Punto, today's Former Phillie of the Day, was drafted by the Phils in the 21st round of the 1998 amateur draft out of Santa Ana, Calif. His best year in the minors was with High A Clearwater in 1999, when he hit .305 with a .404 OBP and 16 steals. He moved up through the organization quickly and made his major league debut on Sept. 9, 2001 against the Expos.
His longest stretch with the Phillies came in 2003, when he had 99 plate appearances in 64 games, hitting .217. Punto and Carlos Silva were traded to the Minnesota Twins after the 2003 season for starting pitcher Eric Milton.
Punto stayed in Minnesota for 7 years and played regularly from 2005 to 2010. In 2006, he hit .290 with a .352 OBP and 73 runs in 135 games. He signed with the Cardinals for the 2011 season and won a World Series. He also played with the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Athletics. He also played for Team Italy in the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic. His last MLB game was with the As on Sept. 27, 2014, when he went 1-for-3 against the Rangers. He played 2B, 3B, SS, and even a little OF in his career.
He played 14 years in the big leagues and played in 28 postseason games. He won a World Series. Pretty good career for a scrappy little guy.
He's on Twitter @Shredderpunto if you want to say hello. His Twitter bio says he's a "proud stay at home father. For now."
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