Eric MacKenzie
From BR Bullpen
Eric Hugh Mackenzie
- Bats Left, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.
[edit] Biographical Information
Eric Mackenzie was a Canadian-born catcher who was in pro ball from 1951 to 1958 after being signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Athletics as an eighteen year old in 1951. Eric spent his entire eight-year career in the minor leagues in the Athletics and New York Yankees organizations, with the exception of appearing in one game for the Kansas City Athletics against the Chicago White Sox on April 23, 1955, in which the left-handed hitting receiver went hitless in his only at-bat. That game was memorable for two reasons: first, because the A's gave up 29 runs that day, and second because for the last 1 and 1/3 innings, he formed with Ozzie Van Brabant the first all-Canadian battery in major league history.
Mackenzie's best season during his eight year run in the minors came in 1954 when he hit .265 for the Drummondville A's of the class C Provincial League. During his minor league career Eric appeared in 631 games and hit for a .221 average.
Mackenzie coached for Team Canada in the 1978 Amateur World Series and also was the head coach of the Canada national baseball team in the 1984 Olympics and 1985 Intercontinental Cup. He is retired in Mooretown, ON, Canada after 30 years as director of parks and recreation.
