Mike Birkbeck
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via Wikipedia: Mike Birkbeck · see source
Mike Birkbeck, born March 10, 1961, pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and New York Mets in Major League Baseball, as well as the Yokohama BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball. A college standout at the University of Akron after attending Orrville High School in Ohio, his early promise was derailed by injuries.
A broken fibula suffered on a comebacker from Shane Mack while with Yokohama effectively ended his playing days, and he retired in 1996. He then moved into coaching, becoming the pitching coach at Kent State University in 1997 and later earning the title of associate head coach. In 2012, the ABCA and Baseball America named him Assistant Coach of the Year.
Background
Birkbeck's major league career spanned six seasons, during which he posted a 12–19 win–loss record across 54 games, 51 of them starts. He threw two complete games and logged 270 1/3 innings, allowing 319 hits and 146 earned runs for a 4.86 ERA. He struck out 149 batters while walking 93, and his stat line includes 27 home runs allowed, four hit batters, eight wild pitches, and 12 balks. The turning point came during his stint with the Yokohama BayStars, when a line drive off the bat of Shane Mack broke his fibula, an injury that effectively ended his career.
He retired as a player in 1996. The following year, he joined Kent State University as pitching coach, a role he still holds. In 2012, the ABCA and Baseball America recognized him as Assistant Coach of the Year, highlighting his impact on the Golden Flashes program.
Did You Know?
- He retired as a player in 1996 and became Kent State's pitching coach the very next year, in 1997.
- Over six MLB seasons, Birkbeck threw two complete games and recorded 149 strikeouts in 270 1/3 innings.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Mike Birkbeck (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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