Philip Anthony Mankowski (born January 9, 1953, in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

) is a former professional baseball

Professional baseball

Baseball is a team sport which is played by several professional leagues throughout the world. In these leagues, and associated farm teams, players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system....

 third baseman

Third baseman

A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...

. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 with the Detroit Tigers

Detroit Tigers

The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...

 (1976-79) and New York Mets

New York Mets

The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...

 (1980, 1982).

Mankowski was never an everyday player, but the Tigers platooned

Platoon system

The platoon system in baseball is a method of designating two players to a single defensive position—usually one right-handed and one left-handed. Typically the right-handed half of the platoon is played on days when the opposing pitcher is left-handed and the left-handed player is played otherwise...

 him at third base with Aurelio Rodríguez

Aurelio Rodríguez

Aurelio Rodríguez Ituarte, Jr. , was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the California Angels , Washington Senators , Detroit Tigers , San Diego Padres , New York Yankees , Chicago White Sox and Baltimore Orioles...

 in and . His most productive season was 1977 when he hit

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 .276 with career highs in games played

Games played

Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

 (94), at bat

At bat

In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...

s (286), hit

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

s (79), triple

Triple (baseball)

In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

s (3), and RBIs

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

 (27). The only other season in which Mankowski had at least 100 at bats was 1978, when he hit .275, scored 28 runs, hit four home runs, and drove in 20 runs. On April 7, 1978, Mankowski hit a home run to help Mark Fidrych

Mark Fidrych

Mark Steven Fidrych , nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers ....

 get the win in a five-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays. On October 31, 1979, the Tigers traded Mankowski and Jerry Morales

Jerry Morales

Julio Ruben "Jerry" Morales Torres is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from -.-Career:Morales was originally signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent at the age of 17 in 1966...

 to the Mets for Richie Hebner

Richie Hebner

Richard Joseph Hebner is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played from 1968 to 1985 in Major League Baseball. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Chicago Cubs, all of the National League, and the Detroit Tigers of the American...

.

In 269 major league games, Mankowski hit .264 with 195 hits, 72 runs scored, 64 RBIs, 55 bases on balls, 23 doubles, eight home runs, four triples, and three stolen bases.

Mankowski played Hank Benz in the 1984 movie "The Natural

The Natural (film)

The Natural is a 1984 film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's 1952 baseball novel of the same name, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert Redford, Glenn Close and Robert Duvall...

".

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