The Dodgers are headed to the postseason for the fourth consecutive year, after winning the National League West. As this will be the first time that many fans across the Majors will be focusing on their roster, here's our attempt to learn the origins of rookie sensation Corey Seager.
Corey Seager, SS
Born: Charlotte, N.C.
DOB: 4/27/94
HS: Northwest Cabarrus (N.C.) High School
Minors: Ogden (R), Great Lakes (A), Rancho Cucamonga (A+), Chattanooga (AA), Tulsa (AA), Oklahoma City (AAA)
:: Before they were postseason-bound: Select a player ::
Path to Los Angeles: Was selected by the Dodgers with the 18th overall pick in the 2012 Draft. Made his big league debut on Sept. 3 of last season.
Trophy case: 2016 June National League Rookie of the Month, Baseball America 2015 Triple-A Player of the Year, Baseball America 2014 Class-A Player of the Year, Gatorade 2012 Player of the Year in North Carolina, Baseball America First-Team All-American
Famous feat(s): Became the first Dodgers rookie in 57 years to slug three home runs in a game when he did so against the Braves on June 3. Also became the youngest shortstop (22 years, 38 days) in MLB history to homer three times in a game.
"That's cool, one of the things that's exciting is to be part of the history here," Seager said. "These don't come around too much, so you want to enjoy them."
You might not know: Was named as one of three team captains on the 2010 USA Baseball 16-and-under National Team, batting .514 with a homer and 12 RBIs while earning All-Tournament honors and helping lead the team to a gold medal at the Pan-American Games in Mexico.
Six degrees of Willie Aikens: He played alongside future Astros infielder and 2015 No. 1 overall pick Alex Bregman with the USA Baseball 16-and-under National Team in '10.
Gifted family: Corey comes from an athletically gifted family. His oldest brother, Kyle, was a third-round pick of the Mariners in the 2009 Draft. The middle brother, Justin, was drafted by the Mariners in the 12th round of the '13 Draft. With three competitors in the same household growing up, there often were clashes among the siblings.
"We used to get into fights all the time over basketball, ping-pong and stuff," Seager told the Orange County Register. "It got heated sometimes."
His father, Jeff, played baseball at Farleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey.
Jeter fan: Seager has understandably been compared to Derek Jeter over the years. Jeter won the Rookie of the Year Award and the World Series in his first full season. Seager has a chance to do the same.
"It is too big to comprehend," Seager told the New York Times. "From Day 1, he was kind of the guy I always watched. It's hard not to respect him and what he did in his career, how he went about it in every aspect of hit life, not just on the field but off the field. That's a guy that you can really model everything after."