Nick Punto

[William Malone]

Nicholas Paul Punto was born on November 8, 1977 in San Diego, California.

The Philadelphia Phillies selected him in round 21 of the 1998 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 2001. Punto played 77 games over parts of three seasons for Philadelphia, hitting .223 with one home run and four RBI. The Minnesota Twins acquired him in a trade on December 3, 2003.

Punto made the Opening Day roster as a backup infielder in 2004. He landed on the disabled list in mid-May for a strained oblique. Punto returned in early-July, but a broken collar bone ended his season on July 27th. He wound up playing 38 games for the Twins in 2004, hitting .253 with two home runs and 12 RBI. Punto played 112 games the following year, batting .239 with four home runs and 26 RBI.

2006 turned out to be a career year for Punto. He hit .290 with career highs in doubles (21), triples (7), RBI (45) and stolen bases (17). His scrappy performance, along with similar play from a few other teammates, caused Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to dub the Twins as "piranhas." Punto started at third base for Minnesota in the playoffs, going 2-for-12 in their ALDS loss.

He heavily regressed in 2007, batting .210 while playing in a career high 150 games. Things improved for him in 2008, batting .284 over 99 games. Punto hit .228 across 125 games in 2009, but a career high 61 walks helped keep his on-base percentage at a solid .337 clip. He was 4-for-12 in the ALDS that fall.

Punto began 2010 as the Twins regular third baseman, but eventually lost playing time to breakout rookie Danny Valencia. He slashed .238/.313/.302 in 88 games, Punto made the Twins playoff roster, but was not used in any postseason games. Minnesota declined his $5 million contract option for the 2011 season, making Punto a free agent.

The St. Louis Cardinals signed Punto to a one year, $700,000 contract that off-season. He hit .278 with one home run and 20 RBI for them as a utility bench player, helping them win the World Series. Punto hit .171 with three RBI that postseason.

He hit .232/.317/.305 over the final three seasons of his career. Punto spent these years with the Boston Red Sox (2012), Los Angeles Dodgers (2012-13) and Oakland Athletics (2014).

The San Diego Padres hired Punto as an assistant coach for the Major League staff ahead of the 2025 season. It was his first job in baseball since retiring after the 2014 campaign.

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