Mark Quinn
Encyclopedia
You may also be looking for the British contemporary sculptor Marc Quinn
Marc Quinn
Marc Quinn is a British artist and part of the group known as Britartists or YBAs . He is known for Alison Lapper Pregnant , Self , and Garden .He is one of the Young British...


Mark David Quinn (born May 21, 1974 in La Mirada, California
La Mirada, California
La Mirada is a city in southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of the Gateway Cities. The population was 48,527 at the 2010 census, up from 46,783 at the 2000 census....

) is a former 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...

 outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 and right-handed batter who played for the Kansas City Royals
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals are a Major League Baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals are a member of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From 1973 to the present, the Royals have played in Kauffman Stadium...

. Quinn was drafted in the 11th round of the 1995 Amateur Draft after playing two seasons for the Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...

 Owls. He played for the Royals between 1999-2002. On July 8, he signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 organization. He was released one month later, and retired for good prior to the season.

Career

In 1998, Quinn led the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...

 in batting average when he hit .349 for the Wichita Wranglers
Wichita Wranglers
The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals major-league club from 1995 to 2007, and of the San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994. The Wranglers played in...

. He captured a second minor league batting crown the following year, posting a .360 average for the Omaha Golden Spikes of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...

.

On September 14, 1999 Quinn became just the third player in MLB history to hit two home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s in his major league debut, joining Bob Nieman
Bob Nieman
Robert Charles Nieman was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the St. Louis Browns , Detroit Tigers , Chicago White Sox , Baltimore Orioles , St. Louis Cardinals , Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants...

 (1951
1951 in sports
1951 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-American football:* January 14 – The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game ....

) and Bert Campaneris
Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco , nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics...

 (1964
1964 in sports
1964 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Men's Olympic Gold Medal:** Downhill: Egon Zimmermann, Austria** Slalom: Josef Stiegler, Austria** Giant Slalom: François Bonlieu, France* Women's Olympic Gold Medal:...

). In Quinn became the Royals regular leftfielder. He hit .294 with 20 home runs, earning him the Sporting News American League Rookie Player of the Year and a spot on the 2000 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
Topps All-Star Rookie Rosters
This is a year-by-year list of the Topps All-Star Rookie teams. Note that players selected for a particular team appear in the following year's set release...

. Quinn split the season between right field, left field, and 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...

. His production at the plate dropped to 17 homers and a .269 average. Quinn opened the 2002 season on the DL with one of the more bizarre sports injuries: a broken rib caused by "kung-fu fighting" with his brother in San Diego. By Quinn only appeared in 23 games for the Royals and hit just .237 in what would be his final year in the majors.

After the Royals released him during Spring Training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...

 of , Quinn played in the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...

, and Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

 organizations, along with a stint for the Long Beach Armada
Long Beach Armada
The Long Beach Armada was an independent professional baseball team based in Long Beach, California, in the United States. The Armada was a member of the North Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League, which was not affiliated with either Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball...

 of the independent Golden Baseball League
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League, based in San Ramon, California, was an independent baseball league. It later merged with the Northern League and the United Baseball League to form the North American League in the western United States, western Canada and Mexico....

.

In four seasons with the Royals, Quinn batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .282 with 45 home runs, 167 RBI
Run batted in
Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

, 153 runs, 72 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

, five triples
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

, and 17 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

s in 293 games.

Quinn's 45 career home runs surpassed fellow Royals alumnus Jamie Quirk
Jamie Quirk
James Patrick Quirk is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current bench coach for the Chicago Cubs. Quirk attended Whittier College.-Playing career:Quirk was also a Parade Magazine All-America quarterback at St...

's total of 43, giving him the second-most home runs all time for a player whose last name begins with a "Q". Carlos Quentin
Carlos Quentin
Carlos Josè Quentin is an American outfielder who plays for the Chicago White Sox. In 2008 and in 2011, Quentin was selected as an All-Star.-Early career:...

, currently an outfielder for the Chicago White Sox, has hit 71 as of the end of the 2009 season.

His penchant for free-swinging and refusing to take walks led to a fireworks display (normally reserved for home runs) over Kauffman Stadium in his final season when he drew a walk after a long drought.

External links

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