Graduated from Stevens High School (SD) in 1995...attended the University of Florida where he played third base as a freshman and sophomore, hitting .351 in 1996 and .326 with 11 HR and 45 RBI in 1997...moved to shortstop as a junior and hit .338 with 14 home runs and 51 RBI in 1998 and then hit .344 with 10 HR, 42 RBI and 20 stolen bases as a senior...played for the Rapid City Post 22 American Legion Baseball program and won the 1993 American Legion Baseball World Series title with a team record of 70-5 and also earned South Dakota American Legion Player of the Year honors in back-to-back years (1994 and 1995) - was honored with the American Legion Graduate of the Year Award at Dodger Stadium on Sept. 14, 2012...was named the Catfish Hunter award winner in 2005 and 2007...organized the Putouts For Diabetes Program in 2006, in which he and Bobby Crosby donated money to the American Diabetes Association for every putout they recorded during the season...was the recipient of the 2007 Dave Stewart Community Service Award which is given annually to an A's player for outstanding work in the community...donated hundreds of tickets to various Bay Area Boys & Girls Clubs each season...originally selected by the Royals in the ninth round of the 1999 First-Year Player Draft and signed by Kansas City scout Cliff Pastornicky...is married to Sarah and the couple have three children: son, Briggs and daughters, Adelaide and Dylan... the family resides in Scottsdale, Ariz., in the off-season.
2013
Veteran second baseman appeared in 126 games in his second season with the Dodgers... Strung together a season high 13-game hitting streak 7/19-8/2 in which he batted .404 (19-for-47), the fourth longest streak of the season for the Dodgers... Went 5-for-12 (.417) with 12 RBI with the bases loaded and batted .295 (54-for-183) with runners on base... Excelled in Interleague play, batting .351 (20-for-57) with two homers and 17 RBI in 15 games... Hit a two-out, walk-off single on 7/30 vs. NYY, his eighth career walk-off RBI and first since 4/6/10 as a member of the Athletics... Missed 19 games on the disabled list from 4/27-5/19 with a strained right quad; played in two games on a rehab assignment... Started all 10 postseason games at second base for Los Angeles...had two hits in both Games 1 and 4 of the National League Division Series vs. Atlanta, scoring a run in Game 1...scored two runs after walking each time in Game 2 and also in Game 3 after a walk...his .389 on-base pct. in the NLDS ranked 5th among his teammates...had six hits in the League Championship Series vs. St. Louis, with hits in four of the six games...tripled with one out in the top of the 10th inning of Game 1 and was thrown out by Carlos Beltran at home trying to score for the final out of the inning.
2012
Played in 110 games, the third-highest total on the club, in his first season with the Dodgers. Hit .321 (43-for-134) with six of his seven home runs against left-handers...had the 15th highest average vs. lefthanders in the NL. Six of his seven home runs came at Dodger Stadium...his next homer will be the 100th of his career. Scored a run in eight consecutive games from April 11-20, which was tied for a Dodger season-long streak (Matt Kemp)Established a season high with four RBI on Aug. 19 at Atlanta...set a season high with four hits on May 1 at Colorado. Hit .300 (4-for-11) during a season-long eight-game hitting streak from April 11-20. Hit safely in 11 of 15 May games, batting .309 (17-for-55), his highest monthly average, with two home runs and seven
RBI before missing the rest of the month due to injury. Suffered a left leg injury while attempting to turn a double play in the top of the seventh inning on May 18 against St.
Louis causing him to miss 43 games from May 19-July 3 after having emergency fasciotomy surgery. The Dodgers were 56-44 in his starts. Went 3-for-4 with a double and a walk with the bases loaded. Was successful in each of his five stolen base attempts. Is tied for ninth among active players with 97 home runs as a second baseman. Committed only three errors in 910.1 innings in the field in 2012...posted a fielding percentage of better than .990 as a
second baseman for the eighth consecutive season.
2011
Opened his 10th Major League season with Oakland as the primary second baseman,
hitting .217 (47-for-217) with one home run, one triple, 11 doubles and 16 RBI in the
62 games he played with the A's...Was acquired by the Rockies from Oakland on July 1 in exchange for right-hander
Bruce Billings...finished the season with Colorado, hitting .274 (72-for-263) with six
home runs, 13 doubles and 25 RBI over 70 games for the Rockies...Committed just three errors on the season for his seventh-straight .990-plus fielding
percentage season...committed just one error with Rockies...Tied a career high with 14 stolen bases, which he previously set in 2008...stole seven
bases with both Oakland and Colorado after stealing just seven total bases in 2010
with Oakland...In his Rockies debut on July 1 against Kansas City, went 3-for-5 with a home run,
double, three RBI and two runs run scored...according to Elias, Ellis became just the
second Rockie in club history to have three hits and three RBI in his first game with the
club, joining Larry Walker who had three hits and three RBI on April 26, 1995...Had four multi-hit games in his first five games as a Rockie...from July 1-23 had at least one
hit in 13 of the 20 games he played in and collected multiple hits in nine of the 20 contest... Became the first player since 1900 to have six extra-base hits
in first three games with new club after being acquired in a
midseason trade (Elias)...Had a season-high 10-game hit-streak from Sept. 5-17, hitting
.333 (14-for-42) with two home runs and a double during the run...Hit .297 (55-for-185) out of the No. 2 spot in the batting order...
hit five of his six home runs and drove in 22 of his 41 RBI in the
No. 2 hole.
2010
Led the A's in batting for the second time in the last six seasons as he hit .291 in 124 games...the average
was the second-best mark of his career (.316 in 2005) but he hit just five home runs, which were the
fewest of his career...his batting average has increased in each of the last two seasons but his home runs
have decreased in three straight seasons...also scored a career-low 45 runs...committed just three errors
in 116 games at second base, ranking second among American League second basemen with a .995
fielding percentage (Cano, NYY .996)...that was the second-best mark in Athletics' history to the record
of .997, which he set in 2006...has finished in the top two in fielding among AL second baseman in each
of the last four seasons in which he had enough games to qualify (led in 2006 and 2008 and finished
second in 2007)...now has a .990 career fielding percentage, which is second-best in Major League
history among second baseman with 750 or more games (Placido Polanco, .993)...has appeared in 962
games at second base in his career, which is an Oakland record and fourth most in Athletics history...
has turned 653 double plays, which is second in franchise history to Dick Green (712)...batted .297 as a
second baseman, which was second best in the AL (Cano, .321) and second best in Oakland history to his
.316 average in 2005...has hit 83 of his 85 career home runs as a second baseman, which is an Athletics
record...had 24 doubles and now has 193 in his career, which ranks 10th on the Oakland list...did not
triple for the second consecutive season and remains in a tie for ninth on the Oakland career triples list
(21)...batted .339 with runners in scoring position and owns a .338 (75 for 222) average with RISP over
the last two years...also hit .330 against left-handed pitching, .326 during day games, .316 on the road,
.315 against AL West teams and .301 after the All-Star Break...now has a .252 career average, 33 home
runs and 177 RBI in 476 games before the break, compared to a .282 average, 52 home runs and 241
RBI in 518 games after the break...batted .304 with one home run over his first 22 games through June
6, .230 with one home run over a 68-game stretch from June 7 to Aug. 28 and .394 with three home runs
over his final 34 games from Aug. 29 through the end of the season...his average since Aug. 29 was the
best in the majors...hit all five of his home runs on the road...in addition to his 113 starts at second base, he also hit .231 in six starts at designated hitter...hit in every spot in the order except fourth and made a
team-leading 34 starts batting sixth...hit .333 in 16 starts batting third.
OAKLAND: Made his sixth consecutive Opening Day start at second base April 5 against Seattle, his
seventh in the last eight years...the seven starts are an Oakland record for a second baseman, topping
the previous best of six by Dick Green...in franchise history, only Green (10) and Max Bishop (9) have
more...singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning April 6 against Seattle, his sixth
career walk-off hit (three singles, three home runs)...made his first career start at designated hitter April
11 at Los Angeles...missed seven games with a sore left hamstring from April 12 to 19...went 0-for-2
in a start at second base against New York April 20 but left the game after five innings with the same
injury...was placed on the 15-day disabled list April 21 with a strained left hamstring, his fifth career
stint on the DL...was hitting .323 in eight games at the time of the injury...went 2 for 9 (.222) with a
walk and a RBI during a three-game rehab assignment with Single-A Stockton and Triple-A Sacramento
from May 18-21 before being reinstated from the DL May 22...hit .280 over his first 47 games following
his return through July 18...committed his first error of the season July 16 at Kansas City to snap a 52-
game errorless streak at second base, dating back to his last error on Sept. 27, 2009 at Los Angeles...it
was the 10th errorless streak of 50 or more games by an Oakland A's second baseman and he has five
of them...hit into a triple play in the fourth inning Aug. 9 at Seattle...tied an Oakland record with a
career-high three doubles Aug. 11 at Seattle...it was the 24th three-double game in Oakland history and
the second in 2010...snapped a career long 57-game, 196-at bat homerless streak in the fourth inning
Aug. 29 in Texas...it was his first home run since June 17 at Chicago (NL)...the run that he scored on
the home run was the 500th of his career...batted .217 in August but then hit a Major League-leading
.413 (43 for 104) in September with 14 multiple hit games in 28 games...set an Oakland record for hits
in September, breaking the previous mark of 42 set by Mark Kotsay in 2004...it tied for the fourth-best
single month total in Oakland history and was the most since Randy Velarde had 45 in Aug., 1999...
became the eighth player in Oakland history to hit .400 in a month (min. 75 plate appearances), the first
since Jason Giambi hit .400 in Sept., 2000...now has a .314 (206 for 656) career average in September,
his best for any month of the season...had a career-high 13-game hitting streak from Aug. 31 to Sept.
13 (21 for 49, .429)...went 6 for 19 (.316) over his next six games, then matched the hitting streak by
hitting safely in each of his final 13 games beginning Sept. 21 (21 for 52, .404).
2009
Batted .263 with 10 home runs and 61 RBI in 105 games in 2009...missed 55 games while on the
disabled list from April 29 to June 27 with a strained left calf...the 105 games were his fewest since
appearing in 98 games during his rookie season of 2002, but his 61 RBI were the second best total of his
career...had career lows in runs (52), walks (23) and on-base percentage (.305) and did not have a triple
for the first time in his career...his 21 career triples remain in a tie for ninth most in Oakland history...
reached double figures in home runs for the fifth consecutive season and now has 80 career home runs,
including an Athletics franchise-record 78 as a second baseman...appeared in 105 games at second base
and made five errors for a .990 fielding percentage...fell three games short of qualifying for the league
leaders in fielding but he had the fourth best fielding percentage among American League second basemen
with 100 or more games...now has a .98938 career fielding percentage, which is third best in Major
League history among second basemen with 750 or more games played...has played 846 games in his
career at second base, which is an on-going Oakland record and fourth most in Athletics history...batted
.337 with runners in scoring position, including .423 with RISP and two outs...the mark with RISP and
two outs was the best in the AL in 2009 and the best by an Oakland Athletic since 1974 (min. 50 PA)...
had a .222 (73 for 329) career average with RISP and two outs entering the season...hit .331 with two
outs and .229 with less than two outs...was batting .219 in 31 games before the All-Star Break and then
hit .279 in 74 games after the break...now has a .249 (379 for 1523) batting average, 31 home runs and
155 RBI in 424 career games before the break and a .280 (462 for 1652) average, 49 home runs and 214
RBI in 446 games after the break...hit .219 over his first 43 games through July 27, .344 over a 42-game
stretch from July 28 to Sept. 12 and .182 over his final 20 games...batted .314 with four of his 10 home
runs in the ninth inning...hit .294 at night compared to .197 during the day...batted .336 with seven
home runs in 30 games against AL Central teams and .233 with three home runs in 75 games against
everyone else...hit .476 against Chicago and .412 against Kansas City...started games in every spot in the order except first and fourth but made 93 of his 101 starts in the bottom four spots in the order...had
a .344 average in 26 games batting eighth.
2008
Led Major League second basemen in fielding for the second time in the last three years but batted a career low
.233...established new career highs with 53 walks and 14 stolen bases but his 55 runs scored were a career low...
appeared in just 117 games, which were his fewest since his rookie season of 2002 (98)...missed the final month
of the season as he had surgery on his right shoulder on September 19...committed just four errors in 115 games
at second base for a .993 fielding percentage...it was the third best percentage of his career and fourth best in
Athletics history and it was the highest among ML second basemen, ahead of Boston's Dustin Pedroia (.992)...also
led the majors in fielding in 2006, finished second in 2007 and was third in the American League in 2005, but hasyet to win a Gold Glove...now has a .989 career fielding percentage,
which is the best in Oakland history and fourth best in ML
history among second basemen with 650 or more games...has
741 career games at second base, which is the most in Oakland
history and sixth most in Athletics history...had three triples to
bring his career total to 21, which is tied for ninth in Oakland
history with Rick Monday and Mitchell Page...ranked second on
the A's in stolen bases and sacrifice hits (5), tied for second in hit
by pitches (5) and was third in home runs (12)...it was his fourth
straight 10-homer season and he now has 68 career home runs
as a second baseman, which is an on-going Oakland record and
second most in Athletics history to Dick Green (76)...his 14 stolen
bases were the most by an A's second baseman since Lance
Blankenship had 15 in 1992...batted .256 (81 for 317) with 11
of his 12 home runs against right-handed pitching compared to .176 (22 for 125) against left-handers...his mark
against lefties was the lowest in the AL and second lowest in the majors (Schumaker, STL .168)...since 1974, the
only Athletic with a lower mark against lefties is Scott Brosius, who hit .160 in 1997...hit .282 on the road compared
to .189 at home...had the lowest home batting in the majors and it was second lowest in Oakland history to Mark
McGwire, who hit .185 in 1991...it was the lowest home average by an AL batter since 1991 when Kevin Maas hit
.178 for the Yankees...started games at every spot in the order except fourth and ninth...made a team leading 38
starts in the leadoff spot where he batted .224 with 26 walks for a .349 on-base percentage.
2007
Had one of the best seasons by a second
baseman in Oakland history as he batted
.276 with 19 home runs and 76 RBI in 150
games...set an Athletics franchise record
for home runs by a second baseman, topping
the previous mark of 16 held by Jimmy
Dykes (1921) and Davey Lopes
(1983)...set an Oakland record for RBI by
a second baseman...tied for second among
American League second baseman in home
runs and was third in RBI...now has 56
career home runs as a second baseman,
which is an Oakland record and second most
in franchise history to Dick Green, who hit
76 from 1963-74...ranked second among
AL second baseman with a .994 fielding
percentage, 302 putouts and 499 assists, was
third with 806 total chances and finished
fourth with 104 double plays...set Oakland
records for assists and double plays by a
second baseman...the assists were second most in Athletics history to Jimmy
Dykes' 522 with Philadelphia in 1921 and the double plays were the most
since Jerry Lumpe had 105 with Kansas City in 1961...his fielding percentage
was third best in A's history...committed just five errors in 150 games
at second base and set an Athletics franchise record for second basemen
with a 102-game errorless streak from May 14 to September 10...had 540
consecutive errorless chances during the streak...had career highs in at bats
(583), runs (84), hits (161), doubles (33), home runs (19), RBI (76), stolen
bases (9), hit by pitches (10) and total bases (257) and matched his high in
strikeouts (94)...led the A's in at bats and total bases and tied for the team
lead in games (150), runs and hit by pitches...the games, runs and total
bases were the fewest by an A's team leader since 1997...batted .313 with
11 of his 19 home runs against left-handed pitching...tied for second in the
AL in home runs against left-handers...slugged .600 against left-handers and .386 against
righties...hit .237 with
runners in scoring position
but was 7 for 22
(.318) with a grand slam
and 21 RBI with the bases
loaded...has a .225 (63
for 280) average with
RISP over the last two
seasons after batting .305
over his first three
seasons...hit 11 of his 19 home runs after the All-Star Break...now has 39
home runs in 340 career games after the break and 19 home runs in 308
games before the break.
Hit .327 with 38 RBI in 52 games against AL West
teams and .250 with 38 RBI in 98 games against everyone else...his average
against the West included a .403 mark against Texas with two home
runs and 15 RBI in 16 games...appeared exclusively at second base where
he played in 150 games...now has 626 career appearances at second base,
which is second in Oakland history to the record of 721 by Dick Green...it
is eighth most in Athletics franchise history...started games at every spot in
the order except the three spot...made 38 starts hitting fifth, 32 hitting sixth
and 31 batting second... made his fourth Opening Day start at second base
in the last five years on April 2 at Seattle...in Oakland history, only Green
(6) has made more Opening Day starts at second...tied his career high with
five RBI on April 4 in Seattle...had the game-ending RBI single in the bottom
of the ninth on April 10 against Chicago, his second career "walk-off"
hit...the other was also a single on May 25, 2003 vs. Kansas City...singled
in the third inning on May 4 at Tampa Bay for his 500th career hit...committed
two errors on one play in the third inning on May 13 against Cleveland...it
was his third career two-error game, his first since May 18, 2003 at
Cleveland...began his 102-game errorless streak the next day...hit his second
career grand slam on May 18 against San Francisco and matched his
career high with five RBI...the home run was the 40th of his career as a
second baseman, which broke Green's Oakland record for home runs by a
second baseman...was batting .235 with three home runs and 23 RBI in 45
games through the end of May...became a father for the first time on June 1
when his wife, Sarah, gave birth to a boy (Briggs William) and then hit .330
(37 for 112) with five home runs, 18 RBI and 12 multiple hit games over his
next 28 games from June 2 to July 2...hit for the 17th cycle in Athletics
history June 4 against Boston...it was the sixth in Oakland history and the
second in Coliseum history...the only other Coliseum cycle by any player
was by Eric Chavez on June 21, 2000 against Baltimore...the four hits
matched his career high and he also had four hits on June 26 at Cleveland
and September 11 at Seattle...had his first career two homer game on July
23 at Los Angeles...had a career high 11-game hitting streak from August
16 to 26 (13 for 44, .295)...had 10 hits over a three-game span from September
9 to 11 to tie an Oakland record...it was the seventh time and the
first since Carney Lansford did it from May 15-17,
1988... made his first career start batting fourth on
September 16 against Texas and was 2 for 5 with a
home run and three RBI...batted .351 with 20 RBI in
24 games in September...the RBI were his most ever
in a month...now has a .303 (137 for 452) career average
in September, his best mark for any month of the
season.
2006
Ellis set a Major League record for fielding percentage by a second baseman with a mark of .997, committing just two errors in 123 games and 632 chances. He made his first error of the season on May 18, which snapped a career high 41-game errorless streak. He hit 11 homers in 2006 to bring his career total to 39, which is the most ever by a Major Leaguer born in South Dakota. The A's were 9-2 in games in which he homered. Ellis broke his right thumb on May 30 against the Royals and missed 26 games while on the disabled list. He hit .212 during his first 75 games and .308 after Aug. 7. Ellis broke his right index finger in Game 2 of the AL Division Series and missed the AL Champion Series.
2005
Was one of the top comeback stories in baseball as he hit a career high .316 after missing the entire 2004 season with a torn labrum in
his right shoulder...did not qualify for the league leaders as he finished with 486 plate appearances which was 16 shy of the minimum
of 502...however, based on a minimum of 400 plate appearances, his batting average ranked fifth in the American League and eighth
in Oakland history...now has a .276 career batting average which ranks seventh in Oakland history...led the A's in batting, slugging (.477)
and on-base percentage (.384)...his slugging percentage was the lowest by an A's team leader since Jose Canseco led the A's with a
.457 slugging percentage in 1986...also led the A's in triples (5) and tied for the team lead in sacrifice hits (4)...in addition to posting
career highs in batting, slugging and on-base percentage, he also had bests in home runs (13) and total bases (207) and matched his
bests in hits (137), triples and RBI (52)...appeared in just 122 games as he shared second base duties with Marco Scutaro and Keith Ginter
the first half of the season...started just 47 of the A's first 92 games at second base and 62 of the final 70...earned his playing time later
in the season as he was batting .277 with 14 RBI and 19 runs scored in 56 games before the All-Star Break...then hit .344 (86 for 250)
with 38 RBI and 57 runs scored in 66 games after the break...ranked third in the AL in batting after the All-Star Break and had the fifth
best post-break batting average in Oakland history...was fourth in the AL in runs scored after the break and tied for fourth in triples
(4)...hit 12 of his 13 home runs after the break and has now hit 20 of his 28 career home runs after the break...hit .316 (131 for 414) as
a second baseman which was the second best batting average among Major League second basemen...Placido Polanco hit a combined
.325 with Philadelphia and Detroit...ranked third among AL second basemen with a .989 (6 errors in 542 total chances) fielding percentage...
that was the fourth best fielding percentage by a second baseman in Athletics history dating back to 1901...also appeared in
seven games (five starts) at shortstop and made his professional debut at first base (two games)...had never hit higher than .300 in one
month before hitting .304 (14 for 46) in June...followed that up by hitting .323 (21 for 65) in July, .310 (27 for 87) in August and .368 (39
for 106) in September...hit just three home runs over his first 85 games but slugged 10 over his final 37 contests...now has 28 career
home runs which are second most ever by a player born in South Dakota...Dave Collins holds the record with 32...the A's were 11-2 in
games in which he homered and are now 22-6 (.786) when he homers in his career...started games at every spot in the order except
four and five...made 33 starts hitting ninth but had his best success in the leadoff spot where he made 27 starts and hit .386 (44 for 114)
with 28 runs scored, six home runs (.632 slugging percentage) and 11 walks (.453 on-base percentage)...started 24 of the A's final 26
games hitting leadoff...had 36 multiple hit games, including 14 of three or more which tied Eric Chavez for the team lead...hit .313 (30
for 96) with runners in scoring position and now has a .305 (85 for 279) career average with RISP...however, was just 2 for 12 (.167) with
five RBI with the bases loaded...batted .313 (35 for 112) against left-handed pitching and .317 (102 for 322) against right-handers...hit
.352 (57 for 162) during day games...batted .357 (10 for 28) in nine interleague games...hit .444 (12 for 27) against Boston and is a .367
(22 for 60) career hitter against the Red Sox, his best average against any AL team...tied an Oakland record with two sacrifice hits on
April 27 against Chicago...committed his first error of the season on May 2 against Texas, snapping a 35-game errorless streak as a second
baseman dating back to September 7, 2003...made his professional debut at first base on May 14 against New York when he pinch
hit for Scott Hatteberg in the seventh inning and remained in the game...also played first base on July 27 against Cleveland...hit safely
in each of his first nine games after the All-Star Break (14 for 32, .438) which equaled his longest hitting streak of the season...also hit
safely in nine straight games from August 31 to September 9 (16 for 34, .471)...went 3 for 6 with two doubles and four RBI on August 6
at Kansas City to boost his average to .300...average never dropped under .300 the rest of the way...had four three-hit games over a
five-game span from August 6 to 11 (12 for 22, .545)...had just three home runs through games of August 23 but then homered in consecutive
games on August 24 and 25 at Detroit and three straight games from August 27-29 at Baltimore, giving him five home runs and
nine RBI over a six-game span...the home run on the 24th led off the game, his second career lead-off home run...finished August with
five home runs and 15 RBI in 23 games, his most home runs and RBI in a month in his career...then hit five more home runs in
September...had his second career four-hit game on September 9 at Texas...that was part of a 13-game stretch from September 6 to 20
where he batted .482 (27 for 56) with 10 multiple hit games, including five games of three or more hits...ended up batting .368 (39 for
106) with 23 runs in 27 games in September...had the best on-base percentage in the AL in September (.446), tied for second in runs
scored, was third in batting and tied for third in hits.
2004
Dislocated his right shoulder during spring training and a subsequent MRI revealed a torn labrum in his right shoulder...missed the entire season...the injury occurred on March 25 in Phoenix against the Chicago Cubs when he and Bobby Crosby dived for a hit up the middle by Sammy Sosa and collided...was placed on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26 and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list on September 3.
2003
Spent the entire season with the A's and batted .248 with nine home runs and 52 RBI in 154
games...led the A's in sacrifice hits (9) and tied for second in triples (5)...ranked tied for seventh in the American League in sacrifice hits
and was eighth in pitches per plate appearance (4.07)...appeared in 153 games at second base which was third most in Oakland history...
led Major League second basemen in total chances (793) and putouts (324)...committed 14 errors which was fourth among AL second basemen and he had the fifth best fielding percentage (.982)...eight of the errors came over his first 53 games but he followed that with a 31-game errorless streak from May 31 to July 6...the A's were 7-2 in games in which he homered...seven of his home runs were solo shots, four either tied the game or put the A's ahead, and the final seven all came in Oakland...batted .217 (33 for 152) against left handed pitching which ranked ninth lowest in the AL...was 8 for 19 (.421) with the bases loaded and hit his first career grand slam on September 21 against Seattle (Sasaki)...made a team leading 64 starts batting leadoff and hit .264 (68 for 258) with 22 walks (.324 on-base percentage)
and 44 runs scored when batting in the number one spot for the season...led the A's with
54 starts in the leadoff spot in 2002...set an Oakland record for doubles in April with 11, topping the 10 by Joe Rudi (1974) and Scott Spiezio (1997)...hit his first career leadoff home run on April 25 against Cleveland...had a career high four hits on April 6 against Anaheim...his batting average was never higher than .262 or lower than .243 from May 24 until the end of the season...had a career high 10-game hitting streak from July 24 to August 2 (11 for 41, .268)...had a career high five RBI on September 21 against Seattle...had a 51-game, 172-at bat homerless streak from June 17 through August 15...started all five games at second base against Boston in the ALDS and was 2 for 17 (.118).
2002
Had two stints with the A's and took over as Oakland's starting second baseman
during his second stint in just his fourth professional season...started a team leading 83
games at second base, made seven starts and third base and one start at shortstop...batted .272
in 98 games and added 44 walks for a .359 on-base percentage...was named to the Topps Major
League Rookie All-Star team as the second baseman...ranked second among American League
rookies in runs scored (58), fourth in batting, on-base percentage and walks, tied for fourth in
triples (4), tied for fifth in multiple hit games (23), sixth in hits (94) and seventh in doubles (16)...tied for the A's team lead in triples and
led the club with eight sacrifice hits...tied for sixth among all AL players in sacrifice hits...his batting average improved to .324 with runners
in scoring position...batted leadoff a team leading 54 times and hit .262 with 27 walks for a .347 on-base percentage...hit six home
runs, all of which came in Oakland...began the season at Triple-A Sacramento and was 8 for 14 (.571) over his first three games when
he was called up by Oakland on April 7 when Randy Velarde went on the disabled list...made his Major League debut on April 9 at Texas
as a pinch runner but did not play again until April 18 when he made his first ML start against Anaheim at third base...it was his professional
debut at third base...singled off Ramon Ortiz in the seventh inning for his first Major League hit...was optioned back to Sacramento on April 26 after going 1 for 4 in four games with the A's...hit .243 in 18 games during
his second stay with the River Cats and had a .298 batting average in 21 games overall when
the A's called again on June 6...spent the remainder of the season with Oakland...started 83 of
the A's final 102 games at second...had back-to-back three hit games on June 11 and 12 against
Milwaukee, the first multiple hit games of his career...hit his first ML home run on June 28 against
San Francisco off Jay Witasick, a solo shot in the sixth inning...had an Oakland record tying two
triples on August 3 against Detroit...started all five games of the Division Series against Minnesota
at second base and batted .368 (7 for 19) with a home run and four RBI...had three hits in Game
2 and the homer was a three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning of the A's 5-4 loss in Game 5.
2001
Was acquired by the A's organization prior to the season as part of the Johnny Damon trade and spent the entire season at Triple-A Sacramento...had career highs in doubles (38) and home runs (10)...added 21 stolen bases and has stolen at least 20 bases in each of his three professional seasons...led the River Cats in doubles and ranked second in hits (129) and stolen bases...hit .273, his first season under .300...average broke down to .269 (25 for 93) against left handers and .274 (104 for 379) against right handers...fared better on the road where he hit .306 (74 for 242)...however, hit eight of his 10 home runs at Sacramentobs Raley Field...hit in every spot in the order except three, four and five...saw his most playing time batting ninth (54 for 198, .273) but had his best success hitting eighth (26 for 79, .329)...average improved to .305 (18 for 59) with runners in scoring position and two outs...appeared in 131 of Sacramentobs 144 games at shortstop...committed 19 errors after making 31 in 2000...was also 1 for 3 in one start at designated hitter and 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter...started slowly as he batted .207 (17 for 82) in April...had three straight multiple hit games against Las Vegas from May 25-27 (6 for 10) to boost his average to .250 but then hit .230 (26 for 113) over his next 31 games to drop to .241 on June 29...then batted .317 in June and .311 in July and hit .313 (66 for 211) over his final 58 games...was successful in 15 of his 16 stolen base attempts over that span and was 21 for 28 (75.0%) for the season...had a season high five RBI on July 13 at Las Vegas...had a season high nine game hitting streak from July 25 to August 3 (14 for 33, .424)...hit .158 (3 for 19) in five playoff games for Sacramento...played for Phoenix in the Arizona Fall League and hit .308 in 30 games...added 21 walks for a .421 on-base percentage and also stole nine bases.
2000
Spent most of the season at Single-A Wilmington of the Carolina League but was moved up to
Double-A Wichita of the Texas League on August 28...batted a combined .302 with 66 RBI and 83
walks in 139 games...added 28 doubles which led the Royals farm system...was named to the
Carolina League Post-Season All-Star team after leading the league in hits (146) and on-base percentage
(.404) and ranking second in batting (.302)...topped all league shortstops in putouts (219)
and double plays (78) but also led the league in errors (31)...appeared in 132 games at Wilmington
and led the Blue Rocks in runs (83), hits, doubles (27), walks (78) and stolen bases (25) while tying
for the team lead in triples (4)...hit .307 with runners in scoring position and .429 (6 for 14) with the bases loaded...best month of the
season was May when he hit .350 with 20 RBI...that included a 5 for 5 performance on May 9 at Fresno...finished the year at Wichita
where he hit .318 (7 for 22) in seven games.
1999
Was named to the Northwest League All-Star team and the Topps Class-A Short
Season/Rookie League All-Star team as a shortstop in his first professional season...tied for the league lead in runs scored (67) and led
NL shortstops in fielding percentage (.958) and putouts (138)...ranked seventh in batting (.327)...led the Northwest League Champion
Spokane team in runs, hits (92), walks (47) and stolen bases (21)...had a 13-game hitting streak from June 24 to July 6 (22 for 44,
.500)...later hit safely in 12 straight from August 5 to 17 (18 for 50, .360).
