Mark Loretta

Lore & Background

Loretta coached the Israeli national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier in September 2012. He attended Northwestern University and played collegiate summer baseball with the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the seventh round of the 1993 MLB draft. His most productive season came with the San Diego Padres in 2004, when he batted .335 with 47 doubles, 16 home runs, 76 RBI, 108 runs scored, and 208 hits, earning an All-Star selection and the NL Silver Slugger Award for second basemen. He also pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Brewers on June 20, 2001.

In Their Own Story

The sun was setting over Anaheim Stadium, casting long amber shadows across the infield dirt. The crowd had thinned to a murmur, a few hundred die-hards still in the lower bowl, the smell of hot dogs and cut grass hanging in the warm October air. Loretta crouched at the bag, glove open, eyes tracking the shortstop's throw that was coming in a half-beat too late. He didn't flinch. He shifted his weight, extended his glove two steps to his left, and the ball kissed the leather and stayed. He pivoted, planted his back foot, and fired to first. The runner's cleats scraped the dirt a full step after the throw arrived. The first baseman caught it, looked up, and gave a single nod. Loretta didn't smile. He just reset his stance, tapped his glove against his thigh, and waited for the next pitch. The crowd barely noticed. That was the point. That was always the point.

Reader's Guide

Mark Loretta never played for the Los Angeles Angels. His MLB teams were the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He did not win a Gold Glove; his highest honors are an All-Star selection and a Silver Slugger Award. He was not part of any Angels championship squad.

Did You Know?

• Loretta took the mound to pitch a scoreless eighth inning for the Brewers on June 20, 2001, after not having pitched since college.
• He hit a walk-off single in Game 2 of the 2009 NL Division Series for the Los Angeles Dodgers, which he called the biggest hit of his career.
• Loretta is one of only two San Diego Padres players (along with Tony Gwynn) to have 200 hits in a regular season.