Joe Mikulik   |   AAA

[2007] - South Atlantic League Manager of the Year

2006 - Manager for Asheville of South Atlantic League (A-)

Mikulik had one of the more entertaining baseball manager meltdowns in recent history when he lost his temper in a game on June 25,2006. Mikulik was upset when a pickoff play at second base did not go his way and his tirade began by going nose to nose with an umpire. During his time on the field, Mikulik ran towards second base and dove head-first onto the bag, reached down and picked it up and tossed it towards the outfield. He also covered home plate with dirt, ran to the dugout to get some water and then poured the water over home plate. He also found some time to kick some dirt on the home-plate umpire as well. Mikulik tossed several bats onto the field from the dugout, threw a resin bag towards the bullpen and also spiked a water bottle on home plate. He was supsended 7 games for his actions and he was fined $1000. Following the events of June 25th, Mikulik began Monday by doing several national interviews but was eventually silenced by the Rockies organization who did not want to draw more attention to the incident than was required.

Of the event, Mikulik quipped: "It takes me 23 years to get on (ESPN’s) SportsCenter, and this is how I do it,"

The minor league umpires were on strike at this time and replacement umpires were in their place.

In '89 and '94 I played in Mexico. In '89 I hit .315 24 HR's and 91 RBI's, for Monclova. In '94 I hit .282 8 HR's can't remeber RBI's, for Mexico City and Tabasco. I now am in my 14th season as a coach/manager. I am managing w/the Asheville Tourists, making this my 9th season w/them. It would be interesting to find my Mexico stats and combine them w/the other stats. I think you can find them in the minor league register.