Mark Budzinski

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Mark Joseph Budzinski

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Biographical Information[edit]

Mark Budzinski played in four games with the 2003 Cincinnati Reds. In 7 big league at bats, he struck out four times. Mark had previously starred in the 2001 Baseball World Cup, hitting .371/.405/.514 as Team USA center fielder. He made the All-Star team for the tournament alongside Chin-Feng Chen and Yoshinobu Takahashi in the outfield.

After a number of years away from baseball, the Cleveland Indians hired Budzinski to manage in their player development system. He managed the Lake County Captains in 2014, the Lynchburg Hillcats in 2015-2016, and the Akron RubberDucks in 2017. In 2018, he was added to the Cleveland's coaching staff, but only stayed in this position for one year.

In 2019 he was appointed first base coach of the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 2, 2022, he abruptly left his position in the middle of the second game of a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays. While the news was initially that there had been a family emergency, it was soon learned that his 17-year-old daughter Julia had died tragically in a boating accident near the family's home in Virginia. The news shook the team hard, and he had to take leave to be with his grieving family. He remained as first base coach through the 2023 season.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record[edit]

Year Team League Record Finish Organization Playoffs
2014 Lake County Captains Midwest League 65-74 11th Cleveland Indians Lost League Finals
2015 Lynchburg Hillcats Carolina League 72-68 3rd Cleveland Indians Lost in 1st round
2016 Lynchburg Hillcats Carolina League 84-56 2nd Cleveland Indians Lost League Finals
2017 Akron RubberDucks Eastern League 69-71 6th Cleveland Indians

Related Sites[edit]