All-Time MLB Players From Acadiana: Danny Ardoin

There have been a number of individuals from Lafayette, and the Acadiana area, that have played in Major League Baseball over the years.

Obviously, the entire state of Louisiana has produced even more.

As a matter of fact, 246 people born in the state of Louisiana have appeared in a Major League Baseball game, beginning in 1874, with John Peters of New Orleans, who played 11 years, with the likes of the Chicago White Stockings, Milwaukee Grays, Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, and Pittsburgh Alleghenys.

All summer, we’ll preview a player from the state of Louisiana that appeared in Major League baseball, starting with players from Lafayette, before spotlighting players from the Acadiana area, and then a few from the state itself.

Yesterday, we spotlighted Barry Manuel.

Today, we feature Danny Ardoin.

Born in Mamou in 1974, Ardoin, a right-handed hitting catcher, played parts of five seasons in Major League Baseball, with the Minnesota Twins (2000), Texas Rangers (2004), Colorado Rockies (2005-2006), Baltimore Orioles (2006), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2008).

After playing his high school baseball at Mamou High School, and then his college baseball at McNeese St., Ardoin was drafted by the Oakland A's in the 5th round of the 1995 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

The 6-foot, 205-pound Ardoin played for the A's' minor league affiliate Oregon in 1995, hitting .234 with 2 home runs and 23 runs batted in.

After spending 4-and-a-half more seasons in the minor leagues, including a AAA stop in Vancouver, Ardoin was traded by the A's to the Twins, in exchange for Mario Valdez, and then called up to the big leagues by the Twins in August of 2000.

In his big league debut, against the Baltimore Orioles, at the age of 25, Ardoin went o-for-2.

Ardoin got his first-ever big league hit in a huge way, homering against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on August 10.

It his first taste of MLB action in 200, Ardoin hit a .125 with one homer and 5 runs batted in, going 4-for-32 in 13 games.

After spending three-and-a-half more seasons in the minor leagues, Ardoin got another taste of MLB action in 2004, when he recorded one hit in 8 plate appearances fro the Texas Rangers.

2005 saw Ardoin get the most extensive playing time of his career, hitting a .229 with 6 homers and 22 RBI's, all career-highs, in 248 at-bats for the Colorado Rockies.

Ardoin split time between the Rockies and the Baltimore Orioles in 2006, hitting a combined .180, before returning to the minors in 2007.

In 2008, in his last season in the big leagues, Ardoin appeared in 24 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .278 with a homer and 4 RBI's, prior to retiring.

In 15 seasons in the minor leagues, Ardoin hit a .254, to go along 84 home runs and 443 runs batted in.

In parts of 5 seasons in MLB, Ardoin hit a .206, to go along with 8 homers and 35 RBI's, covering 165 games and 423 at-bats.