Former Florida catcher Mike Zunino played high school baseball at Cape Coral Mariner High. Now he’s making an impression with the Seattle Mariners.
Since the Mariners called him up on June 11, the rookie catcher has started four games with solid results.
Zunino made his major-league debut in the Mariners’ 6-1 loss to the Houston Astros on Wednesday, notching a line-drive single to center field for his first hit in the big leagues.
“It was a great experience,” Zunino said after his first game. “I had a blast. Looking forward to making more strides with this team.”
But in his second game, Zunino announced his presence with a little more force – launching an 80 mph changeup from Athletics pitcher Tom Milone over the center-field wall for the go-ahead run against Oakland.
Zunino singled to right in his third career game on Sunday and was 0 for 2 at the plate against Angels pitcher Jason Vargas as of press time on Monday.
Contact Adam Lichtenstein at alichtenstein@alligator.org.
Former UF catcher Mike Zunino swings at a pitch during Florida’s 7-3 win against Bethune-Cookman at McKethan Stadium on June 4, 2010.
