Rance Mulliniks

Rance Mulliniks
Third baseman / Designated hitter / Shortstop
Born: (1956-01-15) January 15, 1956 Tulare, California
Batted: Left Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 18, 1977, for the California Angels
Last MLB appearance
September 18, 1992, for the Toronto Blue Jays
MLB statistics
Batting average	.272
Home runs	73
Runs batted in	435
Teams
California Angels (1977–1979) Kansas City Royals (1980–1981) Toronto Blue Jays (1982–1992)

Steven Rance Mulliniks (born January 15, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball player.

Originally drafted as a shortstop, Mulliniks made his major league debut in 1977 for the California Angels, batting .269 in 78 games. He saw limited playing time over the following years with the California Angels until 1979 and with the Kansas City Royals in 1980 and 1981.

Mulliniks' luck changed when he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays, just before the start of the 1982 season. He was converted to third base and appeared in over 100 games each year through the 1989 season. He batted over .300 three times (1984, 1987 and 1988) and demonstrated great patience at the plate, regularly posting on-base percentages near .400. In 1984 he was named to Sports Illustrated's Dream Team as a utility infielder.

Retirement and broadcasting career

Mulliniks retired after the 1992 season having compiled a .272 career batting average, 73 home runs, 437 RBI, and 445 runs. He holds the Blue Jays franchise single season fielding percentage record for third basemen (.975) and the franchise record for most pinch hits (59).

Rance Mulliniks was a colour commentator for Rogers Sportsnet's Blue Jays coverage, and in 2007 and 2008 he was also a colour commentator alongside Jim Hughson and Jesse Barfield on CBC Sports, broadcasting Blue Jays baseball. In 2009, Mulliniks filled in for the ailing Jerry Remy on NESN, for the Boston Red Sox May 29–31 road trip to Toronto.

1977-1988 seasons

In this time period, Rance Mulliniks played for the Angels ('77-'79), the Royals ('80, '81), and the Blue Jays ('82-'92), with stats totalling .277 batting average, 1065 games, 2957 at bats, 381 runs, 818 hits, 199 doubles, 14 triples, 66 home runs, 366 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. Personal records from this time period: Highest batting average: .324 ('84); Most games: 129 ('83, '85); Most at bats: 366 ('85); Most runs: 55 ('85); Most hits: 111 ('84); Most doubles: 34 ('83); Most triples: 5 ('84); Most home runs: 12 ('88); Most RBIs: 57 ('85); Most stolen bases: 3 ('82).

External links

• Rance Mulliniks' career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com