All-Time MLB Players From Lafayette: Lyle Mouton

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 Tom Brown.

Today, we feature Lyle Mouton.

Born in Lafayette in 1969, Mouton, a right-handed hitting outfielder, played parts of seven seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1995-2001, becoming the fifth person born in Lafayette to appear in the big leagues.

After playing his high school baseball at St. Thomas More, and his college baseball at LSU, where he also played basketball for two years, Mouton was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 5th round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

The 6-foot-4 Mouton played for the Yankees’ minor league affiliate in Oneonta, New York in 1991, hitting a .309 with 7 home runs and 41 run batted in.

Mouton continued to play well in the minors over the next few years, hitting 16 homers with 76 RBI's in 1993, before belting 16 homers with 74 RBI's in 1994.

The Yankees, in search of pitching help, traded Mouton to the Chicago White Sox, prior to the 1995 season, as part of a deal that got them former Cy Young Award winner Jack McDowell.

After hitting a .296 with 8 homers and 41 RBI's with AAA Nashville to begin the year, Mouton was called up by the White Sox in June, where he went on to hit a .302 with 5 homers and 27 RBI's.

After spending two more successful seasons with the White Sox, Mouton went to Japan, spending the beginning of the 1998 campaign with the Yakult Swallows, before being purchased by the Baltimore Orioles, where he hit a .308 with 2 homers and 7 RBI's in 18 games.

Mouton spent part of the 1999 and 2000 season with the Milwaukee Brewers, and the 2001 season with the Florida Marlins, Mouton saw in last action in Major League Baseball.

In 7 seasons in Major League baseball, Mouton hit a .280, to go along with 22 home runs, 116 runs batted in, and 9 stolen bases.

In 11 seasons in the minor leagues, Mouton hit a .289 with 131 homers, 579 RBI's, and 99 steals.

Mouton made his debut on June 7 of 1995, while making his final appearance on May 19 of 2001.