Mickey Morandini

Playing for the Chicago Cubs, Michael Robert Morandini has done everything expected of him. He provides excellent defense at second base while hitting for a good average and drawing walks from the second spot in the batting order. He even offered some unexpected homerun power. Mickey is not flashy and he keeps a low profile, but he doesn’t need to draw attention to himself in order to make people recognize that he is a valuable component of a winning team. He graduated from Leechburg Area High School, located in Pennsylvania, in 1984. Mickey loved playing sports and being outside when he was a kid. He chose to play baseball because he was told he was “to small” for football. He played baseball collegiately at Indiana University, a state institution of higher learning, located in Bloomington. He is one dandy little glove man. Morandini began his professional career in 1989, after the Philadelphia Phillies selected him in the fifth round of the 1988 June free agent amateur draft, out of Indiana University. A member of the 1988 United States Olympic team, Mickey made his major league debut with the Phillies in 1990. Mickey is involved in some wonderful charities. His charitable endeavors include: Mickey’s MVPs, a program in which he distributes tickets to terminally ill children, and serving as a spokesman for the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Foundation. Something in which Mark Grace, one of Mickey’s best friends, is also involved. ALS is a disease in which degeneration of motor neurons of the spinal cord and brain stem results in progressive muscular atrophy leading to total paralysis. The cause is unknown, and there is no cure. He tries to prepare for the games the same way every time. He starts by eating a good breakfast. After that, he watches his hitting tapes and studies the pitcher he will face in the upcoming game. He finishes by taking ground balls in batting practice. Ground balls that go directly at him, to his left, and to his right. It’s all repetition, “that’s how you become good,” acknowledged Mickey. Morandini feels the most difficult play for a second baseman to make would have to be turning the double play. Mostly because his back is to the runner and to the area where he has throw the ball. A double play occurs when fielders get two runners out in one play. A typical double play takes place when the batter hits the ball on the ground in the infield. As the runner tries to advance from first base to second base, an infielder grabs the ball, steps on second base to force out the base runner, and quickly throws the ball to the player covering first base to put out the batter. Mickey always seems to get everything out of an at-bat, the offensive position in baseball. Early in the game, with no guys on base, he likes to go deep in the count, which means having zero to two strikes and three balls. He claimed, “I feel the deeper I go in the count the better chance I have of the pitcher making a mistake.” When there are guys in scoring position, meaning they could make it home, he likes to be a little more aggressive and he looks for the first good pitch that comes his way. Morandini covers the inside half of the plate very well and feeds on first pitch fastballs. If he doesn’t get one, he’ll work the count, foul off the close pitches and try to ping one through the infield. He’s always willing to take a walk or get hit by a pitch to reach base. At times he’ll go after a fastball up and in and drive it. He also takes advantage of playing in hitter-friendly, Wrigley Field. Morandini feels that when he’s at bat and facing a left-handed pitcher it makes him better against the right-handed pitchers. The coach only sits him against left-handers to get other players playing time. “I think it’s more of trying to get them in the game, and being a part of the team, than sitting me against the lefty,” decided Mickey. When he is facing a right-handed pitcher, he hits second, but when there is a left-handed pitcher on the mound, he either sits on the bench or he hits eighth. Mickey is more comfortable hitting second in the lineup. It utilizes his offensive abilities. Batting second in the line, he can move runners, bunt, and do some things he can’t do in the eighth spot. Batters who reach base safely are referred to as base runners. Base runners can proceed to the next base when a subsequent batter hits the ball. One way to do this, is to hit a sacrifice fly ball. If a batted ball is caught on a fly, the runner may advance, but may only leave the current base after the catch is made. Subsequent batters sometimes sacrifice their chance for getting a base hit in order to advance the runner. Another way is to bunt, that is, simply hold the bat out toward a pitch rather than swing the bat. Then, when the ball is hit, it rolls slowly toward the infield. Ordinarily, in a sacrifice, the batter is put out, and the runner reaches the next base safely. Mickey’s career highlights include being selected to the National League all-star team in 1995, playing in the 1993 World Series and becoming the first ever second baseman to turn an unassisted triple play during a major league regular season contest (September 20, 1992, at Pittsburgh). With Wrigley Fields thick grass slowing down the grounders, he is able to show off his great range. He moves to his left especially well. He has good hands, a fine pivot and an accurate arm. There are few National League second basemen who are better in the field. Mickey won a gold medal in 1988 as a member of the United States Olympic team. “I take a lot of pride in my defense, and it’s great that they recognized I am playing exceptional defense,” approved Mickey, when asked if he found being called the D.L.G.M. (dandy little glove man) appropriate. Morandini had one of his top all around major league seasons for the Cubs in his first campaign with the club. He finished with a batting average of .296, eight home runs, fifty-three RBI (runs batted in), one hundred and fifty-four games played, ninety-three runs scored, and one hundred and seventy-two hits. His batting average (.296) was his best since 1989, when he was in the minor leagues (.351). The eight homeruns were the most by a left-handed hitting Cubs second baseman since George Grantham went deep twelve times in 1924. Twenty-four of his fifty-three RBI’s came after two players were already out. The ninety-three runs and one hundred and seventy-two hits are the most he has ever gotten in a single season. His advice to kids playing Little League is, “Have fun. Work on ground balls, work on hitting in batting practice, and work on throwing. Also, always have fun and enjoy the ball game.”