Graduated from Smithson Valley High in Spring Branch,
Texas and was an All-State selection in baseball...attended
Dallas Baptist University where he was an All-American in
baseball...also attended Northeast Texas Community College in
Mt. Pleasant, Texas...brother, Shaun, played minor league
baseball in the Reds organization and in the Independent
leagues...lives in Bulverde, Texas, with his wife, Heather, and three
sons: Tyler, Dylan and Braden.
2009
Spent a second-straight season serving as the back-up catcher for St. Louis...Started 26 games and batted .256 (22-86) when starting. Appeared in 43 games behind the plate, committing just one error...Picked up career hit #600 on 5/27 at MIL with a GW-RBI single. Of his six RBI on the season, three were game-winners...Hit 7th inning HR after coming off the bench for GWRBI in Division clinching win at COL on 9/26.
2008
Started 44 games on the season, including 12 of the
final 17 games...Cards were 22-22 in his games started...was
behind the plate for two of the Cardinals seven shutouts...threw
out five of 18 runners (28%) attempting to steal...appeared in
three games at first base as a defensive substitution...made STL
debut 4/3 vs. COL and preserved shutout with diving tag at plate
for out...agreed to a one-year contract for 2009 season on 10/31.
2007
Opened the season with the Royals after being acquired in exchange for cash considerations on 11/20/06 from Cincinnati.
The 66 games, 169 at bats, 25 hits, 14 runs scored and 46 total bases were his fewest in any season since 2000.
Was placed on the 15-day D.L. 5/11 with a left clavicle contusion after being hit while receiving a pitch thrown by Luke Hudson
on 5/10...removed from the D.L. 5/26.
Of his 25 hits, 13 went for extra bases (9 doubles, 4 home runs).
Appeared at third base on 4/16 at DET for the first time since 10/7/01 and at a position other than catcher for the first time
since playing right field on 9/4/05.
Went 3-for-3 with a home run, double, two RBI and three runs scored in the Royals 17-3 win over Seattle on 7/3.
Struggled during July and August, going just 1-for-49 (.020) from 7/8 through 8/31.
Hit a sacrifice fly on 8/9 vs. MIN, accouting for the lone run in a 1-0 Royals win.
Was behind the plate for five of the Royals six shutouts of the season.
Ranked 7th in the Majors (min. 50 starts) by throwing out 33.3 % of attempted basestealers (13-for-39).
2006
Struggled with a right knee injury early in the season and hit just .194 (37-191)
with 8 home runs and 21 RBI in 72 games for the Cincinnati Reds...Began the season on the 15-day D.L. following arthroscopic surgery on March
27 to repair the torn medial meniscus in his right knee...Activated from the D.L. on April 18 after making 5 rehab appearances for
Sarasota (A) and Louisville (AAA)...In his 57 starts behind the plate, the Reds were 32-25 (.561), the best winning
percentage among the Reds 3 primary catchers (David Ross, Javier Valentin)...Caught 31 of N.L. strikeout leader Aaron Harang's final 32 starts, including
each of his last 21 starts...caught 6 of the staff's 9 complete games and 3 of
the team shutouts.Threw out 11 of 34 (32.4%) baserunners attempting to steal.Recorded a career-high 4 hits, including a 2-run home run, on May 18 at
Pittsburgh.Hit his 4th career pinch-hit home run on June 12 vs. Milwaukee...Went a career-high 30 consecutive at bats without a hit from July 22-Aug. 30...
the streak was the longest by a Reds non-pitcher since 2001...Finished the year strong, hitting .350 (7-20) with 2 home runs in September.
Recorded his 2nd-career walk-off home run on Sept. 12 vs. San Diego.
2005
Established career highs in BA (.260), doubles (27)
and RBI (60)...combined with Javier Valentin to produce the best
offensive catching corps in the Major Leagues...overall together they
hit .268 with 28hr and 110rbi...their 26hr while catching tied NYM and
Bos for the Major League lead, and their 101rbi at catcher was the
highest total by any team's backstops...in his last 82g of the season
beginning 5/14 hit .288 (14hr, 53rbi)...hit a career-high .311 with RISP,
second-highest on the club (Rich Aurilia, .343)...Reds pitchers went
46-58 in his 104 starts behind the plate and posted a 5.26era while
he caught...caught the club's only shutout (5/30 at Hou, 9-0 win)...with
13hbp ranked T7th in the National League and for the fifth consecutive
season led the club in that category...made all 104 of his starts at
C...threw out 31 percent of the baserunners who attempted to steal
(22-71)...led the club with 30 starts batting seventh in the order and
60 starts batting eighth...also hit second (2g), fifth (3g) and sixth
(9g)...produced 13 2-hit games and 6 career-high 3-hit games...in the
11th inning on 5/24 vs Was suffered a hairline fracture of his left wrist
when he was hit by a Gary Majewski pitch but missed just 3g (5/25-
5/26, 5/28)...on 6/18 vs Atl left the game with a sprained right knee
but missed just 1g (6/19)...from 5/13-6/4 had a season-high 12-game
hitting streak (.378, 3hr, 14rbi), 1g shy of his career high...suffered the
broken wrist 7g into that streak...that hitting streak followed a career-
high 0-for-24 skid that was snapped on 5/13 at Phi with an RBIsingle
off Brett Myers...produced a career-high 6rbi in the 11-10
victory on 7/4 at SF (sac fly, 2-run HR, 3-run double)...in the 6-1 win on
7/28 at LA produced 2 homers and 5rbi...in the 8-3 win at Chi on 8/
9 made his ninth career start batting second in the order (3-5, 1 2b,
1hr, 2rbi)...hit second again on 8/28 at Pit...in the 12-inning, 8-3 win
on 9/4 at Atl hit a pinch-hit grand slam off Dan Kolb to provide the
margin of victory...was his second career pinch-hit HR and his fourth
career grand slam...hit another pinch-hit HR on 9/23 vs Phi (2-run off
Ryan Madson)...in the bottom of the inning made his second career
appearance in RF and caught the game's final out...from 6/12-6/14
missed 3g while attending the funeral of his grandfather...missed the
last 2g of the season for the birth of his son, Brayden.
2004
Established career highs in batting average (.251), hits (98), doubles (24) and RBI (55)...was hit
by a pitch 24 times, breaking the club record he tied in 2003 (Frank Robinson, 20hbp, 1956)...his 24hbp was the
second-highest total in the Major Leagues (Pit's Craig Wilson, 30hbp)...from 4/29-5/13 was on the disabled list with
a fracture on the tip of his right index finger..suffered the injury on 4/28 at Mil, when he was hit by a Dan Kolb pitch
on a bunt attempt...missed 13g while on the DL...Reds pitchers went 54-52 in his 106 starts behind the plate and
posted a 4.92era while he caught (930ip, 508er)...caught 3 of the staff's 5cg and 5 of its 8sho...with 15 passed balls
tied for the Major League lead (w/ Bos' Doug Mirabelli)...in his last 55g of the season hit .283...his 11-game hitting
streak from 7/9-7/25 (.415, 5hr, 8rbi) tied D'Angelo Jimenez for the longest by a Reds batter all season...appeared in
114g, including 107 starts...led the club with 42 starts batting seventh and 29 starts batting eighth...also hit second
(1g, 6/11 at Cle), fifth (4g), sixth (30g) and ninth (1g, 6/12 at Cle)...on 6/13 at Cle made his only career appearance
at DH...on 6/11 at Cle made his eighth career start batting second in the order...on 6/14 at Phi made his fourth career
appearance in the outfield and his first career appearance in RF...from 9/4-9/6 missed 3g with a hyperextended knee
suffered on 9/3 at Mil...on 9/7 at Hou was hit by a pitch for the 21st time (by Roy Oswalt), establishing a new club
single-season record...on 10/1 vs Pit was hit by a pitch for the 24th and final time (by Mark Corey)...that ball was
donated to the Reds Hall of Fame...from 5/10-5/13 appeared in 3g for Louisville while rehabbing the finger injury.
2003
Established career highs with 379ab, 52 runs, 16hr and a team-high 23 doubles...ranked third in
the National League in times hit by a pitch (20), tying the franchise single-season record (Frank Robinson, 1956)...joined
Sean Casey as the only Reds players to stay on the 25-man roster for the entire season...during the course of the
season was bothered by a bruised right shoulder, bruised left shoulder, bruised left heel and upper back spasms but
only once missed more than 3 consecutive starts (9gs, 7/5-7/13, bruised left rotator cuff)...suffered that rotator cuff
injury on 6/29 at Cle when he was hit in the back by a Jason Davis pitch...Reds pitchers went 44-65 in his 109 starts
behind the plate and posted a 5.10era while he caught (954.1ip, 541er)...caught all 4 of the club's complete
games...threw out 16-61 (26%) baserunners attempting to steal...made 109 of his 110 starts at C...made his other
start at 1B (8/27 vs Mil)...also made 1 defensive replacement appearance in LF (8/24 at Hou)...made 4 starts batting
second, 10 starts batting fifth, 15 starts batting sixth, a team-high 48 starts batting seventh and 33 starts batting
eighth...hit 1 of the team's 6 walkoff homers (off Col's Brian Fuentes on 7/31)...also hit his first career pinch-hit HR
(off Hou's Octavio Dotel on 7/19)...produced 18 2-hit games and three 3-hit games that tied his career high...on 4/14
at Chi had 3 doubles, a career high and the most by a Reds batter all season...in the eighth inning of a 9-8 victory on
5/20 vs Atl hit a 2-run HR off Roberto Hernandez that snapped a 7-7 tie...on 6/13 vs Phi tied career highs with 2hr and
5rbi...in the 14-inning, 7-4 win at StL on 6/24 became the first Reds batter to finish a game 0-for-7 since Kurt Stillwell
on 7/24/86 vs Mtl...on 8/27 vs Mil made his second career appearance and first career start at 1B...on 9/20 at Phi was
hit by a pitch for the 20th time (Amaury Telemaco), tying the club record...appeared in 6 more games without breaking
the record...had 10 infield hits, second on the club to Aaron Boone (12).
Career highlights: In 2001 led all Major League catchers in caught-stealing percentage (60.3) and received
Baseball Prospectus' Golden Gun Award...was selected to represent the International League at the 2000 Triple-A All-
Star Game...in 1999 was an International League All-Star, was voted the best defensive catcher in the league by IL
managers and was named honorable mention on Howe Sportsdata's All-Prospect Team...twice has been named
International League Player of the Week (4/24-4/30, 2000; 8/2-8/7, 1999)...in 1998 was selected by
USA Today as the
organization's Minor League Player of the Year, was named honorable mention on Howe Sportsdata's All-Prospect
Team and represented Chattanooga in the 1998 Double-A All-Star Game...in 1998 led the Southern League in hitting
and slugging percentage...twice in 1998 was named Southern League Player of the Week...in 1997 was a mid- and
post-season South Atlantic League All-Star selection...in his career has played 2g at 1B (5/28/01 vs Cubs, start on 8/
27/03 vs Mil), 3g at 3B (last 3gs of 2001 season) and 3g in LF (6/13/01 at WSox, 8/26/01 at Mtl, 8/24/03 at Hou, 0gs).
2002
In his second full season as the Reds' starting catcher hit .249 (12hr, 52rbi) in 113g and 100 starts...for the second straight season had a career-high 12 homers...also established career highs in batting average, runs scored (42), hits (88) and RBI...made his last appearance of the season on 9/21...on 9/24 had surgery to repair a hernia (Dr. Joann Lohr)...is his only career appearance on the disabled list...on 9/18 at Pit left the game with a bruised right calf suffered on a play at the plate...missed 3g, then started the nightcap of the 9/21 day/night DH vs Phi before the hernia ended his season...finished the season by hitting safely in 14 of his last 15g (.327, 4hr, 10rbi), including a career-high 13-game hitting streak (9/1-9/17, .348, 4hr, 10rbi)...with 13hbp led the club and ranked sixth in the National League...in his 100 starts Reds pitchers went 48-52 and posted a 4.68era (906.1ip, 471er) while he caught...caught 1 of the club's 2 complete games, Chris Reitsma's 2-0 win on 7/15 at Mil...threw out 25-57 baserunners attempting to steal (44%)...led the Major Leagues with 20 passed balls, including 8pb while catching knuckleballer Jared Fernandez...did not commit an error in 75g from 5/24-9/15...hit the second and third grand slams of his career...in the 7-5 win at Pit on 7/18 snapped the 2-2 tie with an eighth-inning grand slam off Brian Boehringer...in the 10-5 loss on 9/4 at StL his slam off Jamey Wright capped the Reds' 5-run second inning...was responsible for 1 of the team's 8 walkoff wins...in the 10-inning, 5-4 victory on 4/18 vs Hou ended the game with a bases-loaded RBI-single off Ricky Stone...twice in his first 9g of the season tied his career high with 3 hits (4/7 vs Mtl, 4/11 at Pit), then produced his third and final 3-hit game on 8/10 vs SD...on 5/4 at SF broke up the Giants' no-hit bid with a single off Ryan Jensen leading off the eighth inning...on 5/29 at Fla tied his career high with 4 strikeouts (3x)...on 7/16 at Mil produced his third career 2-HR game...in the 13-inning, 6-4 victory vs LA on 8/1 tied the game in the bottom of the ninth with a 2-strike, 2-out, 2-run double off Giovanni Carrara...on 8/22 at Ari hit his only triple of the season...had a season-high hitless skid of 0-for-12 (5/29-6/4)...had 19 multi-hit games, including 16 2-hit games and the 3 career-high 3-hit games...in spring training went 0-for-28 from 3/9-3/25 but finished the exhibition season with a 6-game hitting streak (8-15, .533), then had a single and a double on Opening Day vs the Cubs.
2001
In his 1st season as the Reds starting catcher, made 95 starts behind the plate and hit .236 (86-364) with 12 home runs and 43 RBI...Led all N.L. catchers in caught-stealing percentage, throwing out 41 of 68 (60%) runners and ranked 2nd in the Majors to Texas Ivan Rodriguez (72%)...threw out 23 of the last 32 (71%) baserunners attempting to steal on the season...led all N.L. catchers with 15 passed balls...Smacked his 1st career grand slam off Houston's Kent Bottenfield on May 18...Recorded his 2nd-career 2-homer game on Aug. 2 at Los Angeles (NL).
2000
Spent a majority of the season at Louisville (AAA)...did appear in 31 games with the Reds, hitting .235 with 5 home runs and 12 RBI...in his 31 starts, the Reds went 16-15 and posted a 3.78 ERA...Was selected to the Triple-A All-Star Game, but did not play because of the birth of his 1st child, Tyler...Notched his 1st-career multi-home run game when he connected twice at Chicago (N.L.) on Aug. 12.
1999
At Class AAA Indianapolis was an International League All-Star ... was voted the best defensive catcher in the league by IL managers ... was named honorable mention on Howe Sportsdata's all-prospect team ... in his Major League debut hit .211 with 3 HR and 10 RBI in 36g and 27 starts during 2 stints with the Reds (6/15-8/2, 8/27-end of season) ... started behind the plate in three of the Reds' four 1-hitters (6/24 at Hou, 6/30 vs Ari, 7/21 vs StL) and in 4 of their 11 shutouts (6/24, 6/30, 7/21, 9/18 at Pit) ... Ron Villone started all three 1-hitters ... began the season at Indy and in 50g there hit .249 (6 HR, 20 RBI) before he was promoted on 6/15, when Brian Johnson went on the Reds' 15-day disabled list ... on 6/15 vs Mets made his Major League debut after just 397 minor league games ... entered that game as a defensive replacement and went 0-for-2 ... made his first big league start in his third game, on 6/20 vs Mil, and caught the 7-4 loss ... on 7/5 vs Hou recorded his first Major League hit, a single off Chris Holt after starting his career 0-for-12, and then his first career stolen base ... on 7/10 at Cle recorded his first career double, first career RBI, and first run scored ... on 7/20 vs Det recorded his first career multi-hit game, both doubles ... from 7/23-7/27 made 5 consecutive starts while Eddie Taubensee recovered from a sore right wrist ... Reds went 4-1 in those games ... on 7/23 at SF hit his first career HR, a 2-run shot off Robb Nen ... hit his other 2 HR on 8/30 vs Atl (off Chen) and 9/18 at Pit (off Peters) ... in 19g and 16 starts during his first stint with the Reds hit .154 (1 HR, 3 RBI) before returning to Indianapolis on 8/3, when Juan Guzman was added to the Reds' roster ... in his first plate appearance back at Indy, on 8/4 vs Richmond, homered off Everett Stull as part of a streak in which he homered in 5 consecutive games to earn International League Player of the Week honors for the week of 8/2-8/7 (12-21, .571, 6 HR, 11 RBI) ... in his second plate appearance in that 8/4 game hit a 3-run triple ... in his second stint overall at Indy hit .256 (6 HR, 17 RBI) in 20g until he was recalled again on 8/27, when Hal Morris went on the Reds' disabled list ... after his second promotion immediately put together a career-high 6-game hitting streak (8/28-9/8) during which he hit .533 (1 HR, 5 RBI) ... after his second recall hit .289 (4 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI) in 17g and 11 starts for the Reds the rest of the season ... on 8/30 vs Atl had 3 hits and 3 RBI, both career highs ... had 4 multi-hit games, including three 2-hit games and the career-high 3-hit game on 8/30 ... Reds pitchers went 17-10 in his 27 starts behind the plate and posted a 3.81 ERA overall while he caught ... threw out 8-21 (38%) baserunners attempting to steal ... was credited with 2 errors and 2 passed balls ... at Indy threw out 27-72 (38%) baserunners attempting to steal ... prior to the season was rated by Baseball America as the organization's fourth-best prospect and the Southern League's 10th-best prospect.
1998
Selected by USA Today as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year, was named honorable mention on Howe Sportsdata's All-Prospect Team and represented Chattanooga in the 1998 Double-A All-Star Game...in 1998 led the Southern League in hitting and slugging percentage...twice in 1998 was named Southern League Player of the Week.
1997
Was a mid- and post-season South Atlantic League All-Star
selection...led all Reds minor league players in doubles...ranked fifth in the SAL in hitting...batted at least .300 every day of the season except 2 days and didnbt fall below .293 all season....was added to the 40-man roster on 11/20...combined to hit .350 with 14hr and 87rbi in 120g at Chattanooga and Indianapolis...at Chattanooga led the Southern League in hitting and slugging percentage (.617) and ranked second with a .429 on-base percentage, third with 61 extra-base hits and fourth in doubles and triples...began the season at Chattanooga and hit .331 with 3hr and 19rbi in 36g before he was promoted to Indy on 5/25...from 5/27-6/17 appeared in 15g for the Indians before he returned to Chattanooga...finished the season with the Lookouts and hit .383 with 11hr and 63rbi in his last 69g...at Chattanooga put together a season-high 15-game hitting streak from 5/14-6/27, a streak interrupted after 8g by his promotion to Indy...from 7/31-8/22 hit safely in 20-21 games, including hitting streaks of 8 and 12g...in the Southern League hit .400 in May, .345 in June, .360 in July, .396 in August and .462 in September...hit .314 with 5hr vs LHP and .388 with 9hr vs RHP...hit .402 with RISP...played for Maryvale in the Arizona Fall League (.273, 4hr, 11rbi, 28g).
1996
Appeared in just 37g because of a broken left leg suffered during a home plate collision in June.
1995
Appeared in 58g during his first professional season, including 54 as a catcher.
