Joe Mikulik

Joseph Mikulik, born October 30, 1963 in Weimar, Texas, is a former minor league baseball player and the former manager of the Asheville Tourists and Myrtle Beach Pelicans minor league baseball teams. He is now the manager of the Frisco RoughRiders, AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers. The 5' 11" right-handed outfielder never rose above AAA baseball, but was a key player in the Tucson Toros' first Pacific Coast League championship in 1991. During 2007, his eighth season with the Tourists, Mikulik, who already held the team record for most games managed, became the team's all-time leader in managerial wins.

Mikulik attended Bishop Forest High School in Schulenburg, Texas with his brother John Mikulik, where he lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track and field. He went on to play 2 years at San Jacinto Jr. College where he would earn All-American award. In 1984, he was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 9th round in the winter draft. Through the 11-year playing career, there were many great moments. One of the highlights of his career happened on September 13, 1991: the recently promoted Mikulik, playing in the Pacific Coast League for the Championship, wearing wristbands emblazoned with the words "NEVER SURRENDER", drove in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning in the final game of the league championship series between Tucson and the Calgary Cannons Team General Manager Mike Feder later remembered the game as "one of the best moments in Tucson baseball history."

He was again with the Toros when they won their second and final championship under that name in 1993. He finished his career as a player in Tucson in 1994, aside from one more stint in the Mexican League.

Mikulik attended San Jacinto Junior College, where he was a walk-on and received a full scholarship. After an All-American sophomore season, Texas A&M offered him a 2-year scholarship, but he signed with the Houston Astros after being drafted in the ninth round of the 1984 amateur draft. Mikulik’s biggest challenge came in his first year in the minors playing for Auburn Astros; Mikulik had a batting average of .200 and almost decided to quit the sport of baseball. It was Mikuluk’s friend and teammate, a center fielder of the Astros, who convinced Mikulik to stick with baseball. Mikulik’s batting average saw a sudden rise to .247. Over the next ten years he played for the Auburn Astros, the Asheville Tourists, the Columbus Astros and the Jackson Generals, all in the Astros' minor league system, supplemented with a stint in the Mexican League. From 1988 to 1992 he spent parts of each season with the AAA Tucson Toros, finally spending the entire season there in 1993. On September 13, 1991, the recently promoted Mikulik, wearing wristbands emblazoned with the words "NEVER SURRENDER", drove in the winning run, during the bottom of the ninth inning in the final game of the league championship series between Tucson and the Calgary Cannons. "It was a great thrill," he told a reporter ten years later. "I was in the right place at the right time." Team General Manager Mike Feder later remembered the game as "one of the best moments in Tucson baseball history." He was again with the Toros when they won their second and final championship under that name in 1993. He finished his career as a player in Tucson in 1994, aside from one more stint in the Mexican League, where the new environment made him a stronger man. Mikulik came very close to joining the big leagues during his 11-year tenure in the minor leagues. Mikulik finished his career with a lifetime batting average of .279, 1265 career hits, 109 career home runs, 670 career RBIs, 161 stolen bases, and 742 runs. Played on 3 championship teams, 1986 AA Southern League Champion Columbus Astros, 1991 & 93 AAA Pacific Coast League Champion Tucson Toros.

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