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Former Tiger Fontenot Called by Cubs; Gets First Hit

by LSUsports.net (@LSUsports)
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Former Tiger Fontenot Called by Cubs; Gets First Hit

CHICAGO — Former SEC Freshman of the Year infielder Mike Fontenot was activated by the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday minutes before Tuesday’s 10-1 victory over the New York Mets. In the eighth inning, he doubled for his first major league hit.

Fontenot, a Freshman All-American in 2000 and first-team All-SEC second baseman in 2001, was selected by the Baltimore Orioles as the 19th overall pick in the first round of the 2001 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft.

He played two seasons as a Tiger and was part of the school’s most recent National Championship in 2000, batting .353 while starting all 69 games.

Fontenot made his professional debut on April 13, 2005, with the Cubs. In seven games during the ’05 season, he was hitless in two at bats but scored four runs.

Fontenot, 26, was batting .364 with 10 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 27 RBIs for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. He was named Pacific Coast League’s Batter of the Week after collecting 18 hits in seven games and posting a 1.129 slugging percentage. Fontenot had six multihit games, highlighted by a 3-for-4 game May 10 when he hit two triples and drove in five runs against Fresno.

“Things have been going well, and I’ve been seeing the ball well,” Fontenot said. “It feels good to go to the park every day, and we were winning a lot of ballgames, so it makes it a lot more fun.”

Fontenot was playing second, short and third, and batting third most of the time for the Iowa Cubs. He was acquired from the Orioles on Feb. 2, 2005, in the Sammy Sosa deal. Fontenot is the only remaining player from that trade that is still with the Cubs.

Alfonso Soriano wasn’t sure who Fontenot was. The 5-foot-8 infielder looks a lot like bullpen catcher Corey Miller.

“He came by and made a little comment,” Fontenot said. “[Soriano] said, ‘You look like a ballplayer, but are you the bat boy?'”

Without first baseman Derreck Lee (neck spasms) and second baseman Mark DeRosa (sprained ring finger), the Cubs were shorthanded and manager Lou Piniella wanted an extra infielder.