Kurt Suzuki |
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Kurt Kiyoshi Suzuki (born October 4, 1983, in Wailuku, Hawaii) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Oakland Athletics.
He played at Cal State Fullerton, where he was a teammate of pitcher Jason Windsor, also a 2004 A's draftee. Cal State Fullerton captured the 2004 College World Series championship, thanks to Suzuki's two-out RBI single in the bottom of the seventh inning, giving the Titans a 3-2 win over the Texas Longhorns (whose closer, Huston Street, was also drafted by the A's in 2004). His time at Fullerton earned him the nickname "Kurt Klutch." Coincidentally, current backup Landon Powell was also in the 2004 College World Series, and was also drafted by the A's.
That same year, he won the Johnny Bench Award as the country's top collegiate catcher. He was also selected All-American by two publications, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. He was also the recipient of the first ever Brooks Wallace Award.