Jason Kendall #18

Full name is Jason Daniel Kendall...has a son, Kuyper, and a daughter, Karoline...Participated in the 2010 Royals FanFest and 2011 Royals Caravan...Graduated from Torrance (Calif.) High, where he tied a national high school record with a 43-game hitting streak which began in his junior season...His father, Fred, was a former Major League catcher with San Diego, Cleveland and Boston from 1969-1980...his coaching career included a stop in Kansas City from 2006-07 as Buddy Bell's bullpen coach...Involved in the Salvation Army's Children's Youth and Bundle-Up programs...donated tickets to underprivileged kids through a "Kendall Kids" ticket program during his time in Pittsburgh...1998 recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award, presented by the Pittsburgh chapter of the BBWAA...Played in the 20th Annual Pepsi All-Star Softball Game in 2001, an event which raised money for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation...2001 recipient of the Dapper Dan Award, presented annually since 1939 to a Pittsburgh sports figure in recognition of outstanding achievement on a national level...2006 recipient of the Jim "Catfish" Hunter Award, given annually to the A's player, as voted on by teammates, whose play on the field and conduct in the clubhouse best exemplifies the courageous, competitive and inspirational spirit of Hunter.

2010

Jason served as the Royals primary catcher through August 30 before missing the final 31 games with a right shoulder injury that required surgery...Stole 12 bases, marking his ninth season with double-digit steals, the most all-time by a catcher...Opened the campaign by hitting in 14 straight games, the second-longest season-opening streak in franchise history, trailing only George Brett (19 in 1983)...according to Elias, Kendall is also just the fifth catcher to open a season with a 14-game streak or longer and fell 1 game shy of the record...Scored his 1,000th career run on May 19 at Cleveland...Had 17 RBI in June, his most in any month since collecting a career-high 21 in May of 1999 and his fourth-highest total in any month of his career...Caught his 2000th career game on July 26 vs. Minnesota, becoming the fifth player in MLB history to do so...Hall of Famer Gary Carter is fourth at 2,056...accomplished the feat in his 15th season, the fastest player ever to 2,000 games behind the plate...Underwent season-ending surgery on September 24 in Los Angeles to repair an extensive tear in right rotator cuff.

2009

Made 131 starts behind the plate in his second season with the Brewers...the 131 starts were the third-most in the N.L...Was hit by a pitch 17 times, the second-most in the National League...Recorded his 2,000th career hit, a single, off the Cardinals' Kyle Lohse on May 18 at St. Louis.

2008

Led the Majors in starts behind the plate in 2008...Threw out 36 of 91 runners attempting to steal (39.6%) in 2008, leading the Majors in runners caught stealing and finishing second in caught stealing pct.

2007

Began the season with the A's and hit .226 with two home runs and 22 RBI in 80 games before he was traded to the Chicago Cubs with cash on July 16 for Rob Bowen and minor league pitcher Jerry Blevins...hit .270 with a home run and 19 RBI in 57 games with the Cubs and batted .242 with three home runs and 41 RBI in 137 games overall...the batting average was a career low, 24 points below his previous low of .266 in 2001...also had career lows in on-base percentage (.301), slugging (.309), runs (45) and walks (31) and matched his low in doubles (20), RBI (41) and stolen bases (3)...the slugging percentage was second lowest in the Major Leagues (Punto, MIN .271)...however, his three home runs were two more than his combined total over the previous two seasons...was hit by a pitch nine times, which matches his career low...now has 218 career hit by pitches, which ranks seventh in ML history...appeared in 132 games at catcher and made just 130 starts, the first time he has not started at least 140 games since 2001 (127)...tied for second among ML catchers in games started, the first time he has not led the Majors since 2001...has now started 1119 games at catcher since 2000, which is the most in the Majors by 100 games (Jorge Posada, 1019)...tossed out 13 of 124 (11.5%) attempted base stealers, which was the fourth lowest percentage in the Majors...his 111 stolen bases allowed were second most in the Majors (Bard, CLE 121) and second most in his career...played 137 games overall, which were his fewest since 1999 when he played in just 78 games...stole three bases, all with the A's, and now has 162 career steals, which are the most by a ML catcher since Ray Schalk stole 177 bases from 1912-29...had 42 strikeouts and 31 walks, just the fourth time in his career he had more strikeouts than walks...however, averaged 12.2 plate appearances per strikeout, which was seventh best in the Majors...hit .198 off left-handed pitching, which ranked sixth lowest in the Majors...had a .259 average off right-handers and now has a .297 career average off both left-handers and right-handers in his career...in addition to his 132 games at catcher, he also made two appearances in left field, both with the A's, and was 1 for 4 (.250) with a walk and a RBI as a pinch hitter, all with the Cubs...hit eight 64 times and ninth 41 times...made 37 starts in the nine spot in the order with Oakland, his first career starts hitting ninth...made his 12th consecutive Opening Day start at catcher on April 2 at Seattle, including his third straight as an Athletic...struck out three times in that game, just the fourth three-strikeout game of his career...hit .169 with five RBI in April...his April batting average was fourth lowest in the American League and his lowest ever in a month where he played at least five games...his previous low was .202 in August, 2005...had a .218 (52 for 239) April average in his three seasons with the A's...followed that up by hitting .213 in May...doubled in the sixth inning on May 16 against Kansas City to snap a career long streak of 32 games and 123 at bats without an extra base hit...that was the sixth longest such streak in Oakland history and the longest since Mike Bordick went 134 at bats from July 20, 1994 to June 3, 1995...then went another 20 games and 73 at bats before his next extra base hit, a double on June 12 at Houston...threw out Jay Payton attempting to steal in the third inning on May 25 at Baltimore, snapping a streak of 31 consecutive stolen base attempts off him...it was the longest such streak of his career...was batting .194 at the conclusion of play on June 10 but hit safely in each of his next six games from June 12 to 18 (12 for 26, .462) to boost his average to .225...homered off Chris Sampson in the sixth inning on June 13 at Houston for his first home run since May 31, 2006 against Kansas City (Peralta)...the home run snapped a 157- game, 619-at bat homerless streak, which was the fifth longest homerless streak in Oakland history...played left field on June 12 and 14 at Houston, his first appearances in the outfield since September 28, 2001 at St. Louis...made 27 starts in the outfield in 2001, his only career appearances at a defensive position other than catcher entering 2007...finished June with a .295 batting average...hit .214 over his first nine games with the Cubs before a 13 for 32 (.406) streak from July 31 to August 10 pushed his National League average to .317...capped the streak with back-to-back three hit games at Colorado on August 9 and 10...was 8 for 16 (.500) against the Rockies for the season and now has a .373 (91 for 244) career average against Colorado, his best mark against any team...ended up batting .349 (29 for 83) with 12 RBI in 26 games in August...then hit .183 (11 for 60) in September, just the second time he has hit under .200 in a month in his career...returned to postseason play for the second consecutive year after going the first 10 years of his career without reaching postseason...appeared in just one game for the Cubs in the National League Division Series against Arizona, going 1 for 4 with one RBI in Game 3 of the Diamondbacks three-game sweep.

2006

Kendall was the A's iron man again in 2006, appearing at catcher in 141 games, and starting 42 straight games at catcher from Aug. 11-Sept. 26. He has now started 989 games at catcher since 2000, which ranks first in the Majors. He committed just five errors and had a career-high .995 fielding percentage (983 total chances). Kendall started the first half of the 2006 season hitting .264, but dramatically improved his hitting in the second half. Kendall (.295) finished second behind Jay Payton (.296) on the A's. He hit .323 after the All-Star break, with 13 doubles in 28 games while batting leadoff. In August, Kendall hit .358 with 15 multi-hit games and 13 RBIs in 26 games. On May 31 against the Royals' Joel Peralta, Kendall hit his first homer in 247 games, 961 at-bats. Made his postseason debut in 2006, after playing 1,545 regular-season games without a playoff appearance, which was the third most among active players.

2005

Was acquired by the A's from Pittsburgh during the off-season and hit .271 with no home runs and 53 RBI in 150 games in his first season in the American League...the batting average was the second lowest of his career (.266 in 2001) and it marked just the second time he batted under .283...now has a .302 career batting average...had just 29 extra base hits (28 doubles, 1 triple) and his .321 slugging percentage was a career low and the lowest in the Majors by 20 points (Willy Taveras, HOU .341)...it was ninth lowest in Oakland history and it was the lowest since Scott Brosius slugged .317 in 1997...did not homer in 601 at bats, setting an Oakland record for most at bats in a season without a home run...the previous mark was 396 by Willie Wilson in 1992...in Athletics history, only Irv Hall of the 1945 Philadelphia A's had more at bats in a season without a home run (616)...the last Major Leaguer to have more at bats without a home run in a season is Harold Reynolds who had 613 for Seattle in 1989...his 601 at bats were fourth most by an AL hitter without a home run in the designated hitter era (since 1973)...now has a 206-game, 822-at bat homerless streak dating back to his last home run on July 27, 2004 against Atlanta's Paul Byrd...his 53 RBI set an Oakland record for RBI without a home run, topping Wilson's 37 in 1992...they were the most by an Athletic since Hall had 54 in 1943...the last ML hitter to have more RBI without a home run is Willie Randolph who had 54 for Milwaukee in 1991...that is also the AL record in the designated hitter ERA...started a career high 146 of the A's 162 games at catcher, setting an Oakland record for most starts by a catcher...those were the most starts by a ML catcher since Benito Santiago had 148 for San Diego in 1991 and they were the most by an AL catcher since Rick Cerrone also started 146 games behind the plate for New York in 1980...has started 848 games behind the plate since 2000 which is 75 more than any other catcher (Jorge Posada, 773)...appeared in a career high tying 147 games overall at catcher and led the Majors in games caught for the fourth consecutive season...set an Oakland record for games caught and his 147 games were second most in A's history to Frankie Hayes who caught 155 games in 1944...set Athletics franchise records for total chances (1044) and putouts (986) and led ML catchers in both categories...caught all but 164.1 innings for the A's...made just seven errors and had a career high .993 fielding percentage...allowed 101 stolen bases which set an Oakland record and were the most in the Majors...tossed out just 15.1% (18 of 119) of attempted base stealers which was the second lowest percentage in the Majors (Piazza, NYM 10.9%)...tied an Athletics record with 20 hit by pitches, equaling the mark set by Don Baylor in 1976...ranked third in the AL and now has 197 career hit by pitches which is eighth most in ML history...struck out just 39 times in 676 plate appearances, an average of 17.33 plate appearances per strikeout which was the best figure in the AL...it was the fourth best ratio in Oakland history and the best by an AL leader since Ozzie Guillen's 21.96 for Chicago in 1997...had fewer strikeouts than walks for the fourth consecutive season and has had more strikeouts than walks just twice in his career...led the A's with eight stolen bases which equaled the second lowest total of his career...however, it was the second most stolen bases by a catcher in Oakland history to Scott Hemond who had 13 stolen bases while playing catcher in 1993...reached base on an error 16 times which led the Majors...led AL hitters in percentage of swings put in play (56.9%) and lowest percentage of swinging at the first pitch (6.4%), ranked second in percentage of swings that miss (7.9%) and was third in percentage of pitches taken (62.5%)...grounded into a career high 26 double plays which tied for the AL lead and was second most in Oakland history...hit .344 (44 for 128) with runners in scoring position which ranked seventh in AL...batted .386 (22 for 57) with RISP and two outs...hit .271 in Oakland and .271 on the road...batted .300 or better in three different months, including .300 in June, .311 in July and .324 in September...now has a .320 (241 for 752) career average in September which is his best for any month of the season...however, hit just .202 in August which was his lowest batting average ever in a month...previous low was .225 in August of 2002...batted .243 (56 for 230) over his first 59 games and then hit .394 (37 for 94) over a 23-game span from June 17 to July 16 to boost his average to a season high .287...went 36 for 180 (.200) over 44 games from July 17 to September 5 and then went 34 for 97 (.351) over his final 24 games...started games in each of the first three spots in the batting order...hit .275 (88 for 320) with a .349 on-base percentage in 77 starts in the leadoff spot, .264 (61 for 231) in 59 starts hitting second and .280 (14 for 50) in 13 starts hitting third...hit second in 31 of the A's first 48 games, but then batted leadoff in 73 of the A's 87 games from May 30 to September 4...batted .323 (20 for 62) in interleague play and .265 (143 for 539) against AL teams...made his 10th consecutive Opening Day start at catcher on April 4 at Baltimore, the first nine of which came with Pittsburgh from 1996-2004...started each of the A's first 16 games at catcher which was the third longest season opening streak by an Oakland catcher...Ray Fosse started the first 50 games in 1973 and Mike Heath started 18 straight to begin the 1985 season...allowed five stolen bases on April 9 at Tampa Bay, his first of three five-steal games (April 23 at Los Angeles and May 15 vs. New York)...opponents were successful in 17 consecutive steal attempts from April 17 to May 1 and 24 straight from May 6 to June 12 and he tossed out just 2 of 47 (4.3%) base runners from April 17 to June 21...had a season high three RBI on June 26 against San Francisco to snap a career long 20-game stretch without an RBI from June 1 to 25...had five straight multiple hit games from July 6 to 10 as part of a season high tying nine-game hitting streak from July 6 to 17 (18 for 39, .462)...singled off Joaquin Benoit in the seventh inning on July 15 against Texas for career hit number 1500...had a season long 0 for 19 streak from July 17-21...had two of the A's biggest plays of the season over a 17-game stretch in July and August...on July 22 at Texas, he recorded an unassisted putout at home plate on a wild pitch for the final out in the A's 11-10 win...then scored the winning run from third base in the bottom of the ninth inning on August 11 against Los Angeles when Francisco Rodriguez did not catch the throw back to the pitcher following a pitch...his second inning RBI single on July 25 against Cleveland was the 500th RBI of his career...had his 5000th career at bat on August 5 at Kansas City...had a career best 69-game errorless streak from June 2 to August 29, which was the seventh longest errorless streak by a catcher in Oakland history ...started 19 consecutive games at catcher from September 7 to 27 which was the longest such streak by an Oakland catcher since Bob Kearney started 20 straight games from May 1 to 24, 1983.

2004

Led all Major League catchers in games (146), runs scored (86) and hits (183)...ranked eighth among National League hitters in batting average (.319), third with a .346 average with runners in scoring position and ninth with a .399 on-base percentage...hit .300 or better for the sixth time in nine big-league seasons and has a .306 career batting average, which ranks eighth among active players with a minimum of 5000 plate appearances...his batting average dipped below .300 for just 10 days during the entire season...finished his Pirates career with 1,409 career hits, ranking 16th on the club's all-time list...established a career high with 1086 total chances behind the plate...led ML catchers in games caught for the third consecutive season and also finished first in 2004 in assists (78)...became the Pirates all-time leader in career games caught (1,205)...has caught 715 games since 2000 which is the most in baseball over that span (Jorge Posada, 682)...threw out 31 of the 96 baserunners attempting to steal against him (32.3%), which ranked third best in the majors...walked 60 times and struck out just 41 times, the fifth time in his career he has finished with more walks than strikeouts...has a career average of 13.11 plate appearances per strikeouts (403 so in 5283 pa), the fifth best mark among active players...made his ninth straight Opening Day start behind the plate...in Pirates history only George Gibson's 10-year streak from 1906 thru 1915 is longer...reached base safely in each of his first 11 games...committed errors in back-to-back games on April 9 and April 11 at Cincinnati; then went 20 straight contests without a miscue...had a season-high 59-game errorless streak from May 28 thru July 31...produced the league's fourth-longest hitting streak; a 20-game streak from May 8 thru June 3...went 32 for 89 (.360) during that stretch and raised his batting average from .281 to .320...moved into the leadoff spot of the batting order on May 8 vs. Los Angeles...hit .326 (155 for 475) with 49 walks, 15 hit by pitches and 68 runs scored as the leadoff batter (.404 on-base percentage)... went 7 for 8 in a doubleheader at Texas on June 10, raising his batting average 23 points from .309 to .332...had seven straight hits that day, the most by a Pirate since Brian Giles in 2003...caught a season-high 34 straight games from May 28 thru July 2 (game one); sat out game two on July 2 and then made 31 straight appearances behind the plate from July 3 thru August 7...hit safely in 27 of his 28 games from May 8 thru June 12 to raise his average to .329...homered off Seattle's Shigetoshi Hasegawa for his first home run on June 20...went deep for the second time in four games with his first career grand slam (his 4,278th career at bat) off Houston's David Weathers at Minute Maid Park on June 23...reached base safely in 32 consecutive games from June 26 thru August 1...hit .405 (15 for 37) during a 10-game hitting streak from July 10-24...made his first of two pinch-hitting appearances on July 22 at Atlanta (IBB)...hit his third and final home run on July 27 vs. Atlanta (off Paul Byrd)...surpassed George Gibson to become Pittsburgh's all-time games caught leader with appearance number 1,156 on August 3 at Los Angeles (the record had stood for 88 years)...was ejected for charging the mound on August 15 vs. Colorado...served a three-game suspension for the infraction on September 18 and 19 (DH)...flied out as a pinch-hitter on August 20 at St. Louis (game two)...hit just .288 during the month of August, but batted .400 in September...failed to collect a triple for the first time in his career...hit .271 (23 for 85) while batting third and .385 while batting second (5 for 13)...batted .412 (21 for 51) with runners in scoring position and two outs.

2003

Led all Major League catchers in starts (145) and appearances (146) for the second straight year...ranked sixth in the National League batting race (.325), his highest average since hitting .332 in 1999...established a career high in hits (191) and tied his career high in games started...his 191 hits were the most by a Pirate since Andy Van Slyke recorded 199 in 1992 and the seventh-most by a Major League catcher in a single season (min. 100 games at catcher)...ranked second in the league in hit by pitches (25) and tied for fifth in multi-hit games (55)...also finished among the league leaders in road batting average (.336), night batting average (.333), average vs. right-handers (.331) and hardest to fan (16.7 pa/so)...led the Pirates in games played, average, hits, infield hits (28), multi-hit games and runs scored (84)...made his eighth straight Opening Day start at catcher...connected off Jimmy Haynes for his first career Opening Day home run on March 31 at Cincinnati...equaled his previous season's home run total with his third home run on April 8 vs. Milwaukee...hit just one home run in 108 games (419 at bats) from April 9 thru August 19 after hitting three long balls in the first six games (25 AB)...reached base safely in his first 19 starts (29 straight dating back to September 14, 2002)...snapped a 60-game errorless streak with a miscue on May 6 at Houston...appeared in his 1,000th career game on May 25 vs. St. Louis...went 64 for 182 (.352) over a 44-game span from May 28 thru July 21...was ejected for his role in an on-field altercation with the Devil Rays' Marlon Anderson on June 14 at Tampa Bay...hit safely in a career-high 23 straight games from June 24 thru July 21 (39 for 99, .394), the fifth longest streak in the NL...reached base safely in 57 of his 59 games from June 24 thru September 3...scored a run in nine consecutive games from July 5-13...appeared in his 1,000th game behind the plate on July 20 vs. Milwaukee...went 0 for 4 on July 22 vs. Houston, snapping his hit streak at 23 games...served a three-game suspension for his June 14 altercation from July 29- 31...batted .437 (38 for 87) with 12 multi-hit efforts in 22 games from August 8 thru September 2...recorded a sacrifice bunt on August 11 vs. St. Louis, his first since June 10, 2000...hit .368 and struck out just three times in August...batted .364 during the month of September...did not whiff more than once in his final 60 contests...went 22 for 72 (.306) in his 19 games as the leadoff hitter...threw out 16 of the 79 baserunners attempting to steal against him (21.3%).

2002

Led all Major League catchers in games (143) and starts (140) and led National League backstops with 13 double plays...threw out 26 of the 104 baserunners attempting to steal against him (25.0%)...was the toughest batter to strike out in the majors, whiffing just once every 20.9 plate appearances...struck out just twice during the month of May and a total of nine times in 73 games (287 PA) thru the month of June...whiffed more than once in a game on just one occasion (Ben Sheets struck him out twice on July 3)...batted .272 from the leadoff spot, .286 while hitting third and .357 from the fifth spot in the order...went 3 for 35 (.086) in his first nine games, which included an 0 for 20 streak from April 4-11...left the game on April 19 vs. Philadelphia with a concussion after getting hit in the face mask by a foul tip...missed the game on April 20, but returned to action and went 9 for 21 (.429) in sixgame stretch from April 21-28...was ejected by home plate umpire Marc Barron for arguing balls and strikes on May 5 at San Diego...was also ejected by umpire Matt Hollowell for arguing balls and strikes on May 30 vs. Chicago...appeared in the leadoff spot of the batting order for the first time on June 19 vs. Oakland and went 0 for 4...hit his first career "lead-off" home run on June 20 vs. Oakland (Tim Hudson)...batted safely in a season-high nine straight games from July 18-27...hit .320 during the month of July...collected his 1,000th career hit on August 16, a single off Milwaukee's Ben Sheets at PNC Park...became the first player to pick up his first 1,000 hits in a Pittsburgh uniform since Johnny Ray from 1981-87...led the club with 43 multihit games and ranked second with 13 infield hits...failed to reach the .300 level in batting at any point during the year (average reached a season-high .294 following the action on July 12).

2001

Established a career high in at bats (606)...led the Pirates with 24 infield hits...ranked third among National League batters in being hit by pitch (20) and was the eighth-hardest player to fan in the league, striking out once every 14.0 plate appearances...struck out just 18 times after the All-Star break (295 PA)...made 133 appearances, 127 starts, behind the plate and threw out 15 of the 88 baserunners attempting to steal against him (17.0%)...also made 18 starts in left field and 10 appearances, nine starts, in right field...made three fielding errors while playing left field, including two on June 20 at Philadelphia, and two fielding miscues in right field, both on September 28 at St. Louis...picked up his lone outfield assist on September 28...batted .247 in 58 games as the lead off hitter and .342 in 31 games from fifth spot of the batting order...failed to reach the .300 level in batting at any point during the year for the first time in his career (average peaked at .293 on May 1)...was Pittsburgh's Opening Day catcher for the sixth straight season...collected the first Pirate hit at PNC Park; an infield-single off Chris Reitsma on April 9...hit the game-winning "walk-off" two-run homer with one out in the 10th to defeat the Cubs at PNC Park on April 22...hit safely in a season-high 12 straight games from May 23 to June 5, but followed that with a 0 for 23 streak...made his first career appearance in left field as a starter on May 23 at Philadelphia (game two)...it was his first action ever at a position other than catcher...made his first career appearance in right field as a starter on June 17 vs. Cleveland...swiped his 100th career base on July 4 at Cincinnati...was ejected by Jim Wolf for arguing a call at first base on July 24 at Chicago (NL); served a one-game suspension for that incident on September 19...hit .337 (34 for 101) in August...had surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament on left thumb on October 11...the surgery was performed by Dr. Mark Baritz in Pittsburgh.

2000

Ranked first among all Major League catchers in games (152), plate appearances (678), hits (185), runs (112), triples (6) and stolen bases (22)...also led NL backstops in putouts (990), assists (81) and total chances (1081)...led Pirates in hitting (.320), at bats (579), runs, hits and stolen bases...made a career-high 145 starts behind the plate; one year removed from suffering a season-ending dislocation of right ankle...also established career highs in runs, triples, homers (14) and walks (79)...swiped 22 bases and became the first catcher in Major League history to steal 20 or more bases in three seasons...finished ninth in the National League in runs, 10th in hits and tied for fifth in hit by pitches (15)...also ranked ninth in the NL with 55 multi-hit games and led the Pirates in that category...became the first Pittsburgh catcher ever to score 100 runs, eclipsing his own mark of 95 runs in 1998...named to the National League All-Star team for third time in his career and started in place of the injured Mike Piazza...became the first Pirate catcher to start in an All-Star Game since Smoky Burgess in 1961...caught the first four innings and went 0 for 2 at the plate...started his first 17 games in the lead off spot and went 23 for 68 (.338) with a .439 on-base percentage...batted third in the order for the first time on April 25 vs. San Diego and hit .308 in 22 games from the three hole...compiled a 12-game hitting streak from April 12-26...became just the third player and the first Pirate ever to hit for the cycle at Three Rivers Stadium when he did so against the Cardinals on May 19 (also Jeff Kent on May 3, 1999 and Joe Torre on June 27, 1973)...became the first catcher to hit for the cycle since Boston's Rich Gedman did so on September 18, 1985 and the first backstop in the NL to do so since Randy Hundley on August 11, 1966...also established a career high with five RBI on May 19...hit safely in season-high 13 straight games from May 13- 28...tripled twice on July 1, the first Pirate to do so since Orlando Merced accomplished the feat at Colorado on September 4, 1993...suffered a fractured right cheek after being struck by a pickoff throw by Houston pitcher Chris Holt on September 14...made total of 147 appearances behind the plate and threw out 34 of 121 baserunners attempting to steal against him (28.1%)...had surgery to repair his fractured right cheek on October 2...agreed to terms on a multi-year deal on November 17.

1999

Was Pittsburgh's Opening Day catcher and appeared in the leadoff position of the batting order...scored at least one run (12 total) in nine consecutive games from April 10-19...swiped a career-high three bases on April 19 at San Diego...appeared in the leadoff spot for the last time on April 30...went 17 for 62 (.274) with one RBI in 15 games as the leadoff hitter...moved to the fifth spot in the lineup for good on May 1...hit .352 with eight homers and 40 RBI in 59 games from the fifth spot...produced seven straight hits from May 2-4...had a career-high five hits on May 3 without a run or RBI vs. San Francisco (the first "5-0-5- 0" line by a Pirate since Matty Alou on 8/19/70)...hit .442 during a 12-game hitting streak from April 29 to May 11...hit safely in 16 straight games from May 20 thru June 7, going 22 for 55 (.400)...batted .416 in 28 games during the month of May...left the game on June 16 at Los Angeles after suffering a concussion in a home plate collision with Gary Sheffield (started the next game and went 2 for 5)...suffered a dislocation of his right ankle on July 4 vs. Milwaukee (suffered when landing on first base while trying to beat out a bunt)...had surgery performed by Dr. Mark Langhans on July 4 and remained in Allegheny General Hospital until being released on July 7...missed the remainder of the season...garnered 511,587 votes in the balloting for National League All-Star catcher, finishing second behind New York's Mike Piazza (1,645,304)...threw out 25 of the 64 baserunners attempting to steal against him (39.1%).

1998

Set career highs in RBI (75) and stolen bases (26)...led the club in batting and ranked fifth in the National League in that department...his .327 average was the highest recorded by a Pittsburgh player in a non-strike season since Dave Parker led the circuit with a .334 mark in 1978...it was the highest by a Pittsburgh catcher since Manny Sanguillen hit .328 in 1975...led the club in runs scored (95)...his 26 stolen bases set a National League record for a catcher (previous mark of 25 was established by New York's John Stearns in 1978)...led the majors with 31 hit by pitches and tied the club record he set in 1997...ranked seventh in the league with a .411 on-base percentage...was the NL's sixthtoughest player to strike out, whiffing once every 12.3 plate appearances (struck out 51 times in 627 PA)...his .372 average against left-handed pitchers ranked second among Major League hitters with at least 125 at bats...led NL catchers in games (144), starts (143), putouts (1015) and total chances (1082)...threw out 28 of 111 baserunners attempting to steal against him (25.2%)...was named to the All-Star team for the second time in his career...appeared as a pinch-hitter and singled off Anaheim's Troy Percival...was ejected from the game at Los Angeles on June 28 for fighting with Gary Sheffield...served a three-game suspension for the altercation from July 21-23...homered in three straight games from August 9-12 and tallied at least one RBI in seven straight games from August 9-16...was named NL Player of the Week for the week ending August 16...batted .324 in 103 games from the third spot in the lineup and .338 in 40 games from the second spot.

1997

Made 139 starts behind the plate...established a club record by being hit with a pitch 31 times (set previous club record with 15 in 1996)...ranked second in the majors in being hit-by-pitch behind Houston's Craig Biggio (34)...the 31 HBP's also represent the highest single-season total by a catcher in National League history...threw out 51 of 146 baserunners attempting to steal against him (34.9%)...caught eight straight potential base stealers from April 26 to May 9...batted in the third spot in the starting lineup for the first time in his career on May 28 and went 2 for 3 with an RBI vs. Chicago (NL)...hit just .216 in 16 games from the third spot...went 0 for 23 in a seven-game span from June 17-24...hit .326 in his final 77 games...Hit safely in 12 straight games from July 6-23...agreed to terms on a four-year contract on July 26...was ejected by Rocky Roe at Milwaukee on August 29 for arguing a call at second base in ninth inning...went 20 for 64 (.313) in 18 starts from the eighth spot in the lineup.

1996

Had an exceptional rookie campaign after making the jump from Double-A to the Majors...was named Rookie Player of the Year by The Sporting News, just the second Pittsburgh player to win the award (also Johnny Ray in 1982)...was also selected to the Topps Rookie Major League All-Star team and was the only unanimous choice...finished third in the NL Rookie of the Year voting by the BBWAA behind Los Angeles' Todd Hollandsworth and Florida's Edgar Renteria...made 117 starts behind the plate...was hit by a pitch a then club record 15 times...was named to the National League All-Star team, the first Pittsburgh rookie ever to be named to the squad...became the 16th NL rookie (non-pitcher) All-Star and just the fifth rookie catcher ever to be named to the squad, joining Johnny Bench in 1968 (Reds), Gary Carter in 1975 (Expos), Greg Olson in 1990 (Braves) and Mike Piazza in 1993 (Dodgers)...was Pittsburgh's Opening Day catcher at 21 years of age, the youngest Pirate player to start an opener since Bill Mazeroski in 1957...went 3 for 4 with two RBI in his Major League debut on April 1 at Florida, singling off Kevin Brown in first big-league at bat...connected off San Diego's Bob Tewksbury in the first game of a doubleheader at Three Rivers Stadium on May 8 for his first home run...had his batting average at or above .300, for 42 days between August 6 and September 16 (it peaked at .311 on August 30)...threw out 31 of 167 baserunners attempting to steal against him (18.6%).

1995

Was named the Southern League's Most Valuable Player, the second straight Pittsburgh farmhand to win the honor (Mark Johnson in 1994)...his .326 batting average set a Carolina club record and ranked second in the league...also set a club record in runs scored (87) and tied the club mark in hits (140)...ranked second in the league with a .414 on-base percentage...hit safely in 16 straight games from June 29 thru July 17...batted .404 in July, striking out just four times...threw out 24 of 64 runners attempting to steal (38%)...had a .989 fielding percentage, committing just seven errors in a league-leading 754 total chances...also led league catchers in putouts (692) and games caught (98).

1994

Began the season with Single-A Salem...batted .333 in June...led Salem in batting (.318) and stolen bases (14)...struck out once every 21 plate appearances which was the best mark in the South Atlantic League...ranked second in the league in batting and tied for second with a .406 on-base percentage...was promoted to Carolina on August 11 and, at the time, became the youngest player in Mudcats history...batted a combined .309 with seven home runs and 72 RBI with the two clubs...ranked second among all Pittsburgh minor leaguers in batting...threw out 20-of-83 runners with the two clubs (24%).

1993

Spent the entire season with Single-A Augusta...was named to the mid-season All-Star team and the South Atlantic League's postseason All-Star team...hit his first professional home run in the first game of a doubleheader on August 23; a solo shot off Jason Butler at Macon...threw out 27 of 91 runners attempting to steal against him (30%).

1992

Began his professional career with Bradenton (Rookie) after being selected by Pittsburgh in the 1st round of the June draft...made 30 starts behind the plate and led the league with 13 passed balls.