When I first saw Mark Kotsay play for the Florida Marlins way back in 1997, something about the 21-year old made my expectations run incredibly high. He was a young, a lefty, and had a beautiful swing. After watching him play through four seasons with the Fish I realized Mark didn’t possess impressive power or speed but could always be counted on to be the “workhorse” of the team.
Mark is now into his twelfth season and is still flying well below the M.L.B radar despite having three back to back seasons of hitting close to .300 a few years ago and ending up in the top 15 for the N.L M.V.P voting in 2004. He was brought to Atlanta to replace a legendary young slugger named Andruw Jones and while his numbers pale in comparison to Andruw’s best years with the Braves, they are above and beyond better than anything Jones has done in 2008.
Tonight, at 32 years of age and with over a decade of service, Mark Kotsay may have had the best game of his life when he hit for the Cycle, something that hasn’t been done by the Atlanta Braves in over 20 years!
Congrats to Mr. Kotsay!
Like Mike Cameron, one of the most underrated players in baseball. He has been on a ton of teams and has performed well everywhere he has gone.
I would say he is pretty average. He had a great game, but his stats are nothing too impressive.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Kotsay, and never really knew why. He’s never played for my team, never been really flashy… I don’t get it, but I really like the dude. Put him in pinstripes, and you’ve got my new favorite Yankee.
I find it funny that every newsworthy item of the last year has somehow been linked to the Florida Marlins… Go figure
If you want to stay obscure, play for the Marlins between their World Series Championships, the Padres and Oakland. I have always liked Kotsay and would have suspected his numbers would have been much better. but he seems to never make it thru a full season and he has never made an all-star team. I think at this point in his career I would classify him as solid. I was shocked to find out his base-stealing numbers were so mediocre.
Pretty cool to get your 1500th hit on the hit that gives you the cycle.