Andy Green
From BR Bullpen
Andrew Mulligan Green
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 5' 9", Weight 180 lb.
- School University of Kentucky
- School Lexington Christian Academy
- Debut June 12, 2004
- Born July 7, 1977 in Lexington, KY USA
Andy Green was a consistent .300 hitter in the minor leagues, won a Pacific Coast League MVP award, and played briefly in the majors for three years. After a year with the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan, he currently plays in the Cincinnati Reds organization.
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[edit] Amateur career
He was named Kentucky High School Scholar-Athlete of the Year and National Christian Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 1996. He went on to the University of Kentucky, where he earned a BA in business administration (finance), graduating Summa Cum Laude (3.89 GPA). He started every year in college. As a senior in 2000, he batted .368/?/.603 and stole 27 bases. The Arizona Diamondbacks took him in the 24th round of the 2000 amateur draft.
[edit] 2000-2003 in the minors
Green spent most of his first pro season with the Missoula Osprey, hitting .229/.324/.277 and going 8 for 11 in steals. He was 0 for 9 in 3 games for the South Bend Silver Hawks. Arizona did not let him go, though, and he improved in 2001, batting .300/.379/.394 for South Bend and stealing 51 of 66 bases. He was 60 steals behind Midwest League leader Chris Morris but led MWL second basemen in fielding percentage (.973), putouts (234), assists (336) and double plays (63).
In 2002, Andy hit .222/.294/.333 in a 27-game glance at AAA with the Tucson Sidewinders but spent most of the year in high class A, where the 26/27-year-old batted .309/.401/.464 with the Lancaster JetHawks. He drove 36 doubles but was only 15 for 25 in steals. His 44 doubles between the two teams put him 5th in the minor leagues that year. He was three doubles away from the California League lead and was 5th in the league in batting average. On August 21, he hit for the cycle, going 4 for 5 with a 9th-inning homer to seal the deal; it was one of just six home runs he clubbed that year for Lancaster.
Green had his third .300 stop in 2003 with the El Paso Diablos, posting a .302/.366/.400 line, doubling 38 times (only 4 other extra-base hits) and stealing 17 in 26 tries. He tied Justin Leone for the Texas League lead in doubles and was third in average, trailing Ramon Nivar and Jake Weber.
[edit] 2004-2006: Tucson and Arizona
Andy returned to Tucson in 2004 and hit .327/.394/.534 with 31 doubles in 77 games. That earned him a call-up to the Diamondbacks, where he only managed a .202/.241/.266 line in 46 games as a backup infielder. His first big-league hit was a pinch-hit homer against Jose Contreras. Green had his biggest minor league season in 2005. He batted .343/.422/.587 with the Sidewinders with 46 doubles, 13 triples, 19 homers and 125 runs in 135 games while rapping 182 hits. In addition to second, he played third, short and the outfield. He led the Pacific Coast League in runs, hits, total bases (311), doubles and triples and was 6th in average. He reached base in 54 consecutive games at one point and almost doubled his career home run total. He tied for 8th in the minors in average, scored 11 more runs than any other minor league that year, was second in the minors in hits, second in total bases, tied for third in doubles and second in extra-base hits. Baseball America named him a second-team minor league All-Star behind Howie Kendrick among second basemen on the farm and the top 2B in AAA. He was named to the PCL All-Star team at second base and won the league MVP award.
In a September call-up to Arizona, Andy again struggled, only managing a .226/.359/.258 line in 17 games.
Green won the final spot on the 2006 Diamondbacks roster but was rarely used, hitting .186/.293/.267 as a backup infielder and in the difficult role of pinch-hitting (though he batted .234/.345/.362 in 56 pinch-hit games). He only got nine starts during the year. He also briefly appeared with Tucson, batting only .240/.288/.320 in 18 games there. That year, he was honored by the Kentucky State legislature, which proclaimed him an "outstanding citizen of the Commonwealth and an exemplary role model for the young student athletes in the Bluegrass State."
[edit] 2007: Japan
After the 2006 season ended, Andy began a long series of negotiations with the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, who had just won the 2006 Japan Series but had lost star Michihiro Ogasawara to free agent and popular outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo to retirement. In late November, Arizona sold Green's rights to Nippon Ham, which signed him for a $50,000 bonus and $660,000 salary for 2007. There was an option for Nippon Ham for 2008 for $850,000 with a $100,000 buyout clause.
Green struggled and spent much of his Japanese team in ni-gun. He was placed on waivers in late August.
[edit] 2008: Reds organization
Late in 2007, Green was signed by the Cincinnati Reds. He began the 2008 season with the Louisville Bats.
[edit] Principal Sources
2001-2006 Baseball Almanacs, Minorleaguebaseball.com, MLB.com, Kentucky legislature
