Mark Reynolds (born August 3, 1983 in Pikeville,
Kentucky) is a current third baseman in Major League
Baseball who plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Reynolds attended First Colonial High School in
Virginia Beach, Virginia and the University of
Virginia, playing primarily at shortstop.
Reynolds was drafted in the 16th round (476th
overall) of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft.
Reynolds made his major league debut on May 16, 2007
against the Colorado Rockies. He had been called up
from Double-A Mobile when Chad Tracy was placed on
the disabled list. Reynolds made an instant impact
with the Diamondbacks, driving in 14 runs in his
first 15 MLB games.
Reynolds is the latest of a number of players from
the Tidewater, Virginia region to make it to the
major leagues as a third baseman in recent years, a
list that includes David Wright, Ryan Zimmerman,
B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, and Michael Cuddyer.
Reynolds is often referred to by Arizona
Diamondbacks analyst Mark Grace as 'The Sheriff'.
Reynolds was widely addressed by the nickname
"Skeletor" in High School based on his striking
resemblance to the cartoon hero bearing the same
name. Some have also noted his resemblance to Luke
Skywalker.
Reynolds ended the season 3rd among NL rookies in
strikeouts (129), 4th in runs (62), tied for 4th in
triples (4), and tied for 6th in home runs (17).
