Rance Mulliniks | |||
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Third baseman / Designated hitter / Shortstop | |||
Born: Tulare, California |
January 15, 1956 |||
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MLB debut | |||
June 18, 1977, for the California Angels | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 18, 1992, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .272 | ||
Home runs | 73 | ||
Runs batted in | 435 | ||
Teams | |||
Steven Rance Mulliniks (born January 15, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball player.
Originally drafted as a shortstop, Mulliniks made his major league debut in 1977 for the California Angels, batting .269 in 78 games. He saw limited playing time over the following years with the California Angels until 1979 and with the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and 1981.
Mulliniks' luck changed when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, just before the start of the 1982 season. He was converted to third base and appeared in over 100 games each year through the 1989 season. He batted over .300 three times (1984, 1987 and 1988) and demonstrated great patience at the plate, regularly posting on-base percentages near .400. In 1984 he was named to Sports Illustrated's Dream Team as a utility infielder.
Mulliniks retired after the 1992 season having compiled a .272 career batting average, 73 home runs, 437 RBI, and 445 runs. He holds the Blue Jays franchise single season fielding percentage record for third basemen (.975) and the franchise record for most pinch hits (59).
Rance Mulliniks was a colour commentator for Rogers Sportsnet's Blue Jays coverage, and in 2007 and 2008 he was also a colour commentator alongside Jim Hughson and Jesse Barfield on CBC Sports, broadcasting Blue Jays baseball. In 2009, Mulliniks filled in for the ailing Jerry Remy on NESN, for the Boston Red Sox May 29–31 road trip to Toronto.