Moko Moanaroa

Hohua Moanaroa

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 213 lb.

• Born December 22, 1989 in Newcastle, New South Wales Australia

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Moko Moanaroa was a minor league player; he is the brother of Boss Moanaroa, who was a minor league teammate.

Moko hit .314/.410/.461 with 26 RBI in 37 games in 2007 for the Modi'in Miracle of the Israel Baseball League. He signed with the Boston Red Sox in June 2008; the scout was Jon Deeble. For the GCL Red Sox in 2008, he was 4 for 36 with a double and four walks as a backup left fielder. In 2009, he hit .273/.347/.318. He hit .296/.374/.361 for the 2010 GCL Red Sox, finishing second on the team in average. He went 3 for 24 with two walks and a double for the Sydney Blue Sox in the 2010-2011 Australian Baseball League.

In the summer of 2011, Moko ended his US career with the Lowell Spinners, backing up his brother at 1B and also playing left; he hit .260/.336/.427. In 2011-2012, he was 5 for 26 with a walk and two doubles for Sydney. He was on the New Zealand national team roster for the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers held in November of 2012. He went 3 for 15 with 3 runs and a RBI as New Zealand's starting left fielder.

Moanaroa and his brother led the Kiwi offense in the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in February 2016. Moko started Game 1 on the bench but got the only run for the Diamond Blacks against South Africa. He pinch-hit for Tim Auty in the bottom of the 9th and singled off Garth Cahill, later scoring when his brother drew a bases-loaded walk. He then replaced fellow ex-Red Sox farmhand Beau Bishop at DH for Game 2 and was 1 for 2 with two walks and two runs in a win over the Philippines national team. He remained the DH for Game 3 against South Africa and was 2 for 4, driving in both New Zealand runs in a 9-2 loss. He doubled off Jared Elario to score his brother and Daniel Lamb-Hunt. For the event, he hit .500/.600/.625 to lead the team in average (.100 over Auty) and OBP (.100 over Connar O'Gorman) and was second to his brother in OPS. He tied for the team lead in runs. For the Sydney qualifiers, he tied Logan Wade and James Beresford for 4th in average and tied Keegan Swanepoel for 4th in OBP.

Sources

• 2012 Red Sox Media Guide
• Israel Baseball League stats
• Sydney Blue Sox
• World Baseball Classic