Ntema Ndungidi | |
---|---|
Outfielder | |
Born: Kisangani, Zaire | March 15, 1979|
Bats: Left Throws: Right |
Ntema Ndungidi (born March 15,1979) is a Zaire-born Canadian former Minor League Baseball outfielder. He played in the minor leagues in the Baltimore Orioles,Seattle Mariners,and Montreal Expos organizations. He appeared in the All-Star Futures Game.
Ndungidi was born in Kisangani,in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo). [1] His father moved to Montreal,Quebec,in 1981. The rest of the family,including him,followed the next year. [2] He attended Cégep Édouard-Montpetit. [3]
The Baltimore Orioles drafted Ndungidi in the first round,with the 36th overall selection,of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft,making him the highest-ranked MLB draftee from Quebec at the time. [1] He was selected with a compensation pick received for the loss of David Wells as a free agent. The Orioles signed him with a $500,000 signing bonus. Ndungidi is the second baseball player of African descent to play for a Major League Baseball organization, [4] the first being Mark Miller of South Africa,who played Minor League Baseball in the 1970s. Ndungidi had a .295 batting average with the Bluefield Orioles of the Rookie-level Appalachian League in 1998. However,he struggled with the Delmarva Shorebirds of the Class A South Atlantic League and the Frederick Keys of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League in 1999. [5]
In 2000,while playing for Frederick,Ndungidi was selected to appear in the All-Star Futures Game. [6] He received a promotion to the Bowie Baysox of the Class AA Eastern League during the season. [5] Participating in the Arizona Fall League after the 2000 season,Ndungidi left the team without permission,and was suspended. [7] [8] Baseball America named Ndungidi the fourth-best prospect in the Orioles organization prior to the 2001 season. After 2001,the Seattle Mariners selected Ndungidi in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft. [9] After the 2002 season,he signed a minor league contract with the Montreal Expos. In 2003,he played for the Quebec Capitales of the Northeast League,an independent baseball league. [10]