John Buck #14

Jonathan Richard (John) Buck attended Taylorsville High School (Utah) with current teammate Brandon Lyon, and won a state championship there...In 2007 and 2008, he was nominated by his teammates as Kansas City's representative for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award...Prior to the 2011 season, he was part of the Marlins' envoy that visited troops in Southwest Asia and Germany...After the 2011 season, he was voted the Charlie Hough "Good Guy Award" by the South Florida Chapter of the BBWAA...Started his own company, Tools of Ignorance (TOI) in 2013...His company sells sports products that he personally uses at www.toigear.com.

2013

Combined to bat .222 (87x392) with 15 home runs and 62 RBI in 110 games with New York (NL) and Pittsburgh. Acquired by Pittsburgh on Aug. 27 along with outfielder Marlon Byrd in exchange for Dilson Herrera (inf) and Vic Black (rhp). Led the National League with 25 RBI and tied for 2nd with 9 home runs in the month of April…tied a Mets April club record with 9 home runs. Hit .298 (31x104) with runners in scoring position…was 4-for-9 (.444) with a grand slam with the bases loaded. Hit 5th career grand slam April 12 at Minnesota (off Pedro Hernandez). Ranked 7th among NL catchers with a 4.00 catcher's ERA. Appeared in G#4 of the NLDS as a defensive replacement

2012

Twenty eight of his 66 hits went for extra bases (15 doubles, a triple and 12 home runs)...Has the third-most home runs as a catcher (48) over the last three years (2010-2012)...Brian McCann is first with 63 and Matt Wieters is second with 53...After hitting .168 (41-244) through July 31 (77 games), he hit .253 (25-99) the final 29 games with four home runs and 15 RBI...Hit .333 (19-57) with eight doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in 17 August games...On August 20 at Arizona, he tied a career high with four hits (4-5) with three runs scored and a home run...Finished fourth in the NL among catchers with 49 walks...In addition to the four-hit game, he had nine games with two hits...Hit home runs in consecutive games twice during the season: May 7 and May 8 at Houston and September 18 at Atlanta and September 22 at the Mets...Knocked in three runs twice during the year, June 24 vs. Toronto and September 22 at New York (NL).

2011

Tied Charles Johnson (2001) and Ivan Rodriguez (2003) for second-most home runs as a catcher in Franchise history. Fell three short of Johnson's Club record of 19, set in 1997...Earned Charlie Hough "Good Guy" Award from South Florida Chapter of BBWAA...Hit two of Marlins' National League-leading seven grand slams. Was only player on Club with more than one grand slam, and became 11th player in team history (11th time) to hit two grand slams in a season. Team record is three, by Bobby Bonilla (1997), Jeff Conine (2004), Hanley Ramirez (2009) and Cody Ross (2009)...Tied for third among NL catchers with Geovany Soto and Rod Barajas in home runs, trailing Brian McCann (23) and Miguel Montero (18)...Hit 100th career home run (10th of the season) on July 9 vs. Houston...Was fifth among Major League catchers in walks (52)...Started 129 games and reached base safely in 102. Finished season tied with Matt Wieters for fourth in Majors in games started at catcher, behind Miguel Montero (131), Yadier Molina (131) and Alex Avila (130)...On July 24 vs. Mets, registered first pinch-hit double and RBI of career in eighth inning, good for fourth of his six game-winning RBI on year...Became fourth player in Franchise history with a grand slam on Opening Day, and third to do it at home. Hanley Ramirez (2009 vs. Washington), Juan Encarnacion (2005 vs. Atlanta) and Preston Wilson (2002 at Montreal) are others to accomplish feat...Was second player in Marlins' history to hit a grand slam in first game with team, joining Jeremy Hermida, who did so on August 31, 2005 vs. St. Louis, in first ML at-bat (Elias Sports Bureau).

2010

In his seventh Major League season and first with Toronto, batted a career-best .281 (115x409) in 118 games, which ranked third among AL catchers and named to first All-Star team ... Set career-highs in runs, hits (115), double (25), home runs, RBI, batting average and on base percentage (.314) ... Tied for the Major League-lead among catchers with 20 homeruns, and ranked third among AL catchers in RBI (66), extra base hits (45), runs (53) and slugging percentage (.489) ... Had the second-best caught stealing percentage in the American League (min. 100 games), throwing out 24% of base runners attempting to steal.

2009

Appeared in the fewest games of his career in his sixth season with the Royals, serving as a part-time catcher... Left the game on May 30 and had his first stint on the D.L. in his career from May 31 to July 6 (32 games) with a herniated disc and low back spasms... Hit .347 (17-for-49) with runners in scoring position... RBI GUY: Drove in 36 runs in just 186 at bats, posting a RBI every 5.17 at bats, the highest ratio on the club and the 12th-highest in the American League among players with at least 150 at bats... THREE BAGERS: Posted 4 triples on the season after collecting just three total entering 2009...His four triples as a catcher were the most by a Royals backstop since Darrell Porter had a club-record 8 in 1979... After batting just .211 (19-for-90) with four doubles and three home runs in 30 games prior to the All-Star break, rebounded to hit .281 (27-for-96) with 8 doubles and five home runs in 29 games following the break... Hit .340 (16-for-47) in 13 games over September/October... SALAMI: Had a career night on April 14 vs. Cleveland, connecting for a pair of home runs, including a grand slam, and equaling his career high with five RBI (also September 13, 2004 vs. NYY)... The grand slam was his second career (August 13, 2004 at Oakland)... Was his fifth career two-homer game, most in Royals history among catchers... A DAY TO REMEMBER: Went 3-for-3 on April 30 vs. Toronto with a double, two triples, a sac fly and five RBI... The five RBI equaled his career high (third time, second in 2009)... The two triples were a career high and tied a club record (27th time, last by Mark Teahen on June 14, 2007 vs. St. Louis)... He was the second catcher in Royals history to record two triples in a game (Darrell Porter, June 4, 1978 vs. Chicago) and the first catcher in baseball since Jason Kendall on July 1, 2000 (PIT @ PHI)... Buck became the first catcher in MLB to have a two-triple, five-RBI game since Haywood Sullivan on April 25, 1961 for the KC A's vs. Minnesota... Was returned from his rehab assignment and activated from the 15-day D.L. on July 6... Appeared in seven games at Omaha (AAA), hitting .259 (7-for-27) with a double, two homers and four RBI...Caught five times and DH'd twice... Recorded his 100th career double on August 29 in Seattle.

2008

Made his fourth career Opening Day roster as the Royals starting catcher...saw a severe drop off in power numbers, hitting 9 home runs after recording a career-best 18 in 2007...appeared in 109 games, his lowest total since his rookie season of 2004...Set career highs in runs scored (48), doubles (23) and walks (38)...Saved his best hitting in the clutch, collecting a .274 (29-for-106) average with runners in scoring position...Threw out just seven of 65 attempted baserunners, for a caught-stealing pct. of 10.8...Posted his best month in May, hitting .300 (18-for-60) with 6 doubles in 17 games...hit 5 home runs and drove in 14 in July, posting a .524 slugging pct...The Royals won 10 straight of his starts from June 12-27...Missed the May 16-18 trip to Florida to remain in Kansas City for the early birth of his twin boys, Brody and Cooper...was placed on bereavement leave and reinstated on May 19 in Boston...He celebrated his 28th birthday in style July 7 at Tampa Bay, hitting the game-winning 3-run home run in the 10th inning in a 7-4 Royals win.

2007

Made his 3rd career Opening Day roster and posted his best power season of his career, blasting 18 home runs in 347 at bats...hit .222, his lowest average in any of his 4 Major League seasons...Set new career highs in runs scored (41), home runs (18), walks (36), strikeouts (92), on-base pct. (.308) and slugging pct. (.429)...fell 2 homers shy of tying the Royals record for homers by a catcher (20 by Porter in 1979 and Macfarlane in 1993)...Royals pitchers posted a 4.40 ERA while he was catching, the sixth-best mark among A.L. catchers...13 of his 18 home runs were solo shots and 10 of the 18 came with no outs...6 of his 18 bombs gave the Royals the lead and 1 tied a game...His 18 home runs ranked tied for fi fth in the Majors among catchers...Hit .244 (40-for-164) with 12 homers on the road and .202 (37-for-183) with 6 homers at Kauffman...Hit .245 (47-for-192) with 15 home runs prior to the All-Star break and .194 (30-for-155) with 3 home runs following the break...Went 2-for-4 with a solo home run off Boston's Hideki Okajima on Opening Day...Hit 10 home runs through his 1st 40 games, the fastest Royal catcher to reach double-digit home runs (Macfarlane, 10 in 42 games in 1993)...Hit a 2-run home run in the ninth inning on May 14 in Oakland to give the Royals a 2-1 win...Posted his 3rd career multi-homer game on June 4 at Tampa Bay...Recorded his 4th career mutli-homer game and second of the season on June 16 vs. Florida...Smashed his career-best 13th home run in his 48th game of the season on June 18 at St. Louis...Hit his 50th career home run on July 6 against Tampa's Gary Glover...Set a Royals record for home runs by a catcher at the All-Star break, smashing 15 longballs...Hit 16 home runs through his first 63 games and just 2 in his final 50 games of the season.

2006

Posted nearly identical numbers from his 2005 season, hitting .245 (91-371) with 21 doubles, 11 homers and 50 RBI in 114 games...by comparison hit .242 (97-401) with 21 doubles, 12 homers and 47 RBI in 2005 in 118 games...Caught 930.1 innings with Royals pitchers posting a 5.70 ERA in those games... allowed 33 stolen bases on 46 attempts (71.7 percent) and was charged with 6 errors and 5 passed balls...Ended the season by posting his best month offensively in Sept., batting .300 (15-50) in 15 games...also enjoyed a solid September in 2005 when he hit .312 (24-77)...Got off to a slow start as he hit just .193 (11-for-57) through his 1st 23 games, dating to May 7...bounced back to hit .257 (18-for-70) in May...Hit in a season-high 6 straight games from June 14-23, going 11-for-19 (.579)...hit in 8 of 9 games from June 14-28 and batted .467 (14-30) during that stretch...Homered in back-to-back games May 8-9 against Cleveland...on May 9, went 3-for-3 with a season-high 4 RBI...Batted .366 (15-41) with 4 home runs and 11 runs in 12 Interleague games... only 2 other catchers posted a higher batting average during Interleague play (Joe Mauer, MIN, .492 and Kenji Johjima, SEA, .446)...Ranked 9th among American League hitters with his .366 average in Interleague play...was 1 of 3 Royals to rank among the top 10 in A.L. hitters against National League opponents (David DeJesus, 3rd, .436 and Emil Brown, 8th, .407)...Recorded his 2nd career 2-home run game on Sept. 23 vs. Detroit...Batted in 4 different spots in the Royals lineup, including 47 games in the 9th spot (.216, 30-139)...had his best success when batting 6th in the order, hitting .297 (11- 37) in 9 games...also hit in the 8th spot (37 games) and 7th spot (21 games)...Led the Royals to an 9-2 record when driving in 2 or more runs...KC was 7-3 when he homered.

2005

Made the Opening Day roster for the 1st time in his career...hit .242 in 118 games for KC, recording 21 doubles, 12 homers and 47 RBI...Played 117 games behind the plate, 9th-most in club history...his 117 games as catcher were the most since Bob Boone caught 129 games in 1989...Recorded the finest defensive season by any catcher in club history, setting a club record with a .996 fi elding percentage, committing just 3 errors in 699 total chances and edging out Brent Mayne's .995 percentage in 1995 (3 errors in 583 chances)...his 699 total chances were 7th-most by a catcher in club history...Hit .310 (36-116) vs. left-handed pitchers and just .214 (61-285) vs. righthanders... recorded 10 of his 12 home runs off right-handed pitchers...hit 9 of his 12 home runs away from Kauffman Stadium...Rebounded from a .190 (12-63) average in August by hitting .321 (26-81) with 7 doubles, 4 home runs and 15 RBI the remainder of the season...also hit .277 (18-65) in June after combining to hit .206 (26-126) in April and May...Hit .340 (17-50) in 14 games against Detroit and .378 (17-45) against Minnesota, but hit just .227 (10-44) against Cleveland and .196 (10-51) against Chicago (AL)...prior to this season, Buck was 0-for-24 in his career against the Twins...Broke an 0-for-20 streak with a single in the 6th inning on April 14 vs. Seattle...Tied his career high with 4 hits at Minnesota on April 21...went 4-for-5 with a solo homer and broke an 0-for-24 slump to begin his career vs. the Twins... previously recorded 4 hits on Sept. 13, 2004 vs. New York (AL)...the RBI was his 1st in his last 20 games dating back to 2004...Snapped an 0-for-16 streak with a single May 9 at Toronto...Had an RBI in 5 straight games for the 1st time, May 12-18 (7 total RBI)...Reached base in 7 consecutive plate appearances (5 hits, 2 walks) from June 10-11 at Arizona before popping out in the 9th inning on June 11...Legged out the 1st triple of his career on July 22 vs. Toronto...Snapped a 28-game homerless streak on Aug. 5 vs. Oakland...Hit in 17 of his fi nal 19 starts of the season, going .356 (26-for-73) with 4 home runs and 15 RBI...raised his average from .216 to .242 during that stretch.

2004

Was acquired from the Houston Astros on June 24 along with RHP Octavio Dotel and cash considerations in exchange for OF Carlos Beltran...Dotel and the cash were then traded to the Oakland Athletics for RHP Mike Wood and 3B Mark Teahen...Hit just .149 (11-74) with 1 double, 1 home run and 1 RBI in his 1st 24 Major League games, before rebounding to hit .277 (45-164) with 8 doubles, 11 home runs and 29 RBI the remainder of the season (47 games)...Led the Royals in home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.463) after the All-Star Break and ranked 4th in RBI with 30...Went 0-for-3 with a strikeout as the starting catcher in his Major League debut on June 25 vs. St. Louis...Recorded his 1st Major League hit off Baltimore's Sidney Ponson on June 29 in the 3rd inning...also hit his 1st Major League home run off Ponson on July 19...Hit his 1st Major League grand slam on Aug. 13 at Oakland off Jairo Garcia in the 8th inning...Hit a 2-run, game-winning home run in the 8th inning of KC's 3-2 win over Seattle on Aug. 18...Broke Sal Fasano's Royals record for homers by a rookie catcher by hitting his 7th home run of the season at Seattle on Aug. 29...Had a career high 4 hits and 5 RBI vs. New York on Sept. 13...Named to the Pacifi c Coast League All-Star team.

2003

Spent the season at Triple A New Orleans where he batted .255 (70-for-274) in 78 games behind the plate...placed on the Disabled List from June 17-Aug. 22 with a broken novicular bone in his right hand...listed as the No. 3 prospect in the Astros organization by Baseball America....named by Pacific Coast League managers in Baseball America as the Best Defensive Catcher...named to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team, but did play due to injury...played winter league baseball for Licey in the Dominican Republic.

2002

Played in the 2002 MLB Futures All-Star Game as part of All-Star Week at Miller Park in Milwaukee...named to the Double A, Texas League mid-season, and Texas League postseason All-Star teams.

2001

Spent the 2001 season at Class A Lexington and was named a South Atlantic League All-Star...selected as the SAL Player of the Week from July 20-26 after hitting .400 (8-20) with 5 homers and 13 RBI...Drove in a career-high 7 runs on July 21, 2001 in a 15-14 Lexington win over Charleston, W.V...Went 2-for-4 with a 3-run home run and 4 RBI in game 2 of the SAL Championship Series to help Lexington to a 9-4 victory and the SAL title.

2000

Named Southern League Pitcher of the Year in 2000 while only making 16 starts. Named a Second Team Minor League All-Star and No. 9 Prospect in SL by Baseball America. Named to midseason and postseason SL All-Star teams, as well as Double-A All-Star team. Earned win at Futures Game at Turner Field as part of All-Star Weekend.

1999

Earned Midwest League Pitcher of the Week from August 1-7, 1999.