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Nicholas Paul Punto (born November 8, 1977) is an American former professional baseball infielder and current coach for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Phillies, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Oakland Athletics. With the Cardinals, he won the 2011 World Series over the Texas Rangers. He has also played for the Italian national baseball team in the World Baseball Classic.
In three years with the Phillies, Punto played in a total of 77 games and hit .223. His first, and only, home run with the Phillies was hit off Steve Trachsel of the New York Mets on July 10, 2003.
Punto was one of four Twins players nicknamed "the Piranhas" by then Chicago White Sox manager, Ozzie Guillén. The other Piranhas were Jason Tyner, Jason Bartlett, and Luis Castillo.
In 2005, Punto batted .239 with a career-high four home runs and 26 RBI in 112 games.
Punto had his best full season in Minnesota during the 2006 season when he batted .290 with a home run, 45 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 135 games.
In , Punto experienced his statistically worst full season with Minnesota, batting .210 with a home run and 25 RBI 150 games. He posted the lowest slugging percentage (.271) of any major league player with at least 200 in a single season. This was the lowest slugging percentage by a player with over 400 at-bats since José Lind recorded a .269 slugging percentage for the Pittsburgh Pirates in . Punto also posted a −27.1 VORP in 2007, 8.5 runs worse than the second-worst position player in baseball, White Sox infielder Andy González. However, he has always played excellent defense and believed in his defensive abilities which the Twins are so keen on. On May 27 during an MPR broadcast Punto said, "I take too much pride in my defense to ever let (offensive struggles) affect me or affect my team. The one thing I can control is how I play defense."
After being injured most of the first half of the season, Punto was activated from the DL on June 25, 2008, and finished the season batting .284 with two home runs and 28 RBI in 99 games. Punto spent most of the 2008 season as the Twins' primary shortstop.
On December 11, 2008, Punto signed a two-year, $8.5 million deal with the Twins that included a club option for 2011 worth $5 million.
Punto represented Team Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.
After struggling as the Twins regular shortstop in 2009, Punto began losing time in the lineup to fellow Twin Brendan Harris. After returning from the disabled list, Punto was re-inserted into the regular lineup at second base, following the struggles of infielders Alexi Casilla and Matt Tolbert. He finished the season batting .228 with a home run and 38 RBI in 125 games.
Punto began the 2010 season as the Twins' starting third baseman, but ended up on the disabled list before the end of April with a strained groin muscle. Punto returned to the lineup in May, playing at third base, shortstop, and second base as injuries cropped up among other players. In July, he was essentially replaced as the starter at third base by Danny Valencia, but he continued to play regularly due to injuries to Orlando Hudson and J. J. Hardy.
On October 29, the Twins declined Punto's $5 million team option, making him a free agent. In seven years with the Twins, Punto played in 747 games with a .248 batting average.
Punto represented Italy in the 2013 World Baseball Classic in March 2013. He hit .421 (8-for-19) in five games.
In the 2013 season, Punto saw extensive time at shortstop due to injuries to Hanley Ramírez. He appeared in 116 games, his most since 2009, and hit .255 with two home runs, 21 RBI and 34 runs.
On September 16, 2013, Punto led off a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a single to center field off of Trevor Cahill. Despite the fact that the ball traveled into the outfield, Punto made a headfirst slide into first base anyway.
Punto's option for the 2015 season vested but the Athletics released him on December 19, 2014.
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