Michael Fontenot

Michael Eugene Fontenot is a professional baseball player from the United States of America and plays as an infielder. Known commonly as “Mike”, Fontenot attended the Salmen High School and after graduation, was picked by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 21st round of the 1999 MLB Amateur Draft. Mike decided to continue onto college and attended the Louisiana State University on a baseball scholarship.

As the starting second baseman for Louisiana State University, Mike won the Freshman of the Year award after batting at .353 with 13 doubles, 3 triples, 17 home runs, 68 RBIs, 93 runs and 8 steals. His 17 home runs also set a Freshman record for Louisiana State University, beating 15 by Blair Barbier in 1997. In 2000, he was named to the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament team after hitting at .400 with 1 home run and 5 RBIs. He was also named to the College World Series tournament team and was the best hitter on the roster with a .462 average over the tournament.

In 2001, he was picked by the Baltimore Orioles in the first round of the 2001 MLB Amateur draft, at 19th overall. He decided to sign-up with the Orioles and became a part of their farm system. He played with the Frederick Keys team in the High-A Carolina League in 2002 and then went to the Bowie Baysox in the AA-League in 2003. In 2004, his steady progression continued with a stint at the Ottawa Lynx in the AAA-International League. In 2003, he won the Minor League Player of the Year while playing with the Bowie Baysox.

In 2005, the Orioles decided to trade Mike out to the Chicago Cubs. He was part of a deal that also saw Jerry Hairston Jr. and Dave Crouthers go to Chicago in exchange for Sammy Sosa. Mike moved into the Cubs’ minor league system with the Iowa Cubs in the AAA-league

His Major League debut came in 2005 where he played 7 games in the remaining season and had 4 RBIs. Sent down to the Iowa Cubs at the end of the season, Mike only made his return to Major League in 2007 to replace Rocky Cherry.

Mike finished second in the Rookie of the Month voting for June that year and soon became the backup second baseman for the Club.