Mike Lum | |||
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Outfielder / First baseman | |||
Born: Honolulu, Hawaii |
October 27, 1945 |||
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MLB debut | |||
September 12, 1967, for the Atlanta Braves | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 30, 1981, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .247 | ||
Home runs | 90 | ||
Runs batted in | 431 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
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Michael Ken-Wai Lum (born October 27, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball player and coach. He became the first American of Japanese ancestry to play in the major leagues when he debuted with the Atlanta Braves in 1967. He currently serves as the hitting coach with the GCL Pirates.
Lum was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to a Japanese woman and American soldier, and was adopted as a baby by a Chinese couple, Mun Luke and Winnifred Lum. He became a star left-handed quarterback at President Theodore Roosevelt High School, winning the Interscholastic League of Honolulu's Back of the Year award in 1962. He attracted interest from Michigan State University, and attended Brigham Young University on a football scholarship for one semester in the fall of 1963 after having signed with the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent back in June.
A speedy runner, Lum was converted to an outfielder in the Braves' organization after having played first base in high school. He logged just a .925 fielding percentage his first professional season with the Waycross Braves Georgia–Florida League, but his defense steadily improved over his five seasons in the minors.