Bobby Malek

Robert John Malek

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.
• School Michigan State University

• Born July 6, 1981 in Livonia, MI USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Bobby Malek was a consensus All-American in college, reached AAA as a player, then became a coach.

Malek hit .345 at Michigan State in 2000. The next year, the sophomore led the Big Ten Conference in average (.427, .026 ahead of the next player) and hits (88), taking All-Conference honors. He lost Conference Player of the Year honors to slugger Jack Hannahan. Nationally, Bob ranked 20th in NCAA Division I in average. As a junior, Malek fell to .402 but went deep 16 times, scored 66, drove in 66 and stole 16 bases. He tied Vasili Spanos for the Conference lead in homers and was third in average, .002 shy of the lead. He was co-Player of the Year with Luke Appert and Kennard Jones and joined Jones and Nick Swisher as All-Conference outfielders. He was a consensus All-American, joining Steve Stanley in the outfield; Sam Fuld was named by two of the three major sources as a third outfielder.

Malek was picked by the New York Mets in the 4th round of the 2002 amateur draft. Due to two picks being lost as free agent compensation, Malek was New York's second overall selection after Scott Kazmir. Malek was signed by scout Terry Tripp and made his pro debut with the Brooklyn Cyclones. Facing a tough transition to the pro game, hitting .207/.235/.252, whereas Kazmir was dominant.

In 2003, Malek played for the Capital City Bombers (.262/.369/.356 in 43 G) and St. Lucie Mets (.280/.354/.378 in 79 G). Overall, he had 31 doubles, 28 steals in 38 tries and 11 outfield assists with just one error. He split 2004 between St. Lucie (.266/.321/.440) and the Binghamton Mets (.222/.263/.315 in 22 G). He hit a career-high 14 home runs that season and had 12 outfield assists.

Bobby spent all of 2005 with Binghamton, falling to four homers and one steal while hitting .277/.335/.386. He had 12 assists but eight errors. He bounced around in 2006, spending time with Binghamton (.240/.302/.376 in 63 G), the Norfolk Tides (.179/.220/.214 in 18 G) and Brooklyn (0 for 11, BB). In '07, Malek was 4 for 15 with a walk for St. Lucie but spent most of the season in the independent Atlantic League. He batted .282/.345/.392 with 81 runs and 19 steals (caught 7 times) with the Bridgeport Bluefish. He was the MVP of the Atlantic League All-Star Game.

Signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers organization for 2008, the former MSU star hit .211/.281/.246 in 28 games for the Jacksonville Suns then retired. His career batting line in pro ball was .262/.325/.375.

After ending his playing career, Malek coached for the 2008 GCL Mets, 2009-2010 Kingsport Mets, and 2011-2013 Brooklyn Cyclones.

MSU bio