Mark McLemore
Encyclopedia
Mark Tremell McLemore (born October 4, 1964 in San Diego, California
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...

) is a former second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...

 and utility player
Utility player
In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include association football , baseball, rugby, rugby league, water polo and softball....

 in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

.

He played for the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...

 -, Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

 1990, Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...

 , Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 -, Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...

 -, Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

 -, and Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

 .

McLemore's primary claim to fame is his nickname "Supersub", which he earned due to his contributions to the -03 Seattle Mariners. The club's regular 2nd baseman during the 2000 season, in 2001 McLemore was replaced by Bret Boone
Bret Boone
Bret Robert Boone is a former Major League Baseball second baseman.-Personal life:Boone was born in El Cajon, California to Susan G. Roel and Bob Boone. He is a graduate of El Dorado High School and the University of Southern California. He is the grandson of former major leaguer Ray Boone and...

, acquired during the offseason. With McLemore openly bitter about losing his job, Manager Lou Piniella
Lou Piniella
Louis Victor Piniella is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He has been nicknamed "Sweet Lou," both for his swing as a major league hitter and, facetiously, to describe his demeanor as a player and manager...

 appeased him by using him regularly in a variety of infielder and outfielder positions (mainly LF, 3B and SS, but also 2B, CF, DH and RF), with remarkable results. During the 2001 Mariners' record-tying 116-win season, he racked up 409 at-bats, 117 hits, 69 walks, .286 batting average, .384 OBP and 39 stolen bases—all while playing without a regular position. The presence of a utility player who can substitute at almost any position with minimal drop-off in offensive or defensive performance was a key factor in the Mariners' historic season. His exceptionally impressive statistics for a utility player
Utility player
In sport, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently, a sort of jack of all trades. Sports in which the term is often used include association football , baseball, rugby, rugby league, water polo and softball....

 not only earned him his nickname, but raised interest in the very concept of a "supersub" (everyday utility player).

Mark McLemore's statistics dropped steadily from his 2001 peak until he left the Mariners after 2003 as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....

. He retired after one season with Oakland (2004). By having played with Oakland in his final year, McLemore became the first major leaguer to have played for all four teams in the American League West since MLB divisions were realigned in 1994 (Gene Nelson
Gene Nelson (baseball)
Wayland Eugene Nelson , is a former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1981 to 1993. After beginning his career as a starting pitcher with the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners, Nelson gradually converted to a relief role starting in 1983...

 also played for all four AL West teams, but his career ended in 1993, prior to the realignment). He is also one of a handful of players to play for both the Rangers and the Astros, Texas' two MLB franchises.

McLemore had a brief stint as a color commentator for baseball games on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

, and currently serves as part of the Texas Rangers broadcast team, he provides analysis on the pre and post game programs on Fox Sports Southwest. Mark also does analysis on the Friday night Texas Ranger broadcasts on TXA21 (KTXA) with Gina Miller.

Although "Supersub" was intended as a compliment by appreciative Seattle media and fans for his versatility, McLemore himself was bitter about losing his regular position and hated being referred to as a utility player, saying, "A utility guy plays once or twice a week. I play every day. I'm an everyday player. It's not a utility role. I just happen to play everywhere. There's a definite difference."

Carrying the American flag on a tall flag staff, McLemore led the Mariners onto Safeco Field for the first Mariners home game after 9/11.

He is an avid collector of bottle caps, pogs, and other rounded miniatures. He was ejected from a game in June 1995 when an umpire discovered he had pressed a vintage Coca Cola bottle cap into the knob of his bat, an illegal modification.

During his five year stint with the Rangers, he was also commonly referred to as the "Doctor of Defense".

Supersub Revisited

Remembering McLemore's contributions, Seattle managers, reporters and fans have since repeatedly entertained the thought of employing another supersub, with little success. There are two key drawbacks to the tactic which limit the possibility, and illustrate the uniqueness of McLemore's 2001 season. First, the Seattle Mariners play in the American League, where the designated hitter
Designated hitter
In baseball, the designated hitter rule is the common name for Major League Baseball Rule 6.10, an official position adopted by the American League in 1973 that allows teams to designate a player, known as the designated hitter , to bat in place of the pitcher each time he would otherwise come to...

 alleviates some of the need for players who can both hit and field. McLemore's value to the Mariners was enhanced because the DH position was filled by Edgar Martínez
Edgar Martinez
Edgar Martínez , nicknamed "Gar" and "Papi", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and designated hitter. He spent his entire 18-year Major League career with the Seattle Mariners. He is the cousin of Carmelo Martínez.-Seattle Mariners:On December 19, 1982, the Seattle Mariners signed...

, a skilled hitter who could not reliably play a defensive position. Second, keeping a supersub requires having more quality players than positions, a luxury the 2001 Mariners enjoyed, but otherwise very few clubs can afford. Without a surplus of quality players, the best players invariably occupy the regular positions as much as possible.

Early years

McLemore grew up in Southeast San Diego
Southeast San Diego
Southeast San Diego is the southeastern portion of the City of San Diego, generally represented by the urban neighborhoods directly east of Downtown San Diego, bordered by Interstate 5 and south of the Martin Luther King Jr...

 where he went to Samuel F. B. Morse High School
Samuel F. B. Morse High School
Samuel F. B. Morse High School, also called Morse High School or simply Morse, is an urban public high school located in southeastern San Diego in the neighborhood of Skyline Hills serving grades 9-12 in the American K-12 education system. Named after inventor Samuel Finley Breese Morse, it first...

 with Sam Horn
Sam Horn
Samuel Lee Horn is a former baseball player who spent parts of 8 seasons in MLB and was an anchor for New England Sports Network, the flagship station of Boston sports teams.-Pro career:...

.

External links

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