Mike Bordick elected to Orioles Hall of Fame

Former Orioles shortstop and current minor league instructor Mike Bordick has been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame, the team announced today. Head Athletic Trainer Richie Bancells is this year's Herb Armstrong Award winner. Bordick spent six seasons with the Orioles from 1997-2002. He has the third-highest fielding percentage (.982) among shortstops with at least 1,000 games played in major league history, trailing only Omar Vizquel (.985) and Jimmy Rollins (.983). As a member of the Orioles in 2002, Bordick had the best defensive season for a shortstop in major league history, setting a record for highest fielding percentage (.998), fewest errors (1), consecutive errorless games (110), fielding chances per game (4.9) and consecutive errorless chances (543). Bordick led AL shortstops with a .989 fielding percentage and 797 total chances in 1999 with the Orioles, a year in which he also led the AL in batting average against left-handed pitching (.406). Bordick's 14-year major league career also included time with the Oakland A's (1990-96), New York Mets (2000) and Toronto Blue Jays (2003). He batted .260 with 1,500 hits in his career, including .260 (674-2592) in 739 games with the Orioles. Originally signed by the A's as a non-drafted free agent after playing in the Cape Cod League in 1986, Bordick was on Oakland's active roster for the 1990 World Series but did not appear in a game. He also played in the 2000 World Series with the New York Mets after being traded from the Orioles that July and was named to the American League All-Star team that year as well. Bordick played three years at the University of Maine, where he led the Bears to College World Series berths in 1984 and 1986. He currently serves as Coordinator of Offensive Fundamentals for the Orioles' minor league system, his second year in that role with the club. Bordick and his wife, Monica, have six children and reside in Ruxton, MD. Head Athletic Trainer Richie Bancells is this year's recipient of the Herb Armstrong Award, given to non-uniformed personnel who have made significant contributions to the ballclub and the game of baseball. This season marks Bancells' 24th as the Orioles' head Athletic Trainer, his 28th year with the big league club and his 35th in the Orioles organization. Only the third head Athletic Trainer in the 57 seasons since the Orioles moved from St. Louis in 1954, Bancells has the longest tenure of anyone to work as an Athletic Trainer in the organization. Bancells is currently in his second term as president of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS). He also currently sits on Major League Baseball's Medical Advisory Committee and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine. In 2008, he was inducted into the Maryland Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame. He has also been selected as the Athletic Trainer for the American League team in two All-Star games, in 1993 at Camden Yards and 2004 at Houston's Minute Maid Park. In November 2002 he served as Athletic Trainer for the MLB All-Stars' post-season exhibition tour in Japan, and in the winter of '96 he was invited to Japan to speak to a group of Japanese athletic trainers and physicians. A native of Key West, Florida who is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA), Bancells graduated from Miami's Biscayne College (now St. Thomas University) and earned an MS degree in physical education from Eastern Kentucky University. He and his wife Carol have three adult children and reside in Parkton, MD. Bordick and Bancells will be honored at a luncheon sponsored by the Oriole Advocates, founders of the Orioles Hall of Fame, on Friday, August 12, in the Warehouse at Camden Yards. Tickets for the luncheon are available by calling 410-466-8242. Tickets for the induction ceremony and the Orioles-Tigers game on Saturday, August 13 are available at www.orioles.com or by calling 1-888-848-BIRD.