From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American baseball player & coach (born 1973)
Baseball player
Mark Joseph Budzinski
(born August 26, 1973) is an American former
Major League Baseball
(MLB)
outfielder
who played with the
Cincinnati Reds
in 2003, and is currently the first base
coach
for the
Toronto Blue Jays
.
Playing career
[
edit
]
Budzinski played
college baseball
at the
University of Richmond
. In 1994, he played
collegiate summer baseball
with the
Harwich Mariners
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
.
[1]
[2]
The
Cleveland Indians
selected Budzinski in the 21st round of the
1995 MLB Draft
. Budzinski played professionally for 11 seasons, and he spent the 1997 campaign in the
Carolina League
as an
outfielder
for the
Kinston Indians
. After spending time in the Indians,
Cubs
, and
Brewers
systems, Budzinski made his Major League debut with the
Cincinnati Reds
on August 3, 2003. He appeared in four games before returning to the minor leagues. Budzinski retired in 2005 and returned to
Richmond, Virginia
to go into real estate.
[3]
Post playing career
[
edit
]
Mark Budzinski returned to professional baseball in 2014 as the manager of the
Lake County Captains
. He then served as manager of the
Lynchburg Hillcats
in the 2015 and 2016 seasons, and the
Akron RubberDucks
in 2017. Budzinski was hired to the
Cleveland Indians
' major league coaching staff on December 11, 2017.
[4]
On November 26, 2018, Budzinski was hired as the first base coach for the
Toronto Blue Jays
.
[5]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Budzinski is married to Monica, with whom he raised three children.
[6]
His eldest daughter Julia died in July 2022 after a boating accident in the
James River
near
Glen Allen, Virginia
at the age of 17.
[7]
[8]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Tsongas, Ashley (July 14, 1994).
"In the Dugout"
.
The Cape Cod Chronicle
. Chatham, MA. p. 38.
- ^
Eldred, Rich (July 19, 1994).
"Mariners Catch a Breeze, Win Three Straight"
.
The Cape Codder
. Orleans, MA. p. 10.
- ^
O'Connor, John (July 10, 2015).
"Richmonder Budzinski managing "best of both worlds"
"
.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
. Retrieved
July 12,
2020
.
- ^
"Indians name Budzinski & Sweeney to Major League coaching staff"
.
MLB.com
(Press release). Cleveland Guardians. December 11, 2017.
- ^
Davidi, Shi (November 26, 2018).
"Blue Jays fire bullpen coach Dane Johnson, hire Matt Buschmann"
.
Sportsnet
.
- ^
"First-base coach Mark Budzinski away from Toronto Blue Jays after eldest daughter's death"
.
ESPN.com
. July 3, 2022
. Retrieved
July 4,
2022
.
- ^
"Daughter of Blue Jays 1B coach Mark Budzinski died in tubing accident, authorities say"
.
ESPN.com
. Associated Press. July 5, 2022
. Retrieved
July 5,
2022
.
- ^
"Glen Allen student killed in James River tubing accident remembered as 'sweetest person'
"
.
WTVR-TV
. July 3, 2022
. Retrieved
July 4,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Active roster
| |
---|
Inactive roster
| |
---|
Injured list
| |
---|
Coaching staff
| |
---|