Nicholas Paul Punto¡graduated in 1996 from Trabuco Hills (CA) High School¡played collegiately at Saddleback Community College (1997-98) in Mission Viejo and is a member of the program's Hall of Fame¡is the school's all-time leader in walks (76) and single-season leader in runs (71, 1998) and walks (42, 1998)¡played for Italy in the World Baseball Classic in both 2009 and 2013¡his father Lou was drafted by Red Sox¡married to Natalie¡the couple has two daughters, Nicole and Nixon, and a son, Nash.
2013
Spent the entire season with Los Angeles (NL) and hit .255 with two home runs and 21 RBI in 116 games…the games played were his most since 2009…started 71 games at three different positions, including 33 at shortstop, 21 at second base and 17 at third base…the switch-hitter batted .309 (30- for-97) against left-handed pitching compared to .228 (45-for-197) with both of his home runs against right-handers…now has a .303 (37-for-122) average against lefties over the last two years compared to .220 (73-for-332) against righties…hit .340 over his first 38 games through May 25, .147 over a 42- game stretch from May 26 to July 28 and .294 over his final 36 games…both of his home runs in 2013 were solo shots at home during night games…hit .313 during the day and .345 with no outs…batted .220 against a pitcher the first time he saw him in a game, .302 the second time and .315 after that… his average fell to .138 with runners in scoring position and two outs…has a .208 (73-for-351) career average with RISP and two outs…batted .171 in interleague play…had a .417 average against National League Central competition…averaged a career-high 4.30 pitches per plate appearance…committed a total of eight errors, including one in 33 games at second base (.989 fielding percentage), three in 49 games at shortstop (.981) and four in 35 games at third bases (.932)…went 3-for-17 (.176) with three walks and two RBI as a pinch hitter…is a .202 (17-for-84) career hitter in the pinch…saw his most starts batting second (33 starts) and eighth (20)…combined for a .295 average in those two spots in the order compared to .178 in all other spots in the order.
2012
Acquired by the Dodgers on Aug. 25 in a nine-player trade with Boston along with Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett and Carl
Crawford for James Loney, Ivan DeJesus, Allen Webster and two players to be named later (Jerry Sands and Rubby De La
Rosa) and played in 22 games for the Dodgers. Reached base in his first four plate appearances as a Dodger, (three walks and a single). In six starts for the Dodgers, went 8-for-24 (.333) with five runs scored and a .429 on-base percentage. Batted .364 (8-for-22) in 13 September games for the Dodgers. Prior to the trade, compiled a .200 batting average (25-for-125) with six doubles, one home run and 10 RBI for Boston in
65 games. Recorded a season-high three hits twice with Boston (April 8 at Detroit, 3-for-6, three RBI; June 2 at Toronto, 3-for-4, two
runs, a double, a home run and two RBI) and once with Los Angeles (Sept. 26 at San Diego, 3-for-5, four runs). Appeared in 15 Spring Training games for Boston and went 9-for-35 (.257) with two doubles and two RBI.
2011
Limited to 63 games with the Cardinals during the regular season due to 3 trips to the
disabled list...Appeared in 15 of St. Louis' 18 postseason contests, including 6 of 7 World
Series games en route to the Cardinals winning the title...Tallied a .388 OBP, his best in any season in which he played at least 10 contests...Batted .359 (14-for-39) with RISP and went 3-for-10 (.300) with 3 walks as a pinch-hitter...Collected a career-high 5 game-winning RBI...Cardinals were 15-2 when he drove in a run...Compiled an overall .984 fielding pct. (3 E/187 TC) with appearances at 2nd base (45 games/23 starts),
shortstop (8 G/6 GS) and 3rd base (7 G/3 GS)...Posted a .885 zone rating at 2nd base, leading all National Leaguers with at least 45 games at the position...Opened the year on the DL after February surgery for sports hernia...Activated on 4/19...Knocked go-ahead, 2-run triple in top of the 11th in the Cards 5-3 win at ATL on 4/29...Placed on the disabled list a 2nd time from 5/18-6/26 with a right forearm strain and missed 36 games.....Went back on the DL with a strained left oblique from 7/29-9/5 and missed another 36 tilts...Hit at a .308 clip (8-for-26) in 16 September tilts...Made 5 starts during the month, 3 at shortstop and 2 at 2nd base...Notched his 1st-career, walk-off RBI 9/9 vs. ATL with a sac fly in the bottom of the 10th of a 4-3 victory.....Tallied the game-winning RBI with a 1-run double in the top of the 9th in a 6-4 win on 9/13 at PIT...Matched a career high (6th time) with 4 hits on 9/27 at HOU, including his 1st National League home run
since 2003, a solo shot in the 9th...POSTSEASON: Marked 3rd straight year his team reached the postseason...Appeared exclusively at 2nd base
in the field, making 10 starts and playing 11 tilts at the position overall...Also pinch-hit 4 times...Started at
2nd base in the deciding Game 5 of the NLDS at PHI and went 1-for-4...Made 4 starts in the NLCS vs. MIL and
collected 2 RBI with 2 singles in Game 2 at Miller Park...Started 5 of 7 World Series games (GMs 1-2 and 4-6).....Pinch-hit in the 8th and stayed in at 2nd base for the top of the 9th in Game 7.
2010
Played 48 games at third base (38 starts), 31 games at shortstop (31 starts) and 12 games at second base (8 starts)...Started the season as the Twins Opening Day third baseman 4/5 at Los Angeles (AL)...Did not commit an error in 122 chances at third base making him the first player since Wayne Garrett of the Montreal Expos in 1977 to handle at least 100 chances at third base and not commit an error...Batted .375 (3-8) with six RBI in bases loaded situations...Recorded the first stolen base at Target Field, taking second off Jon Lester/Victor Martinez in the second inning, 4/12 vs. BOS...Rapped out season-high three hits three times: 4/15 vs. Boston, 6/6 at Oakland and 7/25 at Baltimore...Hit his first home run, 6/18 at Philadelphia...his first home run since 7/19/09, a span of 316 at-bats...Batted .395 (15-for-38) with seven RBI in 12 games, collecting six multi-hit games, 6/6-19...finished the month batting .301 (25-for-83) with four doubles, seven RBI, 10 runs scored and 13 walks in 27 June games...Committed two errors in one inning, 6/10 vs. Kansas City...they were two of the three Twins errors made in that inning (first time since 2003)...his two errors were his first of the season and first since July 2009...Placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, 7/30-8/16...placed back on the 15-day disabled list, 8/20-9/10, missing 19 games with the same injury...Drew 28 walks, despite playing in just 88 games for the Twins...his fewest number of games with the club since he appeared in 38 in 2004.
2009
Made the Twins Opening Day roster as the starting shortstop...reached base four times in a Twins win, April 11 at Chicago (AL) with two hits and two walks...placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right groin strain, May 29...reinstated from the disabled list on June 11...hit in six of his first seven games, June 12-19, batting .450 (9-for-20) during that span...drew at least one walk (eight total) in six straight games, July 1-8...went 3-for-4 with his first home run, July 19 at Texas...finished the season as the Twins regular second baseman, batting .274 (23-for-84), with six doubles, 17 runs scored, nine rbi, 19 walks and seven stolen bases in 28 games, September 5-October 6, while the Twins went 20-8 in those games...played in 126 games, 63 at second base (58 starts), 58 at shortstop (56 starts) and five at third base (three starts)...tied for second in the AL with 13 sacrifice hits...had the 12th-best plate appearances-per-walk ratio in the American League with 7.21 (minimum of 400 plate appearances).
2008
Went 2-for-5 with a double, triple and career-high five rbi, May 7 at Chicago (AL)...disabled with strained left hamstring (retro to May 8), May 10-31...placed on 15-day disabled list with strained left hamstring for second time, June 6...had 10-game hit-streak from July 1-11, hitting .432 (16-for-37) with one home run and 10 rbi in that span...had four-rbi and scored three runs on July 4 vs. Cleveland, including his first home run of the season...recorded first three-hit game on July 10 at Detroit...hit .319 (23-for-72) with 11 rbi and eight runs in 19 July games...second home run of the season on August 4 at Seattle...had season-high 12-game hit-streak from August 12-24, hitting .423 (22-for-52) with three rbi and 10 runs scored and nine multi-hit games...played in his 600th career game on September 17 at Cleveland...scored the winning run in a Twins 7-6 10-inning victory over Chicago (AL) after drawing a one-out walk off Bobby Jenks...recorded back-to-back two hit games September 27th and 28th vs. the Royals...played in 98 games, including 60 at shortstop (59 starts), 26 at second base (23 starts) and 12 at third base (six starts).
2007
Had four-game hit-streak, going 6-for-16 (.375) with a double, triple and three rbi, April 19-22...was 7-for-19 (.368) in four games, April 27-May 1...had fifth career four-hit game, May 3 at Tampa Bay...season-high six-game hit-streak, going 8-for-20 (.400), May 13-20...hit first home run since August 25, 2006 and season-high three rbi, June 6 at Los Angeles (AL)...hit safely in six of seven games, going 8-for-24 (.333), July 5-13...hit safely in six consecutive games, going 7-for-20 (.350), July 18-23...season-high seven-game hit-streak, going 12-for-25 (.480), September 14-21...played in 150 games, including 108 at third base (93 starts), 27 at shortstop (24 starts) and 25 at second base (18 starts).
2006
Hit safely in 8 consecutive games, going 10-26 (.385), May 5-18 . . . was 5-11 (.455) in 5 games, May 31-June 6 . . . hit safely in 8 of 10 games, June 9-20 . . . had 7-game hit-streak, going 10-26 (.385), June 25-July 2 . . . career-high 19-game hit-streak, going 30-75 (.400) with 12 rbi and 12 runs scored, July 4-28 . . . had triples in back-to-back games, July 18-19 . . . third career 4-hit game, July 31 vs. Texas . . . had 8-game hit-streak, going 14-34 (.412), August 7-19 . . . had his second 4-hit game of the season September 10 vs. Detroit, he tripled and matched a season-high with 3 rbi . . . played five different positions, including third base, shortstop, second base, left field and center field . . . appeared in a career-high 135 games, including 89 games (88 starts) at third base.
2005
Hit safely in 5 of 6 games, going 9-23 (.391), April 25-30 . . . first career 4-hit game, 5/20 vs. Milwaukee . . . career-high 13-game hit-streak, going 20-56 (.375), May 10-31 . . . disabled with strained right hamstring, June 3-July 3 . . . second career 4-hit game, July 7 at Kansas City . . . was 7-19 (.368) in 4 games, July 18-21 . . . had 6-game hit-streak, going 9-29 (.310), August 15-21 . . hit safely in 6 of 7 games, going 9-28 (.321), August 29-September 5 . . . tied for second on club in stolen bases . . . started 63 games at second base, 26 at third bases, 7 at shortstop and 1 in the outfield . . . had .982 (9 E, 494 TC) fielding percentage . . . established career-highs in virtually every offensive category.
2004
Was 5-11 (.455) in 3 games, April 6-8 . . . tied career-high 3 hits, April
7 vs. Cleveland . . . disabled with strained left oblique muscle, May 11-June 30
. . . career-high 6-game hit-streak, going 8-26 (.308), July 20-25 . . . first careergrand
slam and career high 4 rbi, July 22 vs. Tampa Bay . . . disabled with
broken right clavicle, July 27. . . transferred to 60-day disabled list, August 7.
2003
Began season with Philadelphia ... optioned April 28 ... had 19-game hit-streak, going 29-86 (.337), May 1-August 23 ... recalled May 14 ... first career rbi, May 20 at New York (NL) ... career-high 3 hits and first major league homer off Steve Trachsel, July 10 at New York (NL) ... was 6-13 (.462) in 4 games, July 10-13 ... optioned August 16 ... hit safely in 4 of 5 games, August 25-29 ... recalled August 30 ... made 16 appearances at second base, 9 at third base and 7 at shortstop.
2002
Began season in majors after INF Tomas Perez sprained his left knee during spring training . . . Hit .333 (1-3) in limited play (3 PH appearances) before being optioned to Scranton (AAA), 4/15 . . . Lone hit was a single, 4/11 vs ATL . . . Tied for International League lead in stolen bases (42), becoming just 2nd player in Red Barons history to steal 40 or more bases in a season and 1st since Tommy Barrett stole 44 in Scranton's first season (1989) . . . Played all 115 games with Scranton at shortstop . . . Hit .271, but had a .378 on-base % . . . Led all Phillies minor leaguers with 76 walks . . . Left game with a strained groin, 6/4 vs Charlotte, and missed the next 4 games . . . Placed on 7-day DL, 6/19, with a strained left hamstring . . . Activated on 7/2 . . . Selected to start triple-A All-Star Game and postseason All-Star team . . . Hit .325 (64-197) in his final 48 games to raise his average from .228 to .271 . . . Had 38 multi-hit games and 8 multi-steal games . . . Stole a season-high 3 bases twice, 7/23 vs Buffalo and 8/7 vs Buffalo . . . Became all-time Scranton stolen base leader, 8/7 . . . Hit a season-best .328 (42-128) during August . . . Hit .343 (37-108) vs left-handed pitching . . . Hit .250 (3-12), 3 BB, 2 SB in 3 playoff games vs Buffalo . . . Recalled on 9/7 . . . Appeared in 6 games (0-3, sac), 2 as pinch-runner, 3 as pinch-hitter and once as defensive replacement . . . Played winter ball for Culican in Mexico.
2001
Spent season at Scranton (AAA) . . . Led all International League players in assists (398) and finished 3rd in stolen bases (33) and 4th in walks (68) and stolen base % (.786) . . . Led all IL shortstops in games (123) . . . Reached career highs in G (123), AB (463), 2B (19) and tied his high in SB for Scranton . . . Injured ankle in home plate collision, 4/29 at Buffalo, and missed 3 games . . . On DL with a sore right knee, 6/8-6/16 . . . Stole 3 bases, 6/25 vs Charlotte . . . Stole a base in 5 consecutive games, 7/8-15 and 14 straight bases overall, 6/25-7/15 . . . Went 5-for-6, 3 runs, 2B, 3B, 2 RBI, 7/28 vs Indianapolis . . . Recalled on 9/1 . . . Singled in 1st ML at-bat, 9/9 at MTL (pinch-hit off Bob Scanlan) . . . Made 1st and only ML start, 10/7 at CIN, at shortstop (1-4) . . . Played winter ball for Culiacan, Mexico.
2000
Spent entire season at Reading (AA) . . . Led Eastern League in fielding % for shortstops (.963) . . . Set professional highs in games (121), at-bats (456), runs (77), home runs (5), walks (69) and stolen bases (33) . . . Reached base safely in 33 straight games, 6/17-7/28, .286 (38-133, 18 BB) . . . Had 4-RBI game, 7/6 at Altoona . . . Stole 3 bases, 8/11 at Akron . . . Appeared in 2 EL playoff games . . . Hit .176 in Arizona Fall League, playing 2B, SS and 3B . . . Had hernia surgery, 11/30.
1999
Spent entire season at Clearwater (A) . . . Finished tied for 7th (with teammate Jason Michaels) in Florida State League in hitting (.305), 3rd in on-base % (.404) . . . Tallied 38 multi-hit games (12 games with 3+ hits) . . . Twice named Phillies organizational Player of the Week, 4/19 and 5/25 . . . Had a 10-game hit streak, 5/3-5/12 . . . Collected 2 hits in 5 consecutive games . . . Had arthroscopic surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee, 7/20 . . . Played in the FIL.
1998
Selected by Phillies in 21st round of June draft . . . Made pro debut at Batavia (A) . . . Ranked 4th in New York-Penn League in at-bats (279), 5th in walks (42) and led NYPL shortstops in double plays (45) . . . Led all Phillies short-season minor leaguers in games (72) and at-bats . . . Played in the Florida Instructional League.
