Michael Neal Reichenbach (born 1953) was a first baseman who is most notable for winning the 1975 College World Series Most Outstanding Player award while a sophomore at University of Texas at Austin. He hit .455 with three doubles and a home run to earn the honor. On the season, he hit .386. He is one of six players from University of Texas at Austin to win that award. The others are: J.L. Smith, Tom Hamilton, Calvin Schiraldi, Huston Street and David Maroul.
The College World Series Most Outstanding Player is an award for the best individual performance during the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The recipient of the award is announced at the completion of the College World Series Championship Game. The award is similar to Major League Baseball's World Series Most Valuable Player award.
The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. The University of Texas was inducted into the Association of American Universities in 1929, becoming only the third university in the American South to be elected. The institution has the nation's eighth-largest single-campus enrollment, with over 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and over 24,000 faculty and staff.
Thomas Ball Hamilton was a Major League Baseball player who played in 1952 and 1953 for the Philadelphia Athletics. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and he was 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) tall and 213 pounds. Used primarily as a pinch hitter, Hamilton appeared in the field in only 14 of the 67 games he played.
He was drafted two different times. The first time, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 31st round of the 1975 amateur draft. He chose not to sign. When he was taken in the 14th round of the 1977 amateur draft, he did sign. He played three years in the minors, never reaching the big leagues. Professionally, he was used as a pitcher.
The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in Arlington, Texas, located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers franchise currently competes in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1994, the Rangers have played in Globe Life Park in Arlington. The team's name is borrowed from the famous law enforcement agency of the same name.
In 1977, he played for the Daytona Beach Islanders, going 3-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 10 games. He played for the Fort Myers Royals and Jacksonville Suns in 1978, going 6-7 with a 3.93 ERA in 15 games with the Royals and 2-1 with a 2.00 ERA in seven games with the Suns. In 1979, his final professional season, he again played for the Fort Myers Royals and Suns, and also with the Bakersfield Outlaws. For the Royals, he went 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four games. For the Suns, he went 0-0 with a 6.14 ERA in 10 games. With the Outlaws, he went 0-1 with a 24.30 ERA in five games.
Daytona Beach Islanders was a name for various minor league baseball teams that have all played in the Florida State League from 1920–1966 and in 1977 and again from 1985–1986. In 1968 through 1973, the team became the Daytona Beach Dodgers, due to their affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1977, the team once again took up the Islanders name before becoming the Daytona Beach Astros for the next seven seasons. Then, for the 1985 and 1986 seasons, they were, yet again, known as the Daytona Beach Islanders, playing as a co-op club of the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers for the first of those years and as a full affiliate of the Rangers for the 1986 season. Finally the team became the Daytona Beach Admirals in 1987, before being sold and becoming the St. Lucie Mets.
The Fort Myers Royals were a minor league affiliate of the Kansas City Royals from 1978-1987. In 1978 the Royals were brought to Fort Myers, Florida by the Kansas City franchise. This was because Fort Myers served as the spring training home of the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were a Single A Florida State League franchise. The team played at Terry Park Ballfield from 1978 until 1987. In 1985 the Royals won the Florida State League Championship. Kevin Seitzer and Bret Saberhagen were members of that Fort Myers Royals team. The Minor League franchise left Fort Myers in 1988 when the Major League Baseball franchise moved Spring Training to Haines City, Florida and Baseball City Stadium.
