Graduated from Wagner High School in
Staten Island, NY... Majored in education at the University of
Alabama... Led the Crimson Tide in batting (.349), walks
(37) and stolen bases (22) as a junior in 1992... Community
involvement in 2000 included a clinic for Oakland Babe
Ruth Little Leaguers and the Monte Carlo Classic to benefit
Special Olympics.
1993
In his first professional season led Sarasota in on-base percentage (.443) and ranked second
at Hickory with a .416 on-base mark.
1994
At Class A South Bend was named the Charles Lubin Most Valuable Player...with
a franchise-record .427 on-base percentage led the Sox organization, ranked second in the Midwest League and ranked
ninth in the minor leagues...Ranked fourth in the organization in batting (.298) and fifth in slugging (.420)...led South
Bend in runs (77) and walks (78)...was a mid-season Midwest League All-Star...led MWL second basemen with a .979 fielding percentage.
1995
Was named Most Valuable Player at Class A Prince William
after leading the team in runs (65), doubles (31), walks (96), times hit by pitch (11) and on-base percentage (.391)...his
walk total established a franchise record and ranked second in the Carolina League...led the league in apps and ranked
third in doubles...led Carolina League second basemen in games, total chances (603) and putouts (293) while ranking
second in double plays (75).
1996
Ranked sixth in the White Sox organization with a .292 average
and T5th with 77 runs scored...led Southern League second basemen with a .978 fielding percentage...went 1-for-2 in
the Double-A All-Star Game on 7/8 at Trenton...was named co-winner of the league's "Best Hustler" award...was the
Barons' Player of the Month for May (.299, 15rbi).
1997
Began the year at
Class AAA Nashville but was transferred to Class AA Birmingham on 5/28 after hitting .230 in 37g for the Sounds...hit
.299 in 90g at Birmingham and was a Southern League All-Star...for the Barons finished second on the club with 79
walks and third with 78 runs scored and 4 triples.
1998
Was selected by Oak in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft and spent the entire season at Class AAA
Edmonton...led the club and ranked T4th in the Pacific Coast League with 7 triples...also led the Trappers with 70 walks
and was third with a .403 on-base percentage...Hit a grand slam on 5/17 vs Albuquerque.
2005
In his first full season with the Blue
Jays appeared in 70g, including 46 starts (21gs at 2B,
21gs at DH, 4gs at 3B)...made 1 defensive appearance at
SS (4/8 vs Bos)...from 6/17-6/20 reached base safely in 9
straight plate apps (4h, 4bb, 1hbp)...on 6/17 vs Mil produced
a season-high 3 hits, including his first 2 homers of
the season...was the third 2-homer game of his career...on
8/6 vs NYY homered off Randy Johnson...was his second
career homer off Johnson in just 12 at bats...hit his fourth
home run on 9/2 vs TB off Mark Hendrickson...on 5/1 at
NYY entered the 8-6 victory in the fourth inning following
an injury to Orlando Hudson and finished with a seasonhigh
3rbi, including a 2-out, 2-run single with the bases loaded in the sixth inning that tied the game at 6-6...committed his only error of the season on 7/8 at Tex.
2004
Played in 72 games for the Blue Jays and
batted .301 (.400 OBP) with nine home runs and 25 RBI...
Made 62 starts for Toronto, 26 at 2B, 15 as the DH, 14 at SS
and 7 at 3B... Was acquired by the Blue Jays on May 13 from
the Oakland A's in exchange for cash considerations... Appeared
in 13 games with the A's and batted .091 (3-33) with
one RBI... Overall combined to hit .275 (.371 OBP) with nine
home runs and 26 RBI in 84 games... Made his Blue Jays
debut on May 17 vs. MIN and was 3-4 with two doubles and
two RBI... Collected a hit in each of his first eight starts with
Toronto, batting .345 (10-29) during that span... Hit his first
home run with Toronto on May 31 at SEA... Homered in
back-to-back games on June 12 and 13 vs. ARI... BATTING
FIRST: Hit his first career leadoff home run on June 13 vs.
ARI off Randy Johnson... In the leadoff spot for the Blue Jays
batted .324 (.397) with seven home runs and 12 RBI in 108
at bats... In the month of June batted .320 with four home
runs and in July batted .326 with one homer... July 1 at TB recorded
his first career four-hit game... Prior to the ASB batted
a combined .278 with five home runs 17 RBI... After the
ASB batted .270 with four home runs and nine RBI... ON
THE MOUND: August 28 vs. NYY pitched 0.1 inning in 18-6
loss (2H)... Was the 4th positional player in Blue Jays history
to make an appearance as a pitcher & the 1st since Rick
Leach (August 15, 1984 at CLE)... It was Menechino's 2nd
appearance as a pitcher in his career... As a pinch hitter
was 1-7 (.143)... In the role as the DH batted .356 (.441), going
21-59 with two home runs... Vs. LH pitchers batted .315
with six home runs... Vs. RH pitchers hit .248 with three
homers... All nine of his home runs were solo shots.
2003
Was on his fourth straight opening day roster with the A's and spent the entire season with Oakland...batted just .193 in 43 games and had just 83 at bats, his fewest over the last four years...walked 19 times for a .364 on-base percentage...made 24 starts with the A's, including 15 at second base and nine at third base...also appeared in three games at shortstop and was 1 for 8 (.125) with three walks as a pinch hitter...batted .250 (9 for 36) with both of his home runs against left handed pitching and .149 (7 for 47) against right handers...now has a .272 (82 for 301) career average against left handers and .212 (114 for 539) against right handers...batted .270 (10 for 37) at night and .130 (6 for 46) during the day...average improved to .316 (6 for 19) with runners in scoring position...hit .246 (14 for 57) in 26 games before the All-Star Break but just .077 (2 for 26) in 17 games after the break...batted .157 (8 for 51) against a pitcher the first time he sees him in a game and .250 (8 for 32) after that...had another outstanding spring training as he tied for fifth in the Cactus League with a .407 batting average...now has a .368 (85 for 232) career average in six spring trainings with the A's...that did not carry over into the regular season as he hit .083 in six games in April and was 1 for 14 (.067) over his first eight games...was hit by a pitch twice for the second time in his career on April 22 against Detroit...was hit by a pitch four times in his 43 games and now has 25 career hit by pitches...went 10 for 30 (.333) with both of his home runs, five of his nine RBI and seven of his 19 walks over a 12-game stretch from May 13 to June 28...including a season high six-game hitting streak from June 4 to 28 (7 for 18, .389)...had his only multiple hit and multiple RBI game of the season on June 11 against Atlanta when he was 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBI...batted .350 (7 for 20) in seven interleague games and .143 (9 for 63) in his 36 other games...now has a .295 (28 for 95) career average in interleague play and .226 (168 for 745) against American League opponents...hit .350 (7 for 20) in seven games in June and then appeared in nine games in the month of July, equaling his most games in a month this year...was on the bereavement list from July 24 to 26...made a start at third base on July 30 against Cleveland but did not play again until starting at second base on August 14, a span of 13 consecutive games where he did not play...appeared in just 14 of the A's final 55 games and was 1 for 21 over that span.
2002
Was on the A's opening day roster and, after an injury to Randy Velarde on opening night, he was the A's regular second baseman for the first month of the season...playing time decreased following the return of Velarde and he was optioned to Sacramento on May 21...did not return to Oakland until September 4 when the River Cats season concluded...hit .205 in 38 games with the A's but appeared in just four games in September (1 for 8, .125)...made a total of 31 starts at second base, including 30 in the number two spot where he batted .210 (25 for 119)...replaced Velarde at second base in the third inning on opening night, April 1, against Texas after Velarde was hit by a Chan Ho Park pitch...played every inning at second base, making 28 consecutive starts, until Velarde returned on May 4...appeared in just five of the A's 14 games after the return of Velarde before he was optioned to Sacramento on May 21...batted .280 (14 for 50) over his first 13 games but went 12 for 74 (.162) over his next 21 before his option...had all three of his home runs and 13 of his 15 RBI in 26 games in April...hit .120 (3 for 25) in May...began the season with 124 consecutive errorless chances before making his only error of the season at second base on May 11 against Toronto...that snapped a 36-game errorless streak dating back to his last error on September 30, 2001, including 35 games as a second baseman...it was the longest overall errorless streak of his career although he went 39 consecutive games without an error as a second baseman from June 6-July 19, 2001 (made an error as a shortstop on June 23)...finished with a .992 fielding percentage as a second baseman...was 10 for 35 (.286) against Texas and is a .321 (34 for 106) career hitter against the Rangers with 4 HR and 21 RBI in 33 games...the home runs and RBI are his best against any team and the average is his best against any American League team...batted .328 in 20 spring training games with the A's and is .354 (63 for 178) career hitter in five springs with Oakland...batted .248 with six home runs and 50 RBI in 84 games at Sacramento...average improved to .317 (13 for 41) with runners in scoring position and two outs and .353 (6 for 17) with the bases loaded...was the River Cats regular shortstop following his option as he appeared in 74 games there...also made 10 appearances at second and two at third...hit at every spot in the order except third and fifth and saw his most playing time batting second (39 for 184, .212)...was 20 for 49 (.408) when hitting eighth...hit .296 (8 for 27) in his first eight games following his option from Oakland but then went 28 for 167 (.168) over his next 45 games to drop his average to the .186 mark entering play on July 28...went 2 for 4 that day to start a 16-game hitting streak...batted .459 (28 for 61) with 19 RBI during the streak which ran through August 16 and ended up hitting .350 (42 for 120) over his final 31 games...had a season high five RBI on August 15 at Salt Lake and drove in 11 runs over a four game span from August 15-18...ended up batting .339 (38 for 112) with three home runs and 28 of his 50 RBI in 29 games in August.
Career:
1993-played for both the White Sox affiliate in the Gulf Coast Rookie League and Single-A Hickory in his first professional season...led Sarasota in on-base percentage (.443) and was second at Hickory with a .416 mark.
1994-was chosen the Charles Lubin Most Valuable Player at Single-A South Bend...topped the Sox organization, ranked second in the Midwest League and ninth in the minor leagues with a franchise record .427 on-base percentage...ranked fourth in the organization in batting (.298) and fifth in slugging (.420)...led South Bend in runs (77) and walks (78)...named to the MWL Mid-Season All-Star Team...topped MWL second basemen with a .979 fielding percentage.
1995-was named Most Valuable Player at Single-A Prince William after leading the team in runs (65), doubles (31), walks (96), hit by pitch (11) and on-base percentage (.391)...his walk total set a franchise record and ranked second in the Carolina League...was third in the CL in doubles...started a league high 137 games at second base and led CL second sackers in games, total chances (603) and putouts (293) while ranking second in double plays (75)...had two home runs, including a grand slam, and five RBI in a four-hit performance on April 11 against Lynchburg.
1996-ranked sixth in the White Sox organization with a .292 average and tied for fifth with 77 runs scored...led Southern League second basemen with a .978 fielding percentage...was selected to the Double-A All-Star team, going 1 for 2 in the contest on July 8 at Trenton...was also named co-winner of the SL bBest Hustlerb award...was named the Barons Player of the Month for May when he hit .299 (29 for 97) with 15 RBI...batted .323 (65 for 201) on the road...had a season best 11 game hitting streak (16 for 38, .421) from May 8-18...compiled a 28-game errorless streak from May 7-June 7.
1997-began the year at Triple-A Nashville but was transferred to Double-A Birmingham on May 28 after hitting .230 in 37 games...hit .299 in 90 games at Birmingham...finished second on the club with 79 walks and third with 78 runs scored and four triples...was the second baseman on the Southern League Post Season All-Star team...hit a combined .281 (121 for 431) at both levels...added 16 home runs and 105 walks, both career highs.
1998-selected by the A's organization in the minor league Rule 5 draft and spent the entire season at Triple-A Edmonton...led the team and tied for fourth in the Pacific Coast League with seven triples...also led the Trappers with 70 walks and was third with a .403 on-base percentage...appeared in 106 games, 74 of which came at second base...hit .211 (19 for 90) against left handers and .299 (86 for 288) against right handers...reached safely via hit or walk in 22 consecutive games from May 2 to 25...hit a grand slam on May 17 against Albuquerque...hit a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning on July 2 to defeat New Orleans, 6-5....also hit a game winning home run in the top of the 10th inning in a 7-6 win at Fresno on August 27.
1999-made his major league debut in September after the spending the first five months of the season at Triple-A Vancouver...brought up on September 3 and made his debut on September 6 with a start at shortstop...singled off Detroit's Dave Borkowski in the sixth inning for his first Major League hit...singled in his lone pinch hitting appearance on September 26 at Texas...appeared in a total of nine games, including five at short and one at third...had the best season of his career at Vancouver, posting minor league career highs in average (.309), runs (103), hits (155), triples (9) and RBI (88)...his 15 home runs were one short of his career best of 16 in 1997...led the Canadians in average (tie), runs, hits, doubles (31), triples, home runs (tie), RBI and walks (73)...had the eighth best batting average in the A's farm system...tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in triples, ranked second in runs scored and finished fourth in hits...was named to the PCL Post-Season All-Star team as the utility player...appeared in 57 games at third base, 42 at shortstop and 40 at second base...had a two home run, five RBI performance on May 23 at Edmonton...also had five RBI on May 4 against Tacoma and had his first of four four-hit games that day...was 6 for 12 (.500) with a grand slam with the bases loaded.
2000-the A's rookie infielder saw significant playing time early in the season with the injury to Randy Velarde but appeared in just 36 of the A's final 130 games after Velarde returned on May 8...was the A's Opening Night starter at second base and hit his first major league home run that night, April 3, off the Tigers Hideo Nomo...started 24 of the A's first 31 games at second base and hit .293 with four home runs and 16 RBI in 30 total games over that span...was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on May 13 and hit .316 with a pair of home runs in nine games with the River Cats before he was brought back to Oakland on May 24...saw limited playing time upon his return as he appeared in just 20 of the A's 73 games from May 24 until August 16...was 4 for 32 (.125) over that span with a home run and three RBI...made his first career start at third base on July 9...made his professional debut at pitcher on July 18 at Colorado as he entered the game in the eighth inning with the A's trailing 12-3 (1.0 ip, 6 h, 4 r, 4 er, 1 hr)...became the seventh position player in Oakland history to pitch in a game, the first to allow a run...appeared in one Division Series game against New York but did not bat...hit .293 (24 for 82) with four home runs and 16 RBI in 31 games in his first stint with the A's and .206 (13 for 63) with two home runs and 10 RBI in 35 games in his second stint...for the season, appeared in 51 games at second base (32 starts), five at shortstop (two starts) and four at third base (two starts).
2001-began the season as the A's back-up middle infielder but earned the starting role at second base following an injury to Jose Ortiz and his strong play early in the year...fell just short of the Athletics record for hit by pitches as he was hit 19 times, one short of Don Baylor's record of 20 set in 1976...ranked second in the American League in hit by pitches...finished second on the A's with 79 walks and was third with a .369 on-base percentage despite hitting .242 which was second lowest among A's with 100 or more games...saw an average of 4.00 pitches per plate appearance which ranked 10th in the American League...made a team leading 127 starts at second base and hit 12 home runs, doubling his previous career best of six from 2000...that tied for third most ever by an Oakland second baseman...11 of his home runs came at night and eight came on the road...most of his success offensively came early on as he hit .292 with 10 HR and 41 RBI over his first 64 games through June 27...then hit .191 with 2 HR and 19 RBI over his final 75 regular season games...followed that up by going 1 for 12 (.083) in four starts at second base in the ALDS against New York...batted .317 against left handed pitching, the second best mark on the A's, compared to .203 against right handers...spent almost the entire season hitting second or ninth...hit .250 (90 for 360) with 11 HR and 49 RBI in 94 games in the two spot and .219 (21 for 96) with his other home run and nine RBI hitting ninth...was 4 for 10 (.400) with the bases loaded...appeared in a total of 136 games at second base, the most by an A's second baseman since Scott Spiezio in 1997 (146)...committed 15 errors at second base for a .978 fielding percentage...the errors tied for third most among A.L. second baseman and the fielding percentage was fourth lowest...the errors were the most by an A's second baseman since Donnie Hill also made 15 in 1985...had a 15-game hitting streak during spring training...had his first of two two-homer games on April 21 at Texas when he also had a career high four RBI...other two homer game came on June 13 at San Diego...had three game winning hits in May and 17 of his 60 RBI gave the A's the lead...had a career high 10-game hitting streak from May 30 to June 9 and batted .378 (14 for 37) during the streak...that was part of a streak from May 13 to June 15 where he reached base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 28 consecutive games...snapped a 31-game, 119-at bat homerless streak on July 19 at Minnesota and then went another 40 games and 123 at bats before hitting his 12th home run on September 8 against Tampa Bay...his error on July 20 at Kansas City snapped a 22 game errorless streak overall and a 39-game errorless streak for him as a second baseman.
2001
Began the season as the A's back-up middle infielder but earned the starting role at second base following an injury to Jose Ortiz and his strong play early in the year...fell just short of the Athletics record for hit by pitches as he was hit 19 times, one short of Don Baylor's record of 20 set in 1976...ranked second in the American League in hit by pitches...finished second on the A's with 79 walks and was third with a .369 on-base percentage despite hitting .242 which was second lowest among A's with 100 or more games...saw an average of 4.00 pitches per plate appearance which ranked 10th in the American League...made a team leading 127 starts at second base and hit 12 home runs, doubling his previous career best of six from 2000...that tied for third most ever by an Oakland second baseman behind Davey Lopes (16 in 1983) and Scott Spiezio (14 in 1997)...11 of his home runs came at night and eight came on the road...most of his success offensively came early on as he hit .292 (69 for 236) with 10 HR and 41 RBI over his first 64 games through June 27...then hit .191 (45 for 235) with 2 HR and 19 RBI over his final 75 regular season games...followed that up by going 1 for 12 (.083) in four starts at second base in the ALDS against New York...batted .317 (51 for 161) against left handed pitching, the second best mark on the A's, compared to .203 (63 for 310) against right handers...spent almost the entire season hitting second or ninth...hit .250 (90 for 360) with 11 HR and 49 RBI in 94 games in the two spot and .219 (21 for 96) with his other home run and nine RBI hitting ninth...was 4 for 10 (.400) with the bases loaded...appeared in a total of 136 games at second base, the most by an A's second baseman since Scott Spiezio in 1997 (146)...in addition to second base, he made one start at shortstop and also appeared in a game at third base...committed 15 errors at second base for a .978 fielding percentage...the errors tied for third most among A.L. second baseman and the fielding percentage was fourth lowest...the errors were the most by an A's second baseman since Donnie Hill also made 15 in 1985...had a 15-game hitting streak during spring training and batted .371 overall...did not play in the first seven games and was 0 for 6 in three games over the A's first 11 games before Ortiz went on the disabled list on April 15...started each of the A's next 21 games at second base and reached base safely via hit or walk in 20 of those...batted .291 (23 for 79) with six home runs, 16 RBI, 15 walks and four hit by pitches (1 sf, .424 on-base percentage) over that stretch...had his first of two two-homer games on April 21 at Texas when he also had a career high four RBI...other two homer game came on June 13 at San Diego...homered in consecutive games on May 1 and 2 against Toronto...then had the game winning single in the bottom of the 15th against the Blue Jays on May 3, his first of three game winning hits in May...added a RBI single in the bottom of the 10th on May 16 against New York and a three-run double in the bottom of the eighth with the A's trailing 2-1 on May 20 against Chicago...17 of his 60 RBI in 2001 gave the A's the lead...had a career high 10-game hitting streak from May 30 to June 9 and batted .378 (14 for 37) during the streak...that was part of a streak from May 13 to June 15 where he reached base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 28 consecutive games...had back-to-back three-hit games twice in June, the 12th and 13th at San Diego and the 22nd and 23rd against Texas...the three hits equals his career high and he had five three-hit games in 2001...the three-hit performance on June 13 boosted his average to a season high .296...ended up batting .305 with 15 RBI in June, both his best figures for one month in 2001...struggled the rest of the way as he hit .176 in July, .209 in August, .188 in September and .286 in five games in October...snapped a 31-game, 119-at bat homerless streak on July 19 at Minnesota and then went another 40 games and 123 at bats before hitting his 12th home run on September 8 against Tampa Bay...his error on July 20 at Kansas City snapped a 22 game errorless streak overall and a 39-game errorless streak for him as a second baseman...hit .304 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 17 games against Texas and is a .338 (24 for 71) career hitter against the Rangers with four home runs and 18 RBI...the home runs and RBI are his best against any team and the batting average is his best against any A.L. team.
2000
The A's rookie infielder saw significant playing time early in the season with the injury to Randy Velarde but appeared in just 36 (season total minus 30) of the A's final 130 games after Velarde returned on May 8 ... was the A's opening night starter at second base and hit his first major league home run that night, April 3, off the Tigers Hideo Nomo ... started 24 of the A's first 31 games at second base and hit .293 with four home ruins 16 RBI in 30 total games over that span ... after Velarde returned he appeared in just one of the A's next six games, as a pinch runner, before he was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on May 13 ... hit .316 with a pair of home runs in nine games with the River Cats and was brought back to Oakland on May 24 ... saw limited playing time upon his return as he appeared in just four games in June and 20 of the A's 73 games from May 24 until August 16 ... was 4 for 32 (.125) over that span with a home run and three RBI ... made his first career start at third base on July 9, his first start anywhere since June 12, a span of 22 games ... made his professional debut at pitcher on July 18 at Colorado as he entered the game in the eighth inning with the A's trailing 12-3 (1 ... 0 ip, 6 h, 4 r, 4 er, 1 hr) ... became the seventh position player in Oakland history to pitch in a game, the first to allow a run ... grounded into his first double play of the season on August 9 after 48 games and 111 games at bats ... started six consecutive games at second base from August 18-23 while Velarde was out with neck spasms and was 5 for 24 (.208) ... then went 4 for 7 over his final nine games to finish the year at .255 ... hit .293 (24 for 82) with four home runs and 16 RBI in 31 games in his first stint with the A's and .206 (13 for 63) with two home runs and 10 RBI in 35 games in his second stint ... for the season, appeared in 51 games at second base (32 starts), five at shortstop (two starts) and four at third base (two starts).
1999
Made his major league debut in September after the spending the first five months of the season at Triple-A Vancouver ... Brought up on September 3 and made his major league debut on September 6 with a start at shortstop ... Singled off Detroit's Dave Borkowski in the sixth inning for his first Major League hit ... Made one other start on September 14 at Baltimore and was 0 for 4 ... Singled in his lone pinch hitting appearance on September 26 at Texas ... Appeared in a total of nine games, including five at short and one at third ... Also pinch ran five times ... Had the best season of his career at Vancouver, posting career highs in average (.309), runs (103), hits (155), triples (9) and RBI (88) ... His 15 home runs were one short of his career best of 16 in 1997 ... Led the Canadians in average (tie), runs, hits, doubles (31), triples, home runs (tie), RBI and walks (73) ... Had the eighth best batting average in the A's farm system ... Tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in triples, ranked second in runs scored and finished fourth in hits ... Was named to the PCL Post-Season All-Star team as the utility player ... Appeared in 57 games at third base, 42 at shortstop and 40 at second base ... Had seven HR and 27 RBI in 28 games in May, including 5 HR and 18 RBI during a seven-game stretch from May 16-23 ... Capped that streak with a two home run, five RBI performance on May 23 at Edmonton ... Also had five RBI on May 4 against Tacoma and had his first of four four-hit games that day ... Was hitting .290 on June 28 before batting .356 (36 for 101) over a 27-game stretch that boosted his average to the .308 mark on July 26 ... Hit safely in 13 of his final 14 games (18 for 51, .353) before he was brought up to Oakland ... Was 6 for 12 (.500) with a grand slam with the bases loaded.
