Michael Restovich
Michael Jerome Restovich
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 233 lb.
- High School Mayo High School
- Debut September 18, 2002
- Final Game May 5, 2007
- Born January 3, 1979 in Rochester, MN USA
Biographical Information[edit]
Michael Restovich was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Joel Lepel and made his pro debut the next summer.
He played six seasons in the majors, starting with three seasons with the Twins from 2002, when he was a September call-up, to 2004. After that, he was frequently on the move, appearing for four different teams over the next three seasons: the Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals. One constant was that he was never able to secure a regular job, as his highest totals for games and at-bat, respectively 66 and 116, both came in the 2005 season which he split between Colorado and Pittsburgh. A lot of his appearances came as either a pinch-hitter (53 times) or pinch-runner (17 times); otherwise he was a corner outfielder. He hit .239 over the 6 seasons, with 6 homers and 21 RBIs.
Restovich signed with the SoftBank Hawks for 2008 but only hit .223/.315/.330 with 3 homers in 112 AB. He spent much of the season in ni-gun and disagreed regularly with manager Sadaharu Oh, who Restovich felt was too much of a perfectionist. In September, he returned to his native Rochester, MN to visit his father, who was dying from cancer. Restovich said his father helped him see that baseball was not all that mattered before passing away. After that he played three more seasons in AAA. He did well in 2009 with the Charlotte Knights, in the Chicago White Sox system, as he hit .290 with 36 doubles, 21 homers and 61 RBIs in 135 games. In 2010, he batted .305 in 111 for the Albuquerque Isotopes. He slugged over .500 both seasons, but being the wrong side of 30, did not get another shot at the big leagues. He retired after splitting the 2011 season between Charlotte and the Reno Aces.
Notable Achievements[edit]
- 1998 MVP Appalachian League Elizabethton Twins
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