Mike Cameron

[Michael Trzinski]

Michael Terrance Cameron was born in January 1973 in LaGrange, Georgia. He was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 18^th round of the 1991 MLB Amateur Draft. That late round produced players like outfielder Bobby Higginson (23.1 career bWAR), pitchers Kirk Rueter (16.4), Ron Mahay (7.9), and outfielder Cameron (46.7), who all had significant MLB careers.

Cameron eased his way up the chain in the White Sox minor league system and in his fifth year, made his major league debut in 1995, playing in 28 games and slashing .188/.244/.316. The right-handed center fielder made it to the majors for good in 1997 with the White Sox, slashing .259/.356/.433 with 14 homers and 23 stolen bases, showing his power and speed tools almost immediately while finishing sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. After the 1998 season, he was traded to Cincinnati and played for one year for them before moving to Seattle in the Ken Griffey, Jr. trade.

Cameron was a Mariner for four seasons, making the AL All-Star team in 2001 and earning two Gold Gloves. He averaged 22 HRs and 27 steals and posted a 112 OPS+. After the 2003 season, Cameron signed as a free agent with the New York Mets.

During his second season with the Mets Cameron was plagued by a wrist injury and had also voiced his displeasure with being moved to right field in favor of Carlos Beltrán. The Mets traded Cameron to the San Diego Padres after the 2005 campaign.

Cameron played for two years with the Padres, winning his third Gold Glove in 2007 before signing a one year, seven-million-dollar contract as a free agent with the Brewers in early 2008.

He missed the first 25 games of the season due to a suspension related to testing positive for a banned stimulant. Cameron helped lead the Brewers to their first postseason appearance since 1982, finishing third (for hitters) in bWAR (3.1), homers (25), and steals (17). Despite significant amounts of squawking in the media, the Brewers re-upped the 36-year-old Cameron for $10 million for 2009.

Cameron finished in the top three for Milwaukee in almost every offensive category in 2009, slashing .250/.342/.452 with 32 doubles and 24 home runs across 544 at-bats. After the season, “Cammy” signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox. He played 81 games for Boston over the next two seasons before being purchased by the Florida Marlins in July 2011. Cameron was released after the season and signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals. At the beginning of the 2012 spring training, Cameron announced his retirement.  

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