Preston Wilson #44

Makes his offseason home in Miami, Fla...has a daughter, Taya...graduated from Bamberg Erhardt (SC) High School where he set a national record with seven grand slams and was valedictorian of his class...also played football and basketball in high school...named Baseball America's High School Player of the Year in 1992 and played for the U.S. National Junior Team that same year...at Colorado hosted 30 inner-city kids at Coors Field on Saturday games through his "Preston's Pals" program...began the "Preston's Pals" program in South Florida when he was a member of the Marlins...won the 2003 Rockies Good Guy Award as voted by the local BBWAA...was the recipient of the Marlins 2001 All-Heart Award, presented to the player who best exemplifies the team's commitment to the South Florida community...during his tenure with the Marlins, Wilson founded "Preston's Pride" and "Preston's Operation: Back to School," programs to provide for under-privileged and at-risk children...served as a spokesperson for the South Florida Blood Banks Sickle Cell Program...created a scholarship at his high school to help students pay for college...has also helped various programs such as the African American Council of Christian Clergy's "A Dream Come True" program, Sharon Robinson's "Breaking Barriers" program, Adopt-A-Classroom and Make-AWish Foundation...is the stepson of former New York Mets outfielder Mookie Wilson and is the godson of former Reds and Mets star George Foster.

2006

Signed by St. Louis as a free agent on 8/18 after being waived by the Houston Astros on 8/12 and released 8/17...Started that same day (8/18) at CHI in rightfield and went 2-5 with a home run and stolen base...Combined for 17 homers and 72 RBI in 134 games with Houston and St. Louis...Hit .243 down the stretch with St. Louis with eight home runs and 17 RBI in 32 games...Made nine starts for the Cardinals in the leadoff spot, batting .308 (12-39) with five homers and 10 RBI...Hit homers in two of his last four games with five RBI in that span...Tied M.L. record for strikeouts (5) in a 9-inning game, 4/17 vs. MIL...While with Houston, collected his 1,000th career hit on 7/7 vs. STL. Batted .337 (32-95) in June...Tied the game with a 9th-inning homer on 6/20 vs. MIN (Nathan)...Broke up a no-hitter (C. Zambrano) with an 8th-inning single to right field 6/5 vs. CHI...Had 2-4 game 8/23 at NY with home run (second with STL), double and two RBI...Belted first career lead-off HR on 8/29. Was first by a Cardinal since Grudzielanek on 4/27/05 vs. MIL as part of a cycle...Homered and scored twice on 9/1 vs. PIT and hit go-ahead 2-run homer in the 9th on 9/6 at WSH to give the club a short-lived 6-5 lead...Had a two-run, third-inning homer vs. HOU on 9/12 for 2-1 lead...Enjoyed his first taste of postseason action, appearing in 13 games...made two starts in the Division Series vs. San Diego and had hits and scored in each...in the League Championship Series vs. the New York Mets, had the gamewinning RBI in Game 5 with a double that scored David Eckstein...appeared in all five World Series games vs. Detroit, making three starts in leftfield.

2005

After spending much of the 2004 season on the Disabled List, he appeared in 139 games in 2005 between Colorado and Washington...acquired by the Nationals along with undisclosed cash considerations in exchange for RHP Zach Day, OF J.J. Davis and a player to be named or cash considerations on 7/13/05... combined to hit .260 with 29 doubles, 25 home runs and 90 RBI in 139 games for Colorado (71) and Washington (68)... fanned 148 times, or once every 3.51 at-bats...batted .261 with 10 home runs and 43 RBI in 68 games with the Nationals...led Washington in runs (34), hits (66), total bases (112), home runs (10) and RBI (43) in the second half...also paced the Nationals in second-half slugging percentage (.443) among those with at least 100 plate appearances...started 67 games for the Nationals (54 in CF, 11 in LF, 2 in RF)...was the Rockies Opening Day CF for a third straight season...homered and tallied three RBI in an Opening Day 12-10 win vs. SD...posted four RBI in an 8-6 win vs. LA on 4/23...homered twice in a game on two occasions for the Rockies in June: 6/3 vs. CIN and 6/11 vs. DET...acquired late at night on 7/13, flew in from south Florida and made his Nationals debut 15 hours later as Washington kicked off the season's second half at Milwaukee... homered off Doug Davis in first plate appearance with Washington to give Nationals a 1-0 lead thus, became the 18th player to homer in first game with the Nationals/Expos and first player to homer in his first plate appearance with the Nationals/Expos since Guillermo Mota hit a three-run shot in his lone plate appearances with the Expos 6/9/99 vs. BOS...triggered key 6-3 win at PHI with 17th career multi-homer game, first with the Nationals, on 8/15 - both long balls were two-run shots off Brett Myers...led the Nationals in RBI (19) in August...drove in five runs in an 11-7 win on 9/28 at FLA.

2004

Spent 98 games on the Disabled List during an injuryplagued season due to chronic left knee problems and played in just 58 contests...made his sixth consecutive Opening Day start but was able to play in only six games before going on the DL with a meniscus tear in his left knee on 4/14 (retro to 4/13)...underwent surgery 4/19 to repair the torn meniscus and would miss the next 58 games...was sent on a rehab assignment to Double-A Tulsa from 6/12-17 and batted .412 with a double, homer and two RBI in six games before being reinstated 6/18...spent the next two months as the Rockies centerfielder but the knee continued to give him trouble...struggled at the plate upon his return from the DL, batting only .093 (4-for-43) in his first 11 games back...after that, hit .330 (30-for-91) with five doubles, three homers and 14 RBI throughout his next 25 games...recorded career RBI No. 500 8/12 at PIT...was placed back on the DL for the remainder of the season on 8/24...underwent a second surgery 9/10 to debride loose bodies as well as a micro-fracture procedure to enhance cartilage growth...the surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Steadman along with Dr. Thomas Noonan at the Steadman- Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colo.

2003

Named a National League All-Star in his first season in Colorado...led the NL with a career-best 141 RBI, tying Willie Mays (1962) for the eighth-highest total by a centerfielder in Major League history...took sole possession of the RBI lead on 7/9 and held on for the remaining 82 days of the season...tied Dante Bichette (1996) for the fifth highest RBI total in Rockies history, nine shy of Andres Galarraga's club record set in 1996... was leading all of baseball in RBI up until the last week before Carlos Delgado had 10 in his final four games to finish at 145... drove in more runs before the All-Star Break than any player in National League history, 91 RBI in 95 games...tied Harmon Killebrew (1969) for the fifth-most before the break in Major League history...overall became just the 10th player ever with 90+ RBI at the break en route to earning his first appearance in the Mid-Summer Classic...for the year set career highs in hits (169), doubles (43), extra-base hits (80), total bases (322) and home runs (36)...ranked third in NL in extra-base hits, sixth in total bases and tied for 10th in doubles...his 36 homers led the Rockies and also tied for 10th in the circuit...averaged one RBI every 4.25 at bats, just barely behind Barry Bonds (4.33) for the highest ratio in the league...had a team-best 11 go-ahead home runs and the Rockies were 24-8 when he went deep...was hitting .300 as late as 8/13 before going 26-for-his-last-123 (.211) to finish at .282...failed to steal over 20 bases for the first time since 1999 but still led Colorado with 14 SB...set a club record and led all Major Leaguers with 207 at-bats with runners in scoring position (.314, 65-for-207)...it was the most at-bats w/RISP in the Majors since 1996, when Derek Bell had 219 and Paul Molitor 209...after hitting .307 with 32 doubles, 23 homers and 91 RBI during the first half, Wilson was named as a reserve outfielder for the National League at the 74th All-Star Game in Chicago...went 1-for-2 in the contest with a single off Mark Mulder...made his fifth consecutive Opening Day start on 4/1 at HOU and went on to start 153 of Colorado's 162 games in center field...on 4/29 vs. CIN was the lead act in COL's 100th back-to-back home runs in franchise history along with Larry Walker...was the only Rockie to hit a home run over a stretch of 16 full games from 4/30-5/17; the rest of the roster went 495 consecutive at-bats without hitting one out of the park...belted six homers during that stretch, tying Galarraga's club record for consecutive home runs by one player set 6/25-7/2/95...the last big leaguer to hit six consecutive home runs for his team was Barry Bonds 5/18-20, 2001...tied a team record with three doubles on 5/4 at CHI...on 7/10 vs. SF went 3- for-4 with two homers and a career-high six RBI...the six RBI gave him 89 for the season, a Rockies record before the All- Star Break...led the Majors with 34 RBI during the month of July...named NL Co-Player of the Week with Livan Hernandez, 7/7-13 as he batted .429 (12-for-28) with four home runs and 15 RBI...reached 100 RBI faster than any player in Rockies history, doing so in team game No. 107 on 7/26 vs. MIL...belted fourth career grand slam 8/28 vs. SF...Preston's slam was home run No. 32 on the year, setting a new single-season career high and his five RBI that afternoon gave him 126 for the season, also a new career best.

2002

Wilson hit 20 home runs for the fourth consecutive season, the first player in Marlins history to accomplish the feat ... also stole 20 bases in 31 attempts, posting his third consecutive 20-homer, 20 steal season ... now has three of Florida's "20-20" campaigns, more than any other player ... for the year, Preston appeared in a career-low 141 games, batting .243 (124-for-510) with 22 doubles, 2 triples and 65 RBI ... drew a career-high 58 walks, besting his previous high of 55 in 2000 ... collected three multi-homer games, giving him 10 for his career ... recorded eight 3-hit contests and three 4-RBI games ... hit his third career grand slam on Opening Night, April 2 at Montreal off Britt Reames, just the 26th Opening Day grand slam in the major leagues since 1900 ... it was the first Opening Day slam in Marlins history ... recorded his first multi-homer game of the year on May 3 at Milwaukee, his second on June 1 vs. the Mets and his last on June 12 at Kansas City ... hit safely in a season-best six straight games, Aug. 16-21, batting .391 (9-for- 23) ... to take it further, from July 25-Aug. 20, he hit .301 (25-for-83) with 3 doubles, 3 home runs and 7 RBI ... belted his 100th career home run on August 16 at San Francisco ... stole his 20th base of the year on Aug. 20 at Dodger Stadium, then hit his 20th home run Aug. 27 vs. the Mets ... sat out nine straight games, Sept. 19-28, and did not start in Florida's final 10 games, Sept. 19-29, due to inflammation in his left big toe ... did pinch hit in the season finale on Sept. 29 vs. Philadelphia and struckout.

2001

Hit .274 with 23 home runs, 30 doubles, two triples, 71 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 123 games... became the first Marlin to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in consecutive seasons, after hitting 31 homers and stealing 36 bases last year... has two of Florida's four franchise "20-20" seasons, along with Cliff Floyd, who accomplished the feat in 1998 and 2000...became the first Marlin in Club history to post three consecutive 20 home run seasons when he hit two home runs for the fourth time on the season on September 18 at Montreal...hit his 20th in the second inning off Mike Thurman and his 21st in the ninth off Scott Strickland.... hit 26 home runs in 1999 and 31 in 2000... is tied with Gary Sheffield with three 20 home run seasons as a Marlin, tops in Club history... has 81 career home runs, fourth on the Club's all-time list, behind Sheffield (122), Jeff Conine (98) and Cliff Floyd (92)...was tied for fifth in the NL with a .335 (67x200) batting average over the season's first two months (April and May)... hit .323 (31x96) in 24 April games and .346 (36x104) in 28 May contests... his .346 May batting mark ranked eighth in the National League...collected two four-hit games, the fourth and fifth of his career, matching his career high... went 4x4, 2B, RBI on May 13 at San Diego and 4x5, 2 HR, 2B, 3 RBI on May 26 at New York Mets...recorded a career-high 13-game hitting streak from September 1-21... hit .412 (21x51) with six home runs, one double, one triple and 13 RBI over that span... matched a season high with four straight multi-hit games during the streak (.471, 8x17), going 2x4 on September 2 at New York and September 3 and 4 vs. Chicago and 2x5 on September 5 vs. the Cubs...saw his 258 consecutive games played streak end on June 14 at Boston due to a strained back, suffered in Toronto... the 258 games played was the second-longest streak in Marlins history, behind Jeff Conine's 307 games, from April 5, 1993 through May 28, 1995... prior to June 14, Wilson's last game missed was the second game of a doubleheader at Houston on August 27, 1999...connected on seven home runs in September, tied for the second-most in the NL and tied for fifth in the Majors during the month, behind Barry Bonds (12), Alex Rodriguez (12), Rafael Palmeiro (10) and Eric Chavez (8)... marked his most home runs in a month since he hit nine in September of 2000...recorded a .118 batting average in June, 10 hits in 85 at-bats, seeing his average drop from .335 to .270 in the month... after a .234 August (18x77), hit .317 (33x104) in his last 27 games in September and October...collected three consecutive games with at least three hits in the series at San Diego (May 11-13)... opened the set with a 3x5, 2B, 2 RBI game on May 11 and followed by going 3x4 on May 12 and 4x4, 2B, RBI on May 13... overall, had 10 hits in 13 at-bats in the series, a .769 batting average...had a Club-record eight straight hits from May 12 at San Diego through May 15 vs. San Francisco... had hits in each of his final three at-bats on May 12, went 4x4 on May 13 and doubled in his first at-bat on May 15...hit two homers in a game four times, marking seven career multi-homer games... had all four multi-home run games against NL East foes, Montreal and New York: April 20 vs. Montreal (a two-run shot in the 3rd inning off Tony Armas and a solo shot off Ugueth Urbina in the 8th inning), May 26 at New York (NL) (solo shots in the 3rd inning off Glendon Rusch and in the seventh inning off Donne Wall), September 2 at New York (solo shots in the 6th inning off Rusch and in the 8th inning off Tom Martin) and September 18 at Montreal...hit a two-out game-winning RBI infield single off John Franco on June 3, breaking a personal 0x13 slide, in a 1-0 victory over the Mets... turned a 6-4 ninth inning deficit into a 7-6 victory over the Cubs on September 5 as he hit a game-ending two-out three-run homer to right field off closer Tom Gordon...notched his second straight season with 20 or more stolen bases as he stole two bases in the season finale on September 7 at Atlanta.... finished second on the Club with 20 steals, behind Castillo's 33... recorded three multi-steal games, including two in his final five games... had 16 steals of second base, three swipes of third and one steal of home... stole home on April 15 in a 6-3 win at Montreal off Tony Armas and Randy Knorr, his second career steal of home, fifth in Club history... was the first natural steal of home in Club history...had four sets of back-to-back homer games: September 4 (off Jon Lieber) and 5 (off Tom Gordon) vs. Chicago, August 11 (off Powell) and 12 (off Mlicki) vs. Houston and August 24 (off Jones) and 25 (off Herndon) vs. San Diego... hit three homers in two days, May 26 (off Rusch and Wall) and 27 (off Gonzalez) at the Mets.

2000

Named the Marlins Most Valuable Player by the South Florida Chapter of the Baseball Writer's Association of America (BBWAA) after posting marks that rank among the top five in single-season Club history in seven offensive categories... ranked first in RBI (121), second in home runs (31), tied for second in games (161), second in at-bats (605), second in runs (94), second in total bases (294), third in extra-base hits (69), fifth in doubles (35) and sixth in stolen bases (35)...Became just the 23rd player in baseball history and the first Marlins player to hit 30 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season... it marked the 38th time in baseball history a player accomplished the feat, with Wilson becoming the 14th active player in the 30-30 club...Clubbed a team-high 31 home runs and drove in a Club record 121 runs... hit a two-run triple in the first inning off Philadelphia's Amaury Telemaco on October 1, the final game of the season, to eclipse Gary Sheffield's previous record of 120 RBI...Joined Jeff Conine as the only Marlins in history to play in every game of a season, playing in all 161 games... the 161 games played equaled the second-highest total in Club history, tying Sheffield's 161 in 1996... Conine also played in every game in 1993 (162 games) and 1994 (115 games)...Led the team in games played, at-bats, home runs, RBI, runs, extra-base hits and total bases...The Marlins went 23-6 in games in which Wilson homered in 2000...Equaled a Club record by hitting home runs in four straight games from May 10-13... Kurt Abbott also accomplished the feat on June 14-17, 1994...Joined Conine as the only Marlins players to hit at least 25 home runs in consecutive seasons, with Conine hitting 25 in 1995 and 26 in 1996... joined Conine and Sheffield as the only Marlins players to hit 25 home runs in a season twice...Finished tied for fourth in the National League in games played (161), sixth in stolen bases (36), eighth in RBI (121) and tied for ninth in at-bats (605)... ranked ninth in the Majors in stolen bases and tied for 16th in RBI...Ranked first among National League cleanup hitters in stolen bases, ranked second to Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal) in RBI and tied for fourth in home runs...Earned the top ranking in the Majors in Bill James' power/speed number, with a 33... Atlanta's Andruw Jones ranked second with a 27...Ranked 16th among NL outfielders with a .988 fielding percentage, with only five errors in 401 total chances... ranked second on the team with nine outfield assists...Established a new Club record with 187 strikeouts, equaling the second-highest total in Major League history... Bobby Bonds posted 189 strikeouts in 1970 and 187 in 1969... avoided the record by striking out only twice over his final 17 at-bats in the last six games of the season...Joined Cliff Floyd as the only Marlins to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases in a season, stealing his 20th base in the first game of a doubleheader on July 20 vs. Atlanta... Wilson and Floyd also became the first Marlins players to have 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases before the All-Star Break in 2000...Collected over 20 RBI in one month three times, including 27 in 28 games in May, 23 in 25 games in July and 23 in 28 games in September... his nine home runs and 27 RBI in May surpassed Conine's Club record of eight home runs and 23 RBI in May of 1996...Finished the season with 58 career home runs and 193 career RBI, the fourth-highest career totals in Marlins history...Equaled a career high with four RBI in a game seven times during the 2000 season, including back-to-back games against the Mets on May 12-13 and three times in a span of eight games from May 6-13... drove in a League-high 16 runs against the Mets this season, hitting .295 (13-for-44) with four home runs against his former team...Drove in his 100th run of the season on a three-run home run in the ninth inning off Darren Holmes on September 2, joining Conine, Sheffield and Moises Alou as the only Marlins players to accomplish the feat...Hit .320 (31-for-97) with nine home runs, six doubles and 23 RBI in September... his .660 slugging percentage in September ranked seventh in the National League, his nine home runs was tied for eighth and his 23 RBI ranked 12th...Hit .471 (8-for-17) with two doubles, six runs and three RBI in the final homestand of the season, leading the Marlins to just the third 6-0 homestand in Club history...Collected 28 RBI over the final 34 games of the season, hitting .331 (39-for-118) over that span, and drove in 25 runs over the final 28 games...Went 3-for-4 with a single, a double, a triple, a stolen base and two RBI in the final game of the season, a 7-5 win over Philadelphia...Completed the fourth steal of home in Marlins history in the fourth inning on September 29 vs. Philadelphia... went 2-for-3 with an RBI double and three runs...Hit his 31st and final home run of the season (428 feet) off John Wasdin in the Marlins 3-1 win over Colorado on September 23, hitting home runs in consecutive games for the third time this season and for the sixth time in his career... hit five home runs in a span of eight games from September 16-23...Became the second Marlins player to hit 30 home runs in a season with a solo home run off Julian Tavarez in the third inning on September 22 at Colorado, giving the Marlins a 3-2 lead in an 8-4 win...Hit the Marlins 151st home run of the season off Mike Thurman on September 19 in a 3-1 win over Montreal, establishing a new Club record for home runs in a season...Established a new career high by hitting his 27th home run of the season off Omar Daal in the Marlins 3-2 win at Philadelphia on September 16... drove in all three Florida runs in the game, hitting a two-run home run in the first inning and driving in a third run on a fielder's choice in the sixth...Delivered a game-winning RBI single off Russ Springer in the bottom of the 12th inning in the Marlins 4-3 win over Arizona on September 10 in Miami...Notched four straight multi-hit games for the second time in his career on September 1-4, including two straight three-hit games on September 2-3... also had four straight multi-hit games on May 25-29, 1999...Equaled a career high with two stolen bases in a game for the sixth time this season on September 3 at Arizona...Hit two home runs in a game for the third time in his career and the second time this season on September 2 at Arizona, going 3-for-5 with four RBI in the Marlins 10-1 win over Curt Schilling and the Diamondbacks... hit a solo home run in the sixth off Schilling and a three-run home run in the ninth off Darren Holmes...Did not hit a home run for 35 games from July 20-August 26, ending the drought with a solo home run off Rob Bell in the Marlins 7-6 win over Cincinnati on August 27...Put together an eight-game hitting streak from July 8-18, hitting .407 (11-for-27) with three home runs, three doubles and 14 RBI during the streak... drove in runs in five straight games from July 14-20 (10 RBI), including at least two RBI in four straight games from July 14-18...Hit .345 (19-for-55) with five home runs and 20 RBI in 15 games from June 28-July 18, raising his batting average 15 points, from .248 to .263...Hit his 20th home run of the season off Roger Clemens on July 14 against the Yankees in his 90th game, the second-fastest Marlins player to reach the mark... Sheffield hit 20 home runs in 68 games in 1996...Went 3-for-5 with a 459-foot three-run home run, a double and four RBI in a 10-9 win over Tampa Bay on July 9, finishing with a Club record 67 RBI before the All-Star Break...Drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the Marlins a 6-5 lead in a win over Tampa Bay on July 8...Hit two home runs in a game for the second time in his career in the Marlins 7-4 comeback win over Chicago on June 24, joining Derrek Lee as the only pair of Marlins players to hit two home runs in the same game... hit a solo home run in the fifth to tie the game at 1-1 and a game-winning, three-run home run off Rick Aguilera in the eighth inning to give the Marlins a 6-4 lead... went 2-for-4 with four RBI in the game...Hit safely in eight straight games from June 12-20, hitting .343 (12-for-35) with two home runs, three doubles, a triple and two RBI over that span...Drove in four runs to power the Marlins to an 11-10 win over Toronto on June 2, going 2-for-5 with a two-run double and a home run...Notched a bases-loaded single in the 10th inning to give the Marlins a 7-6 lead in an 8-6 win at Cincinnati on May 27... went 3-for-5 and hit the 32nd home run in the 31-year history of Cinergy Field to reach the red seats in the upper deck in the third inning off Rob Bell, estimated at 437 feet... was just the 11th visiting player to accomplish the feat... followed a Cliff Floyd home run, the second time in three games Floyd and Wilson hit back-to-back home runs... the pair also went back-to-back on May 25 at St. Louis...Became the fourth Marlins player to hit five home runs in a span of six games on May 16, hitting five home runs from May 10-16...Hit safely in eight straight games from May 6-13, hitting .400 (12-for-30) with five home runs, five doubles and 16 RBI over the eight-game span and raising his batting average 36 points, from .226 to .262... led the Marlins to a 7-1 record in the eight games against the Mets (4-0) and Braves (3-1)...Drove in eight runs in two games against his former team, the New York Mets, in two Marlins wins on May 12-13 in New York, hitting .556 (5-for-9) in the two games... hit a three-run home run off Dennis Cook in the seventh inning to give the Marlins a 6-4 lead in a 7-6 win on May 13, the fourth straight game in which he hit a home run...Belted a 452-foot first-inning home run off Kevin Millwood to give the Marlins a 3-1 lead in a 5-4 win on May 11...Hit his second career grand slam off Armando Benitez in the eighth inning of the Marlins 9-1 win over the Mets on May 6...Began the season by hitting safely in a season-high nine straight games, hitting .333 (11-for-33) with a home run, three doubles and eight RBI over that span.

1999

Was runner-up in voting for the 1999 Jackie Robinson National League Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA)... garnered nine first-place votes and a total of 88 points, 30 behind winner Scott Williamson of the Cincinnati Reds...Honored by fellow Major Leaguers in the Players Choice Awards as the National League's Outstanding Rookie of the Year...Named Marlins Rookie of the Year by the South Florida Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA)...Named to the 1999 Topps All-Star Rookie team along with teammate Alex Gonzalez...Selected as The Sporting News National League Rookie Player of the Year and was a member of Baseball Digest's All-Star Rookie Team...Led all Major League rookies in home runs and slugging percentage...Tied for second in the National League with three pinch-hit home runs in 1999...Set Club record with third pinch-hit home run July 30 at Pittsburgh, a 2-run game-winner... had pinch-hit home runs May 9 at Los Angeles and June 15 at Arizona...Hit .455 (5-for-11) with three HR and four RBI on road trip May 24-26 at Chicago... hit .462 (18-for-39) with four homers, three doubles and 10 RBI over a 10-game hit streak May 20-30 with six two-hit games and a three-hit game over the 10 games...Established career high with four hits June 16 at Arizona... matched high with four hits July 19 at Boston and July 23 vs Milwaukee...Reached base in 22 straight games June 29-July 24... batted .449 (31-for-69) with .519 OB% (41-for-79, 3 HR, 7 2B, 12 RBI, 10 R, 10 BB) with a career-high 12-game hit streak during the 22 games...Celebrated 25th birthday July 19 at Boston with his second career four-hit game, including a double and his 18th homer, breaking Derrek Lee's Club rookie record...Crushed his first Major League grand slam August 16 at Los Angeles (off Mike Maddux) for his 20th HR and set a career high with four RBI in a game...Tied Club mark with three homers in two games May 25-26 at Chicago...connected for first career multi-homer game May 25...Homered in back-to-back games, April 19 at Philadelphia and April 20 at San Francisco... blast on April 19 was 50th upper deck homer hit at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia... hit a home upper deck shot April 29 vs. Chicago...Homered in back-to-back games September 8 vs. Los Angeles and September 9 at Cincinnati.

1998

Made Major League debut for New York Mets with three hits May 7 vs. St. Louis, including a single off Donovan Osborne in his first at-bat... collected three hits, including two doubles, in his second game on May 8 vs. St. Louis...Connected for two hits, including a home run, to assist Charlotte in a 9-1 defeat of his former club, Norfolk, on the same day he was traded to Florida...Was recalled September 1 from AAA Charlotte and became 26th rookie and 48th player used by Florida during season on September 2 vs. St. Louis...Launched first Major League homer in third start with Marlins on September 6 vs. Montreal... the 393-foot solo shot was off reliever Javier Vazquez...Tabbed the 70th-best prospect and rated the Mets third-best prospect by Baseball America prior to the season...Had eight-game hit streak April 17-May 18 while at Norfolk... hit .353 (12-for-34) with three doubles, a triple and three RBI during stretch...Hit a pair of homers May 30 in a 6-3 win at Syracuse and had gone deep five times in first nine games for his new club while batting .364... hit .333 (19-for-57, 5 2B, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB) in first 15 games for the Knights...Was 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and two stolen bases in a 6-2 win against Rochester August 11... reached base safely by hit or walk in 22 consecutive games August 9-30 (18-for-72, 4 2B, 8 HR, 17 RBI, 6 SB).

1997

Split 1997 season between Class A St. Lucie and AA Binghamton and enjoyed first injury-free season of career... hit a combined .266 (134-for-504) with 30 homers, 24 doubles, two triples and 95 RBI... was one of four Mets Minor Leaguers to hit 30 or more home runs and his 95 RBI were second in the Mets organization...Went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a home run and five RBI vs. Charlotte in the second game of an April 18 doubleheader... put together 10 two-hit games and six three-hit contests...Played first game at AA Binghamton June 21 (2-for-5, two runs and a solo homer) and hit safely in first seven AA games (.391, 9-for-23) with four doubles, two home runs and six RBI...In two games vs. Portland on August 15-16, went 7-for-11 with five runs scored, four home runs (two in each game) and seven RBI... knocked in four runs three times, July 18 vs. Reading, August 7 vs. New Britain and August 15 vs. Portland...Recorded 15 two-hit games, four three-hit contests and the one four-hit game at AA Binghamton...hit safely in five straight games (.500, 12-for-24) from August 12-16.

1996

Put on the shelf three times during 1996 campaign... injured right wrist during spring training and began season on disabled list with Class A St. Lucie until being reinstated April 19... placed on disabled list again May 21 because of the wrist and underwent surgery May 24 to repair fracture of the hamate bone in the right wrist (performed by Dr. Richard Eaton at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan)... returned from DL July 13 and after injuring his right shoulder was placed on the disabled list on July 29 for the rest of the season.