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| "Mighty" Mark Quinn Mashing for Barons |
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5/3/2006
"Mighty" Mark Quinn Mashing for Barons
The Birmingham Barons have not had much success at bat in the early season, but don’t tell that to Mark Quinn. With an eight game hitting streak, no pitcher has shown the ability to get Quinn out consistently. The Chicago White Sox’ Double-A Affiliate has a team batting average of .224, but Quinn is doing his part, batting .329 through Monday’s game. He has had a lot of success at the minor league level, and 2006 is no exception. In 609 minor league games prior to this year, Quinn was a .312 hitter.
The former Long Beach Armada player is off to a very hot start in his first nineteen games, and is among the batting leaders in the Southern League. Quinn is tied for second with 23 hits, fourth with 8 doubles, and is fifth in the league with a .969 on base percentage + slugging percentage. The Barons have Quinn hitting cleanup (fourth) in their lineup, where he is producing at a very high level. The 31 year old is batting over 30 points higher than any other teammate, leads his team in home runs, and is first in Runs Batted In. The Barons’ 7-12 record could very well be worse without Quinn consistently producing.
Quinn was drafted by the Royals in the eleventh round of the 1995 draft out of Rice University, and was sent to Spokane. When he hit .284 in 44 games, the Royals realized they had a guy they could fast track. From 1996 to 1999, Quinn steadily rose through Kansas City’s farm system, and earned each promotion by hitting at least .300 at each stop. In 1999, when he was at Triple-A Omaha, he hit .360 with 25 home runs. In September of that season, Mark earned a call-up to the big leagues, and made the most of his opportunity. In just 60 at-bats, he slugged 6 home runs – two of them in his first Major League game. With his performance, he earned himself a spot on the Royals’ roster in 2000. Without missing a beat, Quinn continued to play well. He was third in Rookie of the Year voting on the strength of a .294 batting average, and he also clubbed 20 home runs. Quinn hit .269 in 2001 with 17 home runs, but that would be his final full year in the Majors. He struggled with injuries and was eventually shuffled around the Minor Leagues before being released in 2003. The Padres, Devil Rays, and Cardinals each gave Quinn a chance with Minor League Contracts, but none of them turned out well.
The Golden Baseball League was Quinn’s first foray into independent baseball, but it helped right his career back on track. The Armada picked up Quinn on August 1st, and he proceeded to bat at a .268 clip. In 26 games, he knocked in 13 runs, and helped lead his team to the GBL playoffs. While the Armada were knocked out early in the postseason, Quinn did his best to keep his team in the game. He added a two-run homer in the second game of the playoffs to try to bring the Armada back, but he couldn’t do it all on his own.
In November, the Armada picked up their 2006 option on Quinn, but the White Sox came calling in March. Late in Spring Training, the World Champions acquired Quinn, and assigned him to minor league camp. Keep checking back for more updates on the success of Quinn and other GBL alumni at GoldenBaseball.com
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