Married to Bertica...The couple has 2 children, Alexis (8) and Anthony (5)...Graduated in 1991 from Coral Gables (FL) High School, where he was All-State in baseball...Earned a degree in finance from Florida International University, where he was All-Conference 3 times and
tallied a .353 career average...Was the Trans-America Athletic Conference's Student of the Year and was an
academic All-American honoree in 1995...Had his uniform No. 15 retired, the 1st active Golden Panther baseball
player to receive the honor...Received the 1999 Tony Conigliaro Award as a testicular cancer survivor...Was a guest at a White House dinner in January 2008...Co-authored a memoir in 2008 titled "Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within."
2009
Returned from off-season surgery on his
right hip to rank among Sox leaders in RBI (4th, 75), homers (5th, 17) and doubles (T-5th, 29)...Hit safely in 87 of his 119 games, including 85 of his 113 starts...Club was 65-48 (.575) in his starts...Reached 25 doubles for the 10th straight season, the longest streak ever by a ML third baseman, passing Wade Boggs (1983-91), George Brett (1975-83), Brooks Robinson (1960-68) and Harlond Clift (1934-42)...Recorded 15 homers for the 4th straight season with BOS and 9th time overall...Frank Malzone (5) is the only
Red Sox third baseman with more 15-homer seasons...Notched 1,500th career hit 6/3 at DET...Finished the season with 1,567, 4th among active third basemen...Played 107 games (105 starts) at third base...Posted a .966 fielding percentage (9 E/265 TC), 6th among AL
third basemen with at least 250 total chances at that position...Hit .282 (75-for-266) with 10 homers and 41 RBI over 68 games before landing on the 15-day DL on 6/30 (retroactive to 6/28) with a right hip strain...Missed 12 games before returning on 7/17...Hit safely in each of
his 1st 11 games back at .415 (17-for-41) in those contests...Batted .302 (54-for-179) with 7 homers and 34 RBI
in 51 games overall after returning from the DL...Drove in 40 runs with 2 outs, tied for the 8th highest total in the AL...Batted .302 (48-for-159) with 8 homers
in that situation...Hit .313 (40-for-128) with RISP, including a .329 clip (24-for-73) with 2 outs in that situation...In 15 games against NYY, hit .322 (19-for-59) with 4 homers and 15 RBI, his highest totals vs. any team...Had a season-high, 14-game hitting streak from 4/14-29, batting .424 (22-for-56) with 3 homers, 19 RBI and
8 multi-hit efforts during that span...Went 2-for-5 with a homer, a double and 6 RBI in a 16-11 win vs. the Yankees on 4/25...Was the 1st Red Sox player with at least 6 RBI in a game against NYY since Carlton Fisk (6) on 4/6/73 at Fenway Park...Earned AL Player of the Week honors for 4/20-26 (.435, 10-for-23, 11 RBI, 20 TB, 4 2B, 2 HR and 4 R)...On 8/11 vs. DET, replaced Kevin Youkilis, who was ejected for charging the mound in the 2nd inning, and went 2-for-3 with 2 homers, 3 RBI and 3 runs...Was the 1st Red Sox player to hit 2 home runs off the bench
since Joe Foy on 6/9/67 vs. WSH...Was 1-for-4 on Opening Day, 4/7 vs. TB...Has hit safely in each of his 10 career Opening Day games, at 12-
for-39 (.308)...Is tied with Todd Helton and Vladimir Guerrero for the 2nd longest active streak in the Majors
behind Bobby Abreu (13)...Underwent surgery to repair the torn radial collateral ligament in his right thumb on 12/30.
2008
Was hampered by injuries that resulted in 2 stints on the DL and also sidelined him for
all but one at-bat over final 2 weeks of the season...Ranked 4th among team leaders in doubles
(27), hits (115) and RBI (73)...Started 108 games at third base but had the fewest games (113),
at-bats (419), and hits of any full season in his major league career.
BATTING: Hit .274, his 2nd-lowest average in the last 8 seasons to a .236 mark in 2005...Was 6-for-
30 (.200) in season's first 9 games before being disabled on April 10 with a sprained left thumb...
Activated on April 29...Went 0-for-3 that night and hit .322 (22-for-90) over his next 23 games,
improving to .285 on May 23...Hit .397 (27-for-68) with 4 homers and 17 RBI over 18 games from
June 11-30....Batted .233 (40-172) over his last 46 games...Hit .531 (17-32) in a season-best 8-game
hitting streak from June 22-30...That included season-best 4 hits on June 28 at Houston.
HOME RUNS/RBI: Among A.L. 3rd basemen, ranked 4th in RBI (73) and tied for 5th in homers
(17)...Did not drive in a run in his first 15 games of the year through May 4, a career high, before
producing 13 homers and 54 RBI in next 57 games through July 5...Had the 2nd most RBI in the
majors in that span behind 62 for Philadelphia's Ryan Howard...Tied for 4th in A.L. with 25 RBI
in June...Drove in a season-high 4 runs on 5 occasions...Belted a pair of grand slams, May 22 at
Kansas City and June 12 vs. Baltimore, tying for 2nd in the A.L. in that department...Has 8 career
slams...Hit his 200th career homer off Tampa Bay's Scott Kazmir on September 9 at Fenway Park.
FIELDING: Ranked 3rd in the A.L. with a .967 (10 E/307 TC) percentage in 110 games/108 starts at
third base...Made 2 miscues on August 10 at Chicago, the 5th multi-error game of his career.
INJURIES: Had been on the DL just 3 times from 1999-2007 before 2 stints in 2008...Missed 18
games with a sprained left thumb that put him on DL from April 10-29...Went 3-for-13 with
3 RBI in a 3-game rehab stint at Pawtucket, April 25-28...Returned to the DL from August 13-
September 5 with a strained left oblique muscle, missing a total of 19 games...Did not play from
September 17-25 due to a torn labrum in the area of his right hip...Started as the DH on September
26 but left after one at-bat due to further discomfort and did not see action in final 2 games...
underwent off-season surgery on his right hip.
2007
SUMMARY: Had the American League's 7th highest batting average at .324 and ranked 5th with
120 RBI, both career bests...Led the Red Sox in games (154), at bats (589), hits (career high 191),
and RBI, tied for 1st in sacrifice flies (8), placed 2nd in average, total bases (295), homers (21), and
slugging (.501), and ranked 3rd in doubles (37)...Was also among the A.L. leaders in sacrifice flies
(T8th), hits (T7th), total bases (11th), and slugging (13th)...Started 150 games at 3rd base.
Among major league 3rd basemen, was 2nd to Alex Rodriguez in RBI and 3rd in batting among
qualifiers to Chipper Jones (.336) and Chone Figgins (.332).
BATTING: Posted a .289 average in his 1st 30 games through May 8 before going on a .408 (31-76)
tear in his next 21 contests, improving to .337 through June 2...Had a .195 (17-87) mark in next 21
games before batting .350 (113-323) in final 82 games...That included a .366 (56-153) average in
his last 39 contests...Ranked 4th in the A.L. with a .393 average for August.
Produced a career-best 5 hits on July 5 vs. Tampa Bay and had 4 hits on 5 occasions...Tied Magglio
Ordonez for the major league lead with 6 games of 4+ hits...Had just 5 career 4-hit games entering
2007...Tied his career best with a 16-game hitting streak from August 18-September 3...Also
hit safely in 14 consecutive games, April 13-28.
RECORD RBI: Drove in 120 runs, surpassing his career best of 105 in 2003...Was his 3rd 100+ RBI
season...Of 2007 total, all but one came while playing 3rd base, the most ever by a Red Sox 3rd
sacker, breaking the mark of 112 set by Butch Hobson in 1977...Since 1950, is one of 3 different
A.L. 3B with at least 120 RBI in a season...Were the most RBI for a Boston infielder since Nomar
Garciaparra (120) in 2002 and the most for a Sox RHB since Manny Ramirez (144) in 2005...Ranked
8th in the A.L. with an RBI every 4.9 at bats...Had 3 5-RBI games, May 19 (D) vs. Atlanta, July 5
vs. Tampa Bay, and September 26 vs. Oakland...Drove in 24 runs over 21 games, August 13-September
3.
THE LONG BALL: Finished with 21 homers, one more than his 2006 total, becoming the 1st Red Sox
3B ever with 20+ long balls in back-to-back years...Was his 6th overall 20-homer campaign...Had
a pair of homers on April 22 vs. New York and connected
for his 6th grand slam, May 19 (D) vs. Atlanta...
Went deep in 3 straight games, May 8-10...Hit the 3rd
of Boston's ML record tying 4 consecutive homers in
the 3rd inning on April 22 versus New York.
MORE NUMBERS: Finished 3rd among major league
qualifiers with a .373 (109-292) batting average at
home behind Detroit's Magglio Ordonez (.389) and
Colorado's Matt Holliday (.377)...Was the highest
Fenway figure by a Red Sox since Mo Vaughn (.381)
in 1996...Hit safely in 22 consecutive home games,
April 13-May 30...Batted .333 (45-135) over final 31
road games to finish at .276...Hit .356 (67-188) with runners in scoring position, 7th best in the A.L., and finished 9th in the league with a .325 mark
versus righthanders...Drove in Boston's only run with 4th inning single off C.C. Sabathia in 1-0
win on July 24 at Cleveland.
ALL-STAR: Was elected as a reserve to the A.L. All-Star team in 2007, his 4th overall selection after
3 with Florida (2002-03-04)...Had an 8th inning single off Billy Wagner in lone at bat...Was the 1st
Red Sox 3B named since Shea Hillenbrand started in 2002...Has hit safely in 3 of his 4 appearances
in the Mid-Summer Classic at .571 (4-7).
AWARDS: Was selected as the recipient of the 2007 Thomas A. Yawkey Award as the Red Sox Most
Valuable Player in voting by the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America...Is
just the 4th time a 3rd basemen has been honored, joining Frank Malzone (1957 and 1959) and
Wade Boggs (1985)...Finished 5th in 2007 A.L. BBWAA Most Valuable Player Award voting with
126 points...Also won the Boston BBWAA chapter's 2007 Good Guy Award...Was the recipient of
the Boston BBWAA 2006 Jackie Jensen Award for spirit and determination...Was also honored by
the Red Sox with the 1999 Tony Conigliaro Award as a testicular cancer survivor.
POSTSEASON: Started all 14 games at 3rd base during Boston's 2007 postseason run, batting
.353 (18-51) with 2 homers and 15 RBI...Topped the club in doubles (7) and ranked 2nd in hits
and RBI...Was 3-for-9 in the ALDS vs. Los Angeles, driving in a run in each game and producing
a pair of doubles in Game 3...Hit safely in 6 of 7 contests in the ALCS against Cleveland at .333
(9-27) with 8 RBI, 6 of those in the 1st 2 games...Homered in 5th inning of Game 2 off Rafael Perez...Batted safely in all 4 games of the
World Series versus Colorado at .400 (6-
15) with 4 RBI to win World Series MVP
honors...Went 4-for-9 with 3 RBI in final
2 games, homering off Aaron Cook
in 7th inning of Game 4...Was the 8th
time a 3rd baseman has won WS MVP
honors, 1st since Anaheim's Troy Glaus
in 2002.
Career notes
NUMBERS AT THIRD: Since the start of
the 2000 season, has appeared in the
2nd most games of any major league
3rd baseman with 1163 behind Adrian
Beltre (1188)...In that span, leads ML
3rd basemen (while playing 3B only)
with 302 doubles and ranks 2nd in at
bats (4336), hits (1222), and RBI (720)...
Is the only major league 3rd baseman
in this decade with as many as 5 seasons
with at least 35 doubles, 20 homers,
and 80 RBI (2000-02-04-06-07).
MR. CONSISTENCY: Has appeared in at least 140 games in 7 of the last 8 seasons with 4 straight
years of at least 150 contests...Has connected for 20+ homers in 5 of the last 6 and 6 of his last 8
campaigns while driving in at least 80 runs and producing 35 or more doubles in 7 of the last 8
seasons...His 310 total doubles since the start of 2000 rank 3rd in the majors behind Todd Helton
(377) and Bobby Abreu (340).
WITH THE LEATHER: Is the all-time major league leader at 3rd base (1000 or more games) with a
.976 (82 E/3349 TC) fielding percentage in 1253 games...Brooks Robinson ranks 2nd with a .971
mark...In 2007, placed 8th among A.L. 3B with a .961 (15 E/384 TC) fielding percentage...The
15 errors were a career high (14 in 2002), 9 more than his 2006 total, and 3rd most by an A.L.
3B...Committed 8 errors in his 1st 22 games, including his 1st career 3-error contest, April 4 at
Kansas City...Also had a pair of miscues, April 28 at New York...Made just one error in last 66
games beginning July 19.
Has posted a fielding percentage of at least .970 6 times...Posted the 6th best single season figure
ever for a qualifying 3B in 2006 at .9870, 2nd in the majors that season to Oakland's Eric Chavez
at .9872...Went 70 games between miscues on May 24 and August 18, the 2nd longest errorless
streak by a 3B in Red Sox history (Rico Petrocelli, 77 games in 1971)...Earned 1st Rawlings Gold
Glove in 2005 after leading the N.L. with a .983 percentage...His 6 errors that season matched N.L.
mark for fewest by a 3B with at least 135 games played...Also topped the N.L. with a .973 mark in
2003 and was 2nd in 2004 (.982) and 2001 (.976)...Led N.L. 3B in putouts in 2002 (150) and 2001
(107) and in double plays in 2005 (34) and 2001 (35).
2006
SUMMARY: In his first season with the Red Sox, established a career high with 47 doubles and
reached the 20-homer, 80-RBI plateau for the fifth time in his Major League career...the 47 doubles ranked third in the American League behind only Grady Sizemore (53) and Michael Young (52)...batted .284 with 79 runs in 153 games...his .284 batting average was the second-highest of his nine-year big-league career (.293 in 2004)...started 148 games at third base and ranked second among Major
League third basemen with a .9870 fielding percentage (6 E/463 TC), just behind Oakland's Eric Chavez at .9872 (5 E/391 TC)...went 70 games without an error from May 25-Aug. 17 and committed just one error in his final 41 games of the season.
SEEING DOUBLES AT THE BREAK: Lowell on July 5 recorded his 30th double of the season to
become just the fourth Red Sox in the last 47 seasons beginning in 1960 to reach 30 doubles by the All-Star Break...he joined David Ortiz (33 in 2004), Bill Mueller (30 in 2003) and Nomar Garciaparra (30 in 2002) in this exclusive company...Lowell added another double on July 8 to finish the first half with 31 two-base hits.
TRENDS: His average peaked at .350 (36-for-103) after 27 games on May 5...collected 19 doubles
in his first 30 games through May 9, but had just seven doubles in his next 44 games ending June
30...batted .261 (75-for-287) in his final 77 games starting July 3 to go from .308 to .284...his average never went below .281 after April 23.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Fared far better against right-handed pitching, batting .302 (123-for-
407) compared to a .241 (40-for-166) average vs. lefties...batted .260 (75-for-289) at Fenway and
.310 (88-for-284) on the road...hit just .268 (41-for-153) with runners in scoring position, including a .214 (15-for-70) mark in those situations with two outs...batted .317 (19-for-60) in 17 interleague games...spent the majority of his time batting in the No. 5 (.208, 22-for-106), No. 6 (.274, 74-for-270) and No. 7 (.357, 56-for-157) spots in the order...went 9-for-29 (.310) in seven games as the
cleanup hitter.
MORE 2006 HIGHLIGHTS: Homered in back-to-back
games four times, last on Sept. 21 vs. Minnesota
and Sept. 22 at Toronto...Aug. 13 vs. Baltimore
hit his fifth career grand slam, his first as a Red Sox...was his first slam since June 10, 2005 vs. Texas with Florida...matched his career high with three doubles in a game on April 11 vs. Toronto (Red Sox home opener), May 5 vs. Baltimore and July 1 at Florida...equaled his career high with four hits in the April 11
contest (4-for-4, RBI, R)...had a season-high four RBI on August 13 vs. Baltimore.
2005
SUMMARY: In his final season with the
Marlins, won his first National League
Gold Glove after leading league third
basemen with a .983 fielding
percentage...became the 4th different
Marlin and first Marlins third baseman
to win the award...at the plate, batted
just .236 with 8 home runs and 58 RBI,
his lowest totals since becoming
Florida's everyday third baseman in
2000...however, collected 36 doubles,
the 5th time in his career to reach that
total, and struck out only 58 times, the
lowest total of his career...appeared in
150 games, the 3rd-highest total of his
career and 4th time in his last 5 seasons with at least 146 games played.
AN UNCOMMON SLOW START: Batted
just .198 (16-for-81) in 21 games in
April and hit only .202 (17-for-84) in
25 games in May to post a .200 (33-for-165) batting average when the calendar turned to June...in his previous 5
seasons from 2000-04, compiled a
.320 batting average (156-for-487) in
April and a .276 average (119-for-431)
in May en route to a season-ending average of .270 or better in each of those
5 campaigns...after hitting .200 in his first 46 games in 2005, batted .254 (85-for-335)
in his final 104 games, including a .322 (28-for-87) clip in July to raise his batting
average to .245 on August 1, its highest point since it stood at .294 on April 8.
MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GLOVE: Committed only 6 errors in 356 total chances at third
base en route to earning the Golden Glove...his .983 fielding percentage at the hot corner
was the best in the majors and in his career, while his 6 errors in 135 games at third were
his lowest single-season total since making 4 errors in 83 games in 1999...in National
League history, only Vinny Castilla (2002 with Atlanta and 2004 with Colorado) has
played at least 135 games in a season and committed only 6 errors...led all N.L. third
baseman with 34 double plays turned and ranked 3rd in the league with 0.85 putouts per
9 innings...also played 8 games at second base, making his first appearance September
21 at New York...marked the first time in his major league career at a position other then
third base.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Batted .304 (28-for-92) vs. left-handed pitching but just .221
(90-for-408) vs. righthanders...did not make his first error until May 6 vs. Colorado, his
25th game of the season, and did not commit his 2nd miscue until June 25 at Tampa Bay,
40 games later...batted .245 (68-for-278) at Dolphins Stadium, appearing in all 81
games at home, and hit .225 (50-for-222) in 69 games on the road...batted .333 (6-for-18) with a double, home run and 17 RBI with the bases loaded...hit .333 (20-for-60) with
2 homers and 12 RBI when putting the first pitch in play...had 22 multi-hit games,
including 7 contests with 3-hit efforts.
MORE 2005 HIGHLIGHTS: Had a season-high 9-game hitting streak from September 17-27 and also posted a pair of 7-game hitting streaks from April 22-May 1 and June 8-15...reached base safely in his final 14 games of the year...had a double in 5 straight games from April 24-May 1, the longest such streak of his career...posted a season-high
4 RBI June 10 at Texas, when he connected for his 4th-career grand slam (off Ryan Shouse)...it was his 3rd home run of the season, his first since April 12 at Philadelphia, snapping a stretch of 45 games and 161 at-bats with a homer...had an RBI in a season-high 5 games in a row from July 18-23 (7 RBI total).
2004
One year after setting career highs 32 homers and 105 RBI in an injury-shortened 2003 regular season (130 games), Lowell completed arguably his finest season in the big leagues in 2004, earning N.L. All-Star honors for the 3rd season in a row along the way...in 158 games with the Marlins, he set career highs with a .293 batting average and
a .365 on-base percentage, matched his career best with 44 doubles and complimented his campaign with 87 runs scored, 27 homers and 85 RBI...it was his 3rd-straight 20-homer campaign and 4th overall in his Marlins career, joining Derrek Lee and Preston
Wilson as the lone Marlins with four seasons with at least 20 homers...his batting average was above .300 in 4 of the season's 6 months...began the year by batting .346 (65-for-188) in 50 games through the end of May, including a .373 mark in May (3rd-best in the NL) before batting .236 in June...rebounded to bat .301 in July, dipped to .221 in August and hit .313 in September/October...tied for 2nd in the league with 31 go-ahead RBI and 18 game-winning RBI...his .344 batting average vs. lefties ranked 4th, his 44 doubles tied for 7th and his 72 extra-base hits tied for 12th...ranked 2nd among league
third basemen with a .982 fielding percentage, trailing only Vinny Castilla's .987
mark...went 70 games without an error before committing a miscue September 30 at
Philadelphia, just his 2nd in his last 100 games...had 14 homers through the end of May,
just 13 more the rest of the way...became the first Marlin to hit 3 homers in a game April
21 at Philadelphia, connecting for blasts off Eric Milton, Tim Worrell and Billy Wagner...with
a home run the next night, posted 4 home runs in a 2-game span for the first time in his
career...had 3 two-homer games in an 11-game span, homering twice May 7 vs. San
Diego, May 12 at Houston and May 20 vs. Houston...established several Marlins all-time franchise records throughout the season: hit his club record 130th homer as a Marlin July 27, surpassing Derrek Lee; surpassed Lee as the club's extra-base hit leader with a first-inning double June 24 vs. Atlanta, his 307th extra-base hit; passed Lee's club record of 1,328 total bases June 30 at Atlanta; became the first Marlin to reach 500 RBI August 16 at Los Angeles...posted a season-high 12-game hitting streak from
August 14-27, batting .313 (15-for-48) during the tear...also had an 8-game hitting
streak from April 27-May 5 (.448, 13-for-29), an 11-game run from May 7-20 (.390,
16-for-41) and an 8-game streak to conclude the season (11-for-31, .355).
2003
Received the Louisville Silver Slugger Award and earned his 2nd-straight All-Star
nod after setting career highs with 32 homers and 105 RBI in just 130 games...missed
all but one game in September after suffering a fractured fourth metacarpal on his left
hand August 30 and returned to play in 15 of Florida's post-season contests, helping to
lead the Marlins to the World Championship...led all National League third basemen with
a .973 fielding percentage (9 errors in 336 total chances)...made only 3 errors in his final
66 games and 5 miscues over his final 99...at the time became just the 4th Marlin to be
named to the All-Star team in back-to-back seasons, joining Luis Castillo (2002-03),
Jeff Conine (1994-95) and Kevin Brown (1996-97)...posted the club's 7th 100-RBI
campaign, the first player to do so twice...began the season powerfully, connecting for a
home run in 3 straight games from April 3-5...also had 4 homers in a 5-game span from
April 26-30 and 4 homers in 4 games from May 11-14...tied a club record with 3 doubles
April 28 at Arizona, the only day in that 5-game span in which he did not homer...posted
3 two-homer games: May 13 at San Diego, June 3 vs. Oakland and June 15 at
Texas...overall, had 8 homers in April, 8 homers in May and 9 homers in June (matching
the club record for June)...had a career high 6 RBI June 3 vs. Oakland...June 25 in Shea
Stadium, hit his 100th major league home run and 24th of the season (already matching
his career high)...set a new single-season career high with his 25th homer June 28 at
Fenway Park, a 2-out, 2-strike, 3-run homer off Brandon Lyon in the top of the 9th to give
the Marlins a 9-8 win and complete a 7-run comeback, the largest in club history...entered
the All-Star Break with a career-high 28 homers, tied for 2nd in the N.L. and 3rd in the
majors...ranked 4th in the league with 76 RBI prior to the break...set Marlins pre-All Star
break records in homers and RBI...collected an RBI in 8-straight games from July 13-27,
matching the club record...hit safely in 23 of 26 games from July 13-August 16, batting
.351 (34-for-97) in that span...the tear included a season-high 11-game hitting streak
from July 13-30, during which he batted .425 (17-for-40)...became the 4th Marlin to
reach 30 homers August 2 vs. Houston...became Florida's all-time RBI leader with his
423rd RBI August 8 at Milwaukee...was later surpassed by Jeff Conine September 25,
but passed Conine for good in 2004...set his career best with his 32nd homer August 15
vs. San Diego...saw his season interrupted August 30 vs. Montreal when he was hit by a Hector Almonte pitch in the 8th inning, fracturing the 4th metacarpal on his left hand...was placed on the disabled list the next day...was cleared by Dr. Brian Fingado to resume a progressive swinging program on September 26...was activated from the disabled list September 28, the regular season's final day, and made the start at third base...played in 15 post-season games and hit .196 (9-for-46) with 2 homers and 5 RBI...became the
6th player in post-season history to hit a pinch-hit homer in extra innings when he led off
the 11th inning of Game 1 of the NLCS with a solo homer off Chicago's Mark Guthrie, leading the Marlins to a 9-8 win at Wrigley Field...hit safely in 4 of 6 games in the World Series vs. New York, including a 2-for-3 effort with a double in Florida's Series-clinching 2-0 win in Game 6 at Yankee Stadium.
2002
Became an All-Star for the first time and set career highs with 160 games, 88 runs scored, 44 doubles (matched in 2004) and 24 homers (surpassed in 2003)...turned in a .276 batting average and drove in 92 runs...his 44 doubles ranked 2nd in
the National League (behind Bobby Abreu's 50) and, at the time, tied for the 2nd-most doubles by a Marlin in a single-season in club history...began
the season strong, batting .385 (40-for-104) in 26 games in April and held a .311 mark through the All-Star break, the 11th-best average in the
N.L. at the time of his All-Star game
selection...went 2-for-3 in the Mid-Summer Classic in Milwaukee...batted just .232 in 72 games after the break...despite his slower 2nd half, finished with a strong September, batting .310 (35-for-113) with 8 homers, 8 doubles and 21 RBI in 28
games...the month featured a 16-game hitting streak, matching his 2000 career best...hit .364 (24-for-66) with 3 homers and 13 RBI during this tear of 2002...received his 2nd-career National League Player of the Week honor for the period ending September 29 after batting .364 (8-for-22) with 5 homers and 7 RBI, leading the NL in homers and total bases (25) during that span.
2001
Continued to enhance his resume in 2001 by batting .283 with 18 homers and 100 RBI in 146 games...became the 6th Marlin in club history to reach 100 RBI, collecting his final RBI on the season's last day at Atlanta on October 7...his .283 batting average and 146 games played were career bests at the time...ranked 3rd in the majors with a .976 fielding percentage at third base, committing 9 errors in 377 total chances...his 9 errors were fewest in club history, bettering the 12 errors set by himself in 2000 and Terry Pendleton in 1996...hit .302 in 22 games in April, his best batting average of any
full calendar month during the campaign, though he hit .291 in June, .290 in July and .299
in August...began the season with 12 RBI in his first 7 games, including a pair of 4-RBI
contests April 6 vs. Atlanta and April 13 at Montreal...his 4 RBI on April 6 came courtesy of his 3rd-career grand slam, an 8th-inning blast off Marc Valdes...collected a season-high 14-game hitting streak from April 18-May 4, batting .345 (19-for-55)...missed a total of 13 games through mid-May due to minor injury: missed 2 games
April 9-10 after sustaining a thumb injury April 8 vs. Atlanta; missed 2 starts May 6 and
7 after being hit by a Mark Leiter pitch on the left arm May 5; missed 9 games from May
11-13 and May 17-22 after spraining his left wrist May 10 at Los Angeles...homered in
back-to-back games 3 times in 2001: April 29 at Houston and May 1 vs. St. Louis; June
14 at Boston and 15 vs. Tampa Bay; and September 27 vs. Atlanta and 28 vs. Philadelphia...recorded his first-career 4-hit game June 6 vs. Pittsburgh...recorded a career-high 62 RBI before the All-Star Break...hit the club's 161st homer of the season, establishing a new single-season Marlins record, September 28 vs. Philadelphia...was his 18th and final homer of the year.
2000
Batted .270 with 38 doubles, 22 homers and 91 RBI in 140 games with the Marlins, his first full big league campaign...led the club in doubles and ranked 3rd in the National League with a .968 fielding percentage (12 errors in 374 total chances)...became the 2nd player in club history to record 20 home runs and 35 doubles with 90 RBI, joining Cliff Floyd's effort in 1998...named the Charlie Hough "Good Guy" Award by the South
Florida chapter of the BBWAA, presented annually to the player who best fosters positive
relationships with the media...began his run of strong months of April by batting .316
(31-for-98) with 9 doubles, 5 homers and 24 RBI in 25 games...injured the abductor muscle in his left thumb May 12 at New York and was placed on the 15-day disabled list 2 days later...was activated on May 29...stroked 12 doubles in August, his most of any calendar month...hit his first-career "walk-off" homer August 27 vs. Cincinnati off Danny Graves to lift Florida to a 7-6 victory...homered in his next at-bat August 29 vs. St. Louis, the first time he homered in consecutive at-bats in his career...posted his first-career 16-game hitting streak August 18-September 5, batting .417 (25-for-60) with 5 homers and 17 RBI (matched the 16-gamer in 2002)...named the National League Player of
the Week August 28-September 3, his first such award, after batting .471 (8-for-17)
with 3 homers and 8 RBI, leading the league in .625 on-base percentage and a 1.118
slugging...was Florida's first weekly award since Edgar Renteria June 14-20, 1998...recorded his first-career stolen base September 10 at Arizona and stole 4 bases in 4 attempts during the season's final 19 games...also September 10 at Arizona, became Randy Johnson's 3,000th career strikeout victim.
1999
Joined the Marlins in a trade with the Yankees February 1 and endured the toughest and scariest year of his life...less than 3 weeks after the trade, underwent testicular cancer surgery on February 21 to remove a mass found during a routine physical on February 19...was named the recipient of the Tony Conigliaro Award, presented annually at the Boston Baseball Writers' Dinner, awarded to a major league player who has over-
come adversity through the attributes of spirit, determination and character that were
trademarks of the late, great Red Sox outfielder...cancer free ever since, Mike returned to the club on May 29 and batted .253 with 12 homers and 47 RBI in 97 games...collected
a single, double and his first major league RBI with a sacrifice fly May 30 vs. Cincinnati...connected for his first big league home run off Darren Oliver June 3 vs. St.
Louis...delivered a game-tying grand slam in the bottom of the eighth August 9 vs. San
Francisco, one of a major league record 5 grand slams hit in the game that night...Mike's
bat was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY...had his first 2-homer
game with 5 RBI September 18 at Arizona...posted a pair of season-high 7-game hitting
streaks: July 30-August 7 (.360) and September 16-25 (.429).
1998
Ended his campaign by making his major league debut with the Yankees in September after spending most of the season at Triple-A Columbus...hit .304 with 34 doubles, 26 homers and 99 RBI in 126 games with the Clippers...earned MVP honors at the
Triple-A All-Star Game, going 2-for-5 with a homer run to lead the International League to an 8-4 win...led all Yankee farmhands in hits, home runs, RBI and total bases to earn his call to the big leagues...made his major league debut September 13 vs. Toronto and collected his first hit in his first big league at-bat, a single off Kelvim Escobar...went 3-for-5 with a run scored in the second game of a doubleheader September 20 at Baltimore.
1997
Was named the Yankees Minor League Player of the Year after combining to bat .315 with 96 runs, 30 homers and 92 RBI between Double-A Norwich and Triple-A Columbus...placed in the top 2 in 4 offensive categories among Yankee minor leaguers:
tied for first in runs and homers and 2nd in batting average and RBI...led the Eastern
League with a .360 batting average and a .448 on-base percentage upon his promotion
to Columbus...was voted the best Double-A batting prospect in
Baseball America's Managers Survey...had a pair of multi-homer games for Columbus: August 1 vs. Rochester and August 26 at Charlotte...became the first Clipper ever to hit for the cycle August 16 at Richmond.
1996
Split the season between Single-A Greensboro and Tampa, batting a combined .282 with 8 homers and 64 RBI...led all Yankee farmhands with 38 doubles and was 2nd with 144 hits...placed among Florida State League leaders with 33 doubles (3rd), .282
batting average (7th)...hit 2 homers at Greensboro, including a 3-run game-winner in the
9th inning of a 9-6 win vs. Hagerstown May 4.
1995
Made his professional debut with short-season Single-A Oneonta, batting .260 with a homer and 27 RBI in 72 games.
