Former UD slugger having a ball
Former UD slugger having a ball
For Kevin Mench, UD Athletics Hall of Fame member and major league outfielder, playing in the big leagues is something that the Delaware native dreamed of while growing up as kid in Newark.
And, he says, it’s as much fun as he imagined.
“Being a major league baseball player is a pretty good life and lot of fun,” Mench says. “It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve always wanted to be here.”
Through four and a half years with the Texas Rangers, Mench collected 495 hits, including 80 home runs, with a career batting average of .274. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 28 and got off to
a strong start, hitting a homer and driving in all four Brewer runs in a 4-3 win over the Reds on July 30.
A 2005 UD Athletics Hall of Fame inductee and two-time All-American who played under Coach Bob Hannah, Mench is considered the greatest slugger in the history of Blue Hen baseball. He earned three America East all-conference selections as a Blue Hen, including two player-of-the-year awards.
During his sophomore year, Mench hit eight homers in four games against the Black Bears of the University of Maine. During Mench’s three seasons at UD, the Hens compiled a win-loss record of 123-45
and earned NCAA tournament berths in 1998 and 1999.
Among his many slugging records at UD are home runs in a season (33), as well as career highs of 71 home runs, batting average (.409) and slugging percentage (.875). In 1998, his NCAA-leading 33 round-trippers, combined with a 72 runs batted in and a .455 batting average earned him consensus All-American honors and Collegiate Baseball Magazine National Player of the Year.
“I came to UD because it was right in my back yard. I enjoyed playing at Delaware and had a lot of fun,” Mench says. “We had some great teams and did a lot of great things.
We went to the playoffs a couple of years, and that was great. I still keep in touch with a lot of those guys.”
Drafted by the Rangers in the fourth round of the 1999 draft, Mench decided to forgo his senior year at UD.
A T-ball player at age 5, Mench says he took up the sport because his older brothers Dave, who also played for Hannah, and Chris both played baseball.
Growing up, his favorite team was the Philadelphia Phillies, and his favorite player as a youngster was third baseman and future Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt.
“I also played ice hockey and soccer,” Mench says. “When I was about 15, my parents told me I had to pick a sport to play in college, so I chose baseball.”
A longtime fan of Philadelphia sports, Mench says he still keeps up with the latest exploits of the Eagles and Flyers.
Playing at home or away, a typical day for Mench starts in midafternoon with stretching exercises, followed by batting and field practice.
“When you are on the road, you get to the ballpark a little later,” Mench says. “Before the game, we usually eat lunch, watch videos of the opposing pitcher we will be facing and then loosen up by throwing a football around.”
He says the toughest pitcher he has faced is Tim Hudson of the Atlanta Braves. “He used to be with the Oakland A’s, and everything that he throws just moves around a lot,” Mench says.
On the road, Mench says his favorite ballpark is Wrigley Field, the home of the National League Chicago Cubs, because he likes the way the field is laid out. He says he also likes playing at the Baltimore Orioles’ home park in Camden Yards, because it’s close enough to the First State to allow family and friends a chance to catch the former Blue Hen in action.
“Playing at Baltimore is great for me, because it means my mom and dad and brothers and cousins will be at the game,” Mench says.
He says he has loved living in Keller, Texas, but he also notes that traveling and seeing new parts of the country is one of the best aspects of professional baseball. When not on the field but still on the road, Mench picks Seattle as his favorite city to visit.
“It’s a lot like Delaware,” he says. “The people are laid back, and there is a lot of great food.”
A spokesman for the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas, Mench was honorary chairman of the Rangers 2002 Hope for the Holidays program. The fundraiser
benefits Captain Hope’s Kids, a charitable organization serving about 10,000 children in more than 42 homeless shelters in the north Texas area.
—Jerry Rhodes, AS ’04