GARY, Ind. -- Hammond native Mike Coles is returning home to play for the team that he began his pro baseball career with, as the RailCats signed the outfielder on Thursday. The Hammond High School and Purdue University product played for the RailCats as a rookie in 2006 and has won four championships and been named to two All-Star teams in the last five seasons with other independent league clubs.
"We're extremely pleased to have Michael back in a RailCats uniform," RailCats manager Greg Tagert said. "This is where he began his professional career and not only has he become a great player, he has carried that winning-type personality his entire career. It's good to have him back on our side and I know he's excited to be back home."
Coles, 29, is expected to appear at the RailCats High School Challenge Media Day on February 25 and Fan Fest on March 31. He played in 74 games for Gary in the 2006 season and batted .274 with one home run, 20 RBI and 16 stolen bases. The speedy right-handed hitter first made the team through the RailCats' open tryout, one of only five players in team history to accomplish the feat.
Following his rookie year, Coles won four consecutive league championships; back-to-back titles with Windy City in the Frontier League in '07 and '08 and a repeat with Fargo-Moorhead in the Northern League in '09 and '10. He was a league All-Star in 2007 and 2009.
After finishing the 2011 season with Fargo in the American Association, Coles began taking classes at Purdue Calumet to work on finishing his Sociology degree from Purdue. His baseball future was uncertain, so he called his former manager Greg Tagert.
"I was getting school taken care of and knew I was done in Fargo, so I figured, 'why not?'", Coles said.
A deal was quickly reached, and Coles is looking forward to playing at home again for his first team. "I'm excited to play here and look into the stands every night and see a bunch of people that I know."
Coles hit .330 with nine homers and 69 RBI in his first season with Windy City and followed that up by hitting .302 with a career-high 12 home runs and 75 RBI in 2008. He ranked fifth in the Frontier League in RBI.
After joining Fargo in 2009, Coles hit .330 with 4 home runs and 41 RBI, and ranked in the top 5 in the league in six different categories, including average, on-base percentage and hits. He was among the league leaders in runs, hits and stolen bases in 2010 and had a .312 average with three homers and 45 RBI. Fargo moved to the American Association along with Gary in 2011, and Coles hit .276/.340/.353 with a homer, 36 RBI and 17 steals.
Since he spent two seasons with Fargo, the RailCats' American Association rival, Coles made it clear that he didn't want to be labeled as a Fargo player.
"It can't get any better than here [playing in Gary]. I know that we had that rivalry but I was a Gary guy first."
In six seasons, Coles is a lifetime .306 hitter and with a .376 on-base percentage. Coles has averaged five home runs, 52 RBI and 23 steals per season.
Coles was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in the 34^th Round of the 2001 Draft out of high school but did not sign. He spent two seasons at Parkland College in Champaign before playing for the Boilermakers in 2004 and 2005.
Coles missed the playoffs last season for the first time in his professional career, and it was also the first time that a Tagert-led RailCats club fell short of the postseason. "Everybody will be hungry and ready to go so we can bring another championship back this way," Coles said