Kevin Kouzmanoff

Kevin Kouzmanoff (born July 25, 1981, in Newport Beach, California) is a Macedonian American Major League Baseball third baseman with the San Diego Padres. He became the third player to hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat after Bill Duggleby in 1898 and Jeremy Hermida in 2005, and the first to do so on the first pitch. Kouzmanoff grew up in Evergreen, Colorado where he played high school baseball at Evergreen High School. In 2002, h... more

Kevin Kouzmanoff (born July 25, 1981, in Newport Beach, California) is a Macedonian American Major League Baseball third baseman with the San Diego Padres. He became the third player to hit a grand slam in his first major league at-bat after Bill Duggleby in 1898 and Jeremy Hermida in 2005, and the first to do so on the first pitch. Kouzmanoff grew up in Evergreen, Colorado where he played high school baseball at Evergreen High School. In 2002, he attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where he hit .364. In 2003, he attended the University of Nevada-Reno where as a walk-on he hit .361. In the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft, the Cleveland Indians selected Kouzmanoff in the 6th round (168th overall). Kouzmanoff made his professional debut later in 2003 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, hitting .272 with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 206 at-bats. Kouzmanoff also played for the Winchester Royals in Virginia. In 2004, Kouzmanoff hit 16 home runs, 87 RBI and a .330 average... less