Kurt Suzuki
From BR Bullpen
Kurt Kiyoshi Suzuki (Kurt Klutch)
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 0", Weight 205 lb.
- School California State University, Fullerton
- High School Baldwin High School
- Debut June 12, 2007
- Born October 4, 1983 in Wailuku, HI USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Catcher Kurt Suzuki made his major league debut in 2007 after success on the college, minor league and international stage.
He hit .392/.523/.471 in limited action as a college freshman in 2002, then batted .350/.441/.462 the next season and appeared in the 2003 College World Series. In 2004, Kurt had a huge season, hitting .413/.511/.702 with 77 runs and 87 RBI in 69 games. The three primary sources all named him as a first-team All-American. He was awarded the Johnny Bench Award for best college catcher, was the All-Big West catcher and Big West Player of the Year awards. He led the Big West in average (by 30 points), runs, hits (104) and RBI. He was 14th in NCAA Division I in average, tied for sixth in runs with Dustin Pedroia and Matt Macri, tied for 7th in hits, 7th in OBP, tied for third in total bases (177) and tied Eric Nielsen for fourth in RBI. He was in a 2-for-22 rut in the 2004 College World Series when he singled in the game-winner in the finale against the favored University of Texas.
He was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the second Round of the 2004 amateur draft, the 67th overall pick and 7th catcher taken. He was signed by scout Randy Johnson for a $550,000 bonus.
Assigned to the Vancouver Canadians, Kurt hit .297/.394/.440 in 46 games. Baseball America named him the #12 prospect in the Northwest League. In 2005, Suzuki hit .277/.378/.440 for the Stockton Ports and scored 85 runs, second on the club. He led California League catchers in both passed balls (19) and errors (15) as well as putouts (882).
In 2006, Kurt continued his climb up the ranks, posting a .285/.392/.415 line for the Midland Rockhounds and made the Texas League All-Star team. He was sixth in the TL in OBP. He also backed up Neil Walker as the USA's catcher in the 2006 Futures Game, going 0 for 1. Baseball America ranked him as the #14 prospect in the league, right behind TL RBI leader Joe Koshansky. They also rated him as the best defensive catcher in the loop. Suzuki hit .455/.478/.909 in the qualifying tournament for the 2008 Olympics, including a 2-for-5 game against the Cuba national team. He was the primary catcher ahead of Jarrod Saltalamacchia and had one of the better averages in the tourney.
Suzuki began 2007 with the Sacramento River Cats and hit .280/.351/.365 in 55 games. He was then called up by Oakland to replace Adam Melhuse as the backup to Jason Kendall after Melhuse was traded. In his MLB debut, he pinch-hit for Santiago Casilla in the 10th inning against Dave Borkowski and grounded out to Morgan Ensberg. Suzuki stayed in the game to catch, with Kendall moving to left field. He impressed the A's brass enough that they decided to trade Kendall at mid-season, handing over the starting job to Suzuki.
Sources: 2005-2006 Baseball Almanacs, Minorleaguebaseball.com, Thebaseballcube.com, IBAF site
