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Mike Lieberthal

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Mike Lieberthal

Michael Scott Lieberthal (born January 18, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He batted and threw right-handed.

In a 14-year career, Lieberthal played for the Philadelphia Phillies (19942006) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (2007). He compiled a career batting average of .274, with 150 home runs and 610 runs batted in. During his career he won the Gold Glove Award, and was twice an All Star.

His 1999 season (.300, 31 home runs, 96 RBIs, Gold Glove Award) was arguably the best ever of any Phillies catcher, and Lieberthal caught more games in his career than any other Phillies catcher (1,139). His career 149 home runs at catcher were the most in team history. Lieberthal had a .310 batting average, a .381 on-base percentage, and .510 slugging percentage lifetime against left-handed pitching.

Lieberthal was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame on August 10, 2012.

Lieberthal was born in Glendale, California, and is Jewish. His father is Dennis Lieberthal, who was a Major League Baseball scout for the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants (among others, he signed Gabe Kapler).

He was an All-American catcher at Westlake High School, and graduated in 1990. Lieberthal hit four home runs in a single game for his high school: (1) a solo home run, (2) a 2-run home run, (3) a 3-run home run, and (4) a grand slam, though not in that order. Immediately after that game, Lieberthal's team was ranked among the top 3 high school teams in the United States by USA Today, and advanced on that list to #1 a few days later. While at the high school, Lieberthal set career records for at runs (79), hits (105), and home runs (30).

Lieberthal was drafted at 17 years of age by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 1990 Major League Baseball draft, despite weighing only 155 pounds at the time.

Lieberthal played in the minor leagues from 1990–1995. He played for Martinsville in 1990 (Rookie League), Spartanburg ("A"; for which he batted .305) and Clearwater ("A+") in 1991, Reading in 1992 ("AA"), and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre from 1992 to 1995 ("AAA").

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American baseball player
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