OC Athletics
Murray Evans, Sports Information Director
OKLAHOMA CITY – Mickey Tettleton, who played 14 seasons of Major League Baseball and twice was named as an All-Star, has joined the Oklahoma Christian coaching staff as an assistant coach, OC head coach Lonny Cobble said Tuesday.
Tettleton, 58, grew up in Oklahoma City and attended Southeast High School, the same school as former New York Yankees great Bobby Murcer, for whom OC’s Bobby Murcer Indoor Training Facility is named. Tettleton played collegiately at Oklahoma State, helping the Cowboys reach the 1981 College World Series title game, before being drafted in the fifth round by the Oakland A’s in 1981.
He broke into the big leagues in 1984 and retired from pro baseball in 1997 after a career that included stints with the A’s, Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers. He was an MLB All-Star in 1989 (with the Orioles) and 1994 (with the Tigers) and won the Silver Slugger Award – awarded annually to each league’s best offensive player at each position – in 1989, 1991 and 1992.
Predominantly a catcher who also saw time in right field and at first base, Tettleton posted a .241 career batting average in the big leagues, with 245 home runs, 732 RBI and 1,485 hits. At OC, Tettleton will work primarily with the Eagles’ catchers and hitters.
“We’re very fortunate to have Mickey,” Cobble said. “To have a guy of his knowledge and experience on staff, I don’t think it can do anything but help us. His presence will be invaluable to us.”
Tettleton said he and Cobble had spoken the past few months about the possibility of Tettleton joining the Eagles’ staff, after Tettleton brought a team to practice at Dobson Field last fall. Since his retirement, Tettleton has worked with high-school-aged players, but hasn’t been involved with a college or pro team.
“I want to help develop hitters and help them reach their potential,” Tettleton said. “My primary thing will be focusing on passing on what I know to our hitters and catchers. I see it as kind of passing the torch and teaching what I’ve learned from coaches and managers in my career.”
At OC, he will join a staff that includes Cobble and assistant coaches Chance Stevens, Andrew McGuire and Mark Craft.
As a player, Tettleton had one of pro baseball’s most memorable batting stances, standing almost upright to the plate while holding the bat both horizontal and waist-high. Tettleton didn’t bend until the pitcher began his delivery. He also picked up the nickname “Froot Loops” during the 1989 season with the Orioles, when his proclivity to eat the cereal every day was revealed during his first All-Star campaign.
He now lives in Norman with his wife, Shannon. They have four children – Tyler (a member of the coaching staff of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns), Jessica, Shanny and Tate.
The Eagles will open their 2019 schedule on Feb. 1, facing Pittsburg State (Kan.) in the Edmond 1st Pitch Invitational at Central Oklahoma’s Wendell Simmons Field.