque Isotopes – Pacific Coast League (AAA)
- Inland Empire 66ers – California League (A+)
- New Orleans Zephyrs – Pacific Coast League (AAA)3
Ejections
- September 9, 1999
- Umpire: Marty Foster
- Opponent: Baltimore Orioles
- In the Twins half of the 7th inning, Mientkiewicz struck out looking and was called out by Home Plate umpire Marty Foster. He argued the call and was ejected.4
- July 27, 2005
- Umpire: Angel Hernandez
- Opponent: Colorado Rockies
- In the Mets half of the six run 5th inning, Mientkiewicz struck out looking and was called out by Home Plate umpire Angel Hernandez. He argued the call and was ejected.5
- July 12, 2008
- Umpire: Eric Cooper
- Opponent: St. Louis Cardinals
- In the Cardinals half of the 4th inning, Mientkiewicz argued that Albert Pujols was out at second instead of being credited with a double.6
International Baseball
- Representing the United States
- Sydney 2000
Club Baseball Jobs
- Los Angeles Dodgers System
- Ogden Raptors – Pioneer League (Rookie)
- Hitting Coach – 2012
- Ogden Raptors – Pioneer League (Rookie)
- Minnesota Twins System
- Fort Myers Miracle – Florida State League (A+)
- Manager – 2013, 2014 & 2017
- Chattanooga Lookouts – Southern League (AA)
- Manager – 2015 & 2016
- Fort Myers Miracle – Florida State League (A+)
- Detroit Tigers
- Toledo Mud Hens – International League (AAA)
- Manager – 2018 & 20197
- Toledo Mud Hens – International League (AAA)
Transfers
- July 8, 1995
- Signed by Minnesota Twins out of the draft from Florida State Seminoles – drafted in the fifth round.
- July 31, 2004
- Part of a four-team trade involving Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins
- Cubs received Nomar Garciaparra and Matt Murton from Red Sox
- Red Sox received Orlando Cabrera from Expos
- Red Sox received Mientkiewicz from Twins
- Expos received Brendan Harris, Alex Gonzalez, and Francis Beltran from Cubs
- Twins received Justin Jones from Cubs.
- Part of a four-team trade involving Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Minnesota Twins
- January 27, 2005
- Traded by Boston Red Sox to New York Mets
- Red Sox received Ian Bladergroen
- Mets received Mientkiewicz and cash
- Traded by Boston Red Sox to New York Mets
- December 16, 2005
- Signed by Kansas City Royals
- January 8, 2007
- Signed by New York Yankees
- February 11, 2008
- Signed by Pittsburgh Pirates
- February 23, 2009
- Signed by Los Angles Dodgers
- May 5, 2010
- Signed by Florida Marlins8
Injured List
- July 15 – 22, 2004
- Sore Left Wrist
- June 26 – July 15, 2005
- Strained right hamstring
- August 10 – September 2, 2005
- Lower Back Strain
- July 31 – October 1, 2006
- Herniated disc in lower back
- June 3 – September 1, 2007
- Fractured right wrist and concussion after a collision with Mike Lowell while trying to field a throw from Derek Jeter.
- April 17 – September 2, 2009
- Dislocated Right Shoulder.9
- https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1998/B09180DET1998.htm ↩︎
- https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2009/B10040LAN2009.htm ↩︎
- https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mientk001dou#all_standard_roster ↩︎
- https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1999/B09090MIN1999.htm ↩︎
- https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2005/B07270COL2005.htm ↩︎
- https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/2008/B07120PIT2008.htm ↩︎
- https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/702/jobs/ ↩︎
- https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmiend001.htm ↩︎
- https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/702/tranx/ ↩︎