Daric W. Barton…graduated from Marina High School (Huntington Beach, CA) in 2003…hit .372 (29-for-78) with 10 home runs and 27 RBI as a senior.
2013
Had two stints with the A's in 2013 and batted a combined .269 with three home runs and 16 RBI in 37 games…went 3-for-21 (.143) in eight games during his first stint from May 8 to 17…returned Aug. 26 when Josh Reddick went on the disabled list and Brandon Moss moved to the outfield and started 24 of the A's final 33 games at first base…batted .301 with two home runs and 13 RBI in 29 games total during his second stint…his 37 games were his fewest since playing in 18 games in his first season in 2007…started 30 games, all at first base…appeared in 36 games overall at first and has now played in 504 games at first base in his career, which is third most in Oakland history and ninth most in Athletics history…hit three home runs in 37 games in 2013 after combining for one home run in 113 games from 2011-12…batted .269 (21-for-78) with all three of his home runs against right-handed pitching, .269 (7-for-26) against left-handers…went 10-for-23 (.435) with runners in scoring position…entered the season with a .243 career average with RISP…averaged 3.75 pitches per plate appearance, which was the lowest mark of his career…was 7-for-15 (.467) when putting the first pitch in play…batted .311 during the day compared to .237 at night…was with the A's during the spring but was designated for assignment March 29…cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Sacramento April 4…was selected from Sacramento May 8 and went 3-for-21 (.143) in eight games, including six starts at first base, before he was designated for assignment May 18 and outrighted to Sacramento May 21…returned Aug. 26 and went 8-for-30 (.267) over his first 11 games…then hit .321 over his final 18 contests beginning Sept. 8… committed his only error of the season Sept. 25 at Los Angeles (AL)…it was his first error since June 14, 2011, snapping an 80-game errorless streak as a first baseman…that is the third longest such streak in Oakland history…finished September with a .318 batting average in 23 games…the batting average was the second highest single month mark of his career (.347 in Sept., 2007)…went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts in two ALDS games against Detroit, including a start at first base in Game 1.
SACRAMENTO: Spent the balance of the season at Sacramento where he batted .297 with seven home runs and 69 RBI in 110 games…added 87 walks for a .423 on-base percentage…the on-base percentage was ninth best among all full season minor leaguers…led the Pacific Coast League in walks, ranked second in on-base percentage and tied for 10th in runs (77)…led the A's farm system in on-base percentage, ranked second in walks, fourth in batting, tied for fifth in runs and tied for seventh in doubles (29)…led the River Cats in walks and on-base percentage and tied for the lead in doubles…hit .314 (89-for-283) against right-handed pitching compared to .250 (27-for-108) with four of his seven home runs against left-handers…had a .215 batting average with the bases empty, .387 with runners on base…hit .434 with runners in scoring position…was 8-for-11 (.727) with three doubles, five walks and 21 RBI with the bases loaded…batted .191 when leading off an inning…hit six of his seven home runs on the road… appeared in 80 games at first base, 29 at third base and one at second base…committed 13 errors, including seven as a third baseman for a .892 fielding percentage…also went 1-for-7 (.143) in two games at designated hitter…hit in every spot in the order except first and fourth and saw his most action with 34 games batting second…drove in a season-high four runs April 13 at Reno…finished April with a .325 batting average and also walked 23 times for a .476 on-base percentage…the walks tied for third most in the minors in April…was hitting .298 with three home runs, 24 RBI and a .427 on-base percentage in 30 games when he was promoted to Oakland May 8…returned to Sacramento May 23 and hit .296 with four home runs, 45 RBI and a .407 on-base percentage over his final 80 games…struck out just once over a 15-game stretch from June 9-24…batted .275 in June but walked 27 times in 20 games for a .464 on-base percentage…led all of Minor League Baseball in walks in June…made his first start of the season at third base July 18 at Salt Lake and made 28 of his final 33 starts at third…went 1 for 4 in that game to start a 32-game streak where he reached base safely via hit or walk in each game through Aug. 24…hit .310 with a .408 on-base percentage during the streak, which was third longest in the PCL in 2013…went 3-for-5 with a season-high four runs and a season-high tying four RBI July 19 at Salt Lake…had three RBI the next day against the Bees…had a season-high nine-game hitting streak from July 31 to Aug. 13 (14-for-39, .359)…batted .360 in 20 games in August, which was the fifth best mark in the PCL in the month…was promoted to Oakland August 26.
2012
Split his season between Oakland and Sacramento...was batting .198 with a home run and four RBI in
37 games when he was optioned to Sacramento June 2...hit .255 with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 74
games with the River Cats...returned to Oakland in September and went 2-for-7 (.286) in nine games...
had a .204 average with the A's overall...the batting average was his lowest in six seasons with the A's...
has one home run in 113 games with Oakland over the last two years...hit .250 on the road compared to
.151 in Oakland...had a .197 batting average with the bases empty but hit .263 with runners in scoring
position...batted .210 (17-for-81) against right-handed pitching compared to .188 (6-for-32) against
left-handers...drew 18 of his 22 walks against righties...was 6-for-10 (.600) with three doubles when
putting the first pitch in play...batted .110 (8-for-73) with two strikes...started 33 games at first base
and did not commit an error in 43 games overall at first...had 336 total chances, which were second
most in Athletics history by a first baseman with no errors...the most is 444 by Dick Siebert with 1938
Philadelphia A's...also went 2-for-5 (.400) with a double and strikeout as a pinch hitter...was 1-for-15
with a walk and nine strikeouts in the pinch entering this season...saw his most action with 22 starts
batting seventh in the order and hit .185 in that spot.
2011
Was the A's Opening Day starter at first base but never got on track offensively, batting .212 with no
home runs and 21 RBI in 67 games before he was optioned to Sacramento June 22...appeared in 17
games with the River Cats before going on the disabled list...his batting average, on-base percentage
(.325) and slugging percentage (.267) were all career lows...had 236 at-bats, which were eighth most in
Oakland history by a player with no home runs...they were the most since Jason Kendall went homerless
in 601 at-bats in 2005...had 234-at bats while playing first base...the last time a Major League first
baseman hit no home runs in a season with at least that many at-bats was 1984 when Al Oliver (396
at-bats, SF and PHI) and Pete Rose (237, MON and CIN) both did it...since 1974, the only American
League first baseman with more homerless at-bats in a season is Mike Squires of the 1981 Chicago
White Sox (288 at-bats)...now has a career-high 69-game homerless streak, including 66 consecutive
games as a first baseman...that is second longest by a first baseman in Oakland history to the record
of 75 by Mike Hegan from July 6, 1971 to Aug. 16, 1973...his last home run was Oct. 1, 2010 against
Seattle...batted .253 (19 for 75) against left-handed pitching compared to .193 (31 for 161) against
right-handers...hit .245 with runners in scoring position, including .400 with RISP and two outs, which
tied for the third best figure in the AL...it tied for the fourth-best mark by an Athletic since 1974...batted
.186 against a pitcher the first two times he saw him in a game, .288 after that...made a team-leading
52 starts hitting second but batted just .199 in those games...that was the second-lowest average by a
number two hitter in the AL (Chone Figgins, SEA .193)...hit .275 in all other spots in the order...committed
eight errors in 65 games at first base, which was the most among ML first baseman when he was
sent down to Sacramento June 22...also went 0-for-2 with a walk and a strikeout in three pinch-hitting
appearances...is 1-for-15 with a walk and nine strikeouts in his career in the pinch.
OAKLAND: Went 0-for-4 in the opener April 1 against Seattle but then reached base safely via hit or
walk in each of his next 17 games...hit .263 with a .425 on-base percentage during the streak...committed
an error in each of the first three games of the season and made five errors over his first 15 games...
matched his career high with four hits April 12 at Chicago (AL)...his other four-hit game was Sept. 26,
2009 at Los Angeles...was batting .292 with a .433 on-base percentage over his first 14 games through
April 15...then went 8-for-64 (.125) with 10 walks (.240 on-base percentage) over his next 18 contests
from April 16 to May 7...hit .258 over a 24-game stretch from May 8 to June 6, but then went 4-for-31
(.129) over his next 11 games before he was optioned to Sacramento June 22...his .267 slugging percentage
was second lowest in the majors at the time he was sent down (Figgins, SEA .254)...had the
2010
Batted .273 with 10 home runs, 57 RBI and an American League-leading 110 walks...the walks fueled
a .393 on-base percentage, which was fifth best in the AL...also ranked second in the league in pitches
per plate appearance (4.39), tied for second in times on base (265), tied for fourth in sacrifice hits (12),
seventh in games (159) and tied for ninth in triples (5)...led the A's in games, at bats (556), runs (79),
hits (152), doubles (33), walks, on-base percentage and slugging percentage (.405), and tied for the
lead in sacrifice hits...the slugging percentage is the lowest by a team-leader in Oakland history...the
previous low was established in 2009 by Kurt Suzuki (.421)...the sacrifice hits were the most by an
Athletic since A.J. Hinch had 13 in 1998, the most by a first baseman in Oakland history and the most by
any Major League first baseman since Rod Carew had 16 for California in 1982...all 12 occurred over
his first 99 games...had no sacrifice hits over his final 60 games, beginning July 30...stole seven bases,
which led AL first basemen and were third most by a first baseman in Oakland history...they were the
most since Don Baylor had 24 of his 52 steals in 1976 as a first baseman...led AL first basemen in games
(157), games started (155), total chances (1492) and putouts (1404) but committed 10 errors, which
tied for second most...his .993 fielding percentage was second lowest among AL qualifiers...had seven
errors over his first 30 games (.976 fielding percentage) but just three over his last 127 contests (.998)...
the games played, games started, total chances and putouts set Oakland records for a first baseman...
the games were second most in Athletics history (Norm Siebern, 162 in 1962)...struck out 102 times,
marking the 14th time in Athletics history a player has reached the century mark in walks and strikeouts
in the same season...batted .310 with a .490 slugging percentage against left-handed pitching and .259
with a .372 slugging percentage against right-handers...hit nine of his 10 home runs on the road...has
hit just six of his 26 career home runs in the Coliseum...also had nine home runs at night...hit .233 with
runners in scoring position, including .181 with RISP and two outs...made a team-leading 149 starts
hitting second...also hit third five times and sixth once...went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts as a pinch
hitter and is now 1 for 13 (.077) with two RBI and eight strikeouts in his career in the pinch.
OAKLAND: Walked a Major League-leading 22 times during the spring, the most walks by an Athletic
since spring stats were first available in 1991...the previous best was 17 by Mark McGwire in 1991...
then walked three times in the opener, April 5 at Seattle...that tied the Oakland Opening Day record
set by Sal Bando in 1975 and matched by Barton in 2008...had his first career four-RBI game April 8
against the Mariners...drove in seven runs over his first five games but then had a career long 16-game
streak without a RBI from April 10 to 27...the streak ended when he homered April 28 at Tampa Bay,
snapping a career-long 41-game homerless streak...it was his first home run since Sept. 11, 2009...fractured the volar plate in the middle finger of his right hand April 25 against Cleveland but did not miss
any games...homered in the 11th inning May 11 at Texas and added the game-winning RBI single in
the 13th...according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is the first Athletic to have a RBI hit in two different
extra inning at-bats in the same game since Harry Simpson did it for the Kansas City A's June 12, 1956
in a 9-3, 15-inning win at Washington...had a career-high 11-game hitting streak from May 25 to June
4...hit .341 (14 for 41) during the streak...had a second 11-game hitting streak from Aug. 17 to 28 (16
for 39, .410)...hit safely in 15 consecutive road games from May 25 to June 16 (20 for 58, .345)...tied
an Oakland record with three doubles June 26 against Pittsburgh (23rd time, last by Ryan Sweeney, Sept.
14, 2009)...added four RBI, becoming just the third player in Oakland history with three doubles and
at least four RBI in a game (Sweeney and Ben Grieve, Sept. 3, 1997 vs. San Francisco)...was ejected
from the game July 6 by home plate umpire Mike Winters after striking out in the fifth inning...it was
his first career ejection...was ejected for a second time Sept. 12 by Hunter Wendelstedt after striking
out to end the game against Boston...homered in the fifth inning July 10 against Los Angeles to snap a
career-high tying 0 for 20 streak (also Sept. 8-16, 2008)...it also snapped a 34-game homerless streak...
scored a career-high four runs Aug. 28 in Texas when he went 2 for 3 with a home run and two walks...
set an Oakland record with five consecutive multi-walk games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 1...reeled off his
best month of the season in August when he batted .311 with three home runs, nine RBI and 27 walks
(.466 on-base percentage) in 27 games...boasted a .281 average entering September, but he hit .226 with
no home runs and four RBI in 28 games in the month...then had his first career two-homer game and
drove in a career-high six runs Oct. 1 at Seattle...hit a solo home run in the first inning, his first career
grand slam in the second and added a RBI double in the sixth.
2009
After spending the entire 2008 season with the A's, Barton split 2009 between Triple-A Sacramento and
Oakland...hit .261 with nine home runs and 48 RBI in 70 games with the River Cats and .269 with three
home runs and 24 RBI in 54 games with the A's...was batting .147 with a home run and three RBI with
Oakland when he was placed on the 15-day disabled list July 28 retroactive to July 27 with a strained left
hamstring...hit .302 with two home runs and 21 RBI in 37 games following his return...batted .212 with
five extra base hits (.329 slugging percentage) in Oakland compared to .333 with 11 extra base hits (.507
slugging percentage) on the road...had more walks (26) than strikeouts (25)...hit .359 with 16 of his 24
RBI against American League West teams and .183 against everyone else...now has a .309 (86 for 278)
career average against the West and .208 (83 for 400) against the rest of baseball...batted .324 with nine
RBI in the eighth inning or later and .252 with 15 RBI over the first seven innings...had a .271 batting
average with two of his three home runs and 16 of his 24 RBI with two strikes...hit .333 when leading
off an inning and is a .317 (45 for 142) career hitter in that situation...batted .231 against a pitcher the
first time he saw him in a game and .339 after that...hit .192 with two outs and .306 with less than two
outs...appeared in 51 games, including 46 starts, at first base and made just one error for a .998 fielding
percentage...was also 0 for 2 with a strikeout as a pinch hitter and pinch ran once...is now 1 for 10
(.100) with two RBI and six strikeouts in his career in the pinch, including 0 for his last 9.
2008
Struggled in his first full season with the A's as he batted .226 with nine home runs and 47 RBI in 140 games...the
average was third lowest in the American League and seventh lowest in Oakland history...also had the third lowest
slugging percentage in the AL...led AL rookies in walks (65) and ranked third in triples (5)...the triples tied for third
most by a rookie in Oakland history and the walks tied for fifth most...led the A's in triples, sacrifice hits (6) and
intentional walks (5)...his batting average included a .208 (66 for 318) mark against right-handed pitching and .273
(35 for 128) against lefties...also hit .216 on the road and .218 in night games...his night batting average was the
lowest in the AL...batted under .200 in three months including .139 in May, .160 in July and .198 in August...hit at
least .269 in the other three months, including .278 in April, .269 in June and .279 in September...compiled a .303
batting average when leading off an inning and now has a .311 (33 for 106) career average in that situation...hit
DARIC BARTON
FIRST BASE
Height/Weight: 6-0 / 218 Bats/Throws: Left / Right
Birthdate: August 16, 1985 Opening Day Age: 23
Birthplace/Resides: Springfield, Vermont / Corona, California
Major League Service: 1 year, 21 days
Obtained: Acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals with pitchers Kiko Calero
and Dan Haren for pitcher Mark Mulder, December 18, 2004
Contract Status: First year of a one-year contract through 2009.
10
2009 OAKLAND ATHLETICS MEDIA GUIDE ❯ 37
FRONT OFFICE 2009 ATHLETICS REVIEW RECORDS HISTORY OPPONENTS PLAYER DEVELOPMENT MISCELLANEOUS
eight of his nine home runs on the road and six came after the All-Star Break...10 of his 13 career home runs have
come on the road...made a team leading 124 starts at first base and committed 13 errors for a .988 fielding percentage...
led AL first basemen in errors and lowest fielding percentage and tied for second in double plays (128)...his
fielding percentage was the lowest by a first baseman in Oakland history and the errors tied for second most, falling
one short of the record of 14 by Jason Giambi in 1998...also appeared in one game at third base and handled two
chances without an error ...was 1 for 8 (.125) with two RBI and five strikeouts as a pinch hitter...had a two-run single
in his first pinch hitting appearance on April 26 at Seattle but then went 0 for his last 7...started games at every
spot in the order except fourth and had his best success in the six spot where he batted .360 in 17 games...hit a
combined .131 against AL East teams and .257 against everyone else.
2007
Spent the entire regular season at Triple-A Sacramento and also played for
the River Cats in the first round of the Pacific Coast League playoffs before
he was selected by Oakland on September 10...started all 18 games at
first base for the A's following his promotion and batted .347 in his Major
League debut...of his 25 hits, 13 were for extra bases (nine doubles, four
home runs) and he had a .639 slugging percentage...added 10 walks for a
.429 on-base percentage...based on a minimum of 75 plate appearances,
he had the third best single season batting average in Oakland history, the
sixth best slugging percentage and the ninth best on-base
percentage...reached base safely via hit or walk in all 18 of his games,
which is the longest reaching base streak to start a career in Oakland
history...the previous mark was 14 by Bruce Robinson in 1978...had nine
multiple hit games in his 18 contests...hit .378 (17 for 45) with three of his
four home runs against right-handed pitching compared to .296 (8 for 27)
against left-handers...batted .419 on the road and .293 in Oakland...was
just 1 for 12 (.083) with runners in scoring position...was 12 for 43 (.279)
against a pitcher the first time he saw him in a game and 13 for 29 (.448)
after that...made 16 of his 18 starts batting second in the order...did not
commit an error in 159 total chances at first base...made his ML debut on
September 10 at Seattle and went 2 for 3 with a double and two
walks...walked in his first two plate appearances before doubling off Ryan
Feierabend in the sixth inning for his first ML hit...had nine hits in his first
five games, which tied the Oakland record for most hits by a player in his
first five ML games...shares the mark with Mitchell Page (1977), Jeff Cox
(1980) and Ben Grieve (1997)...hit his first ML home run on September
14 against Texas, a two-run shot off Kason Gabbard in the third inning...had
a career high three hits in that game...had a nine-game hitting streak from
September 16 to 26 (13 for 35, .371) and hit safely in 15 of his 18
games.
Batted .293 with nine home runs and 70 RBI in 136 games with
Sacramento...led the River Cats in games, at bats (516), runs (84), hits
(151), doubles (38), RBI and walks (78) and was second in triples (5), hit by pitches (6) and on-base percentage
(.389)...had career highs in games, at
bats, doubles and triples...tied for fourth
among all Triple-A batters in walks (78),
ranked seventh in on-base percentage
(.389) and was eighth in doubles
(38)...now has a .301 (498 for 1655)
batting average in 460 career minor
league games...has 313 walks for a .414
on-base percentage...batted .304 (109
for 359) with eight of his nine home runs
against right-handed pitching compared
to .268 (42 for 157) against left-handers...hit .321 with six home runs and
49 RBI in 85 games before the Triple-A All-Star break and .246 with three
home runs and 21 RBI in 51 games after the break...batted over .300 in
just one month and that was in July when he hit .454 (49 for 108) with 14
doubles, two home runs and 20 RBI in 27 games...added nine walks for a
.500 on-base percentage...had 43 multiple hit games...had a .302 average
with runners in scoring position and was 4 for 11 (.364) with a grand slam
with the bases loaded...seven of his nine home runs were solo shots and
six came in the sixth inning or later...started games at six different spots in
the order, including 63 in the three spot and 53 batting cleanup...appeared
in 115 games at first base, 18 at third base and five at designated hitter...was
also 1 for 2 with one RBI as a pinch-hitter...went 8 for 20 (.400) over his
first six games but then went 29 for 144 (.201) over his next 39 games
from April 11 to May 24 to drop his average to .226...had a grand slam and
a season high five RBI on May 3 at Las Vegas...went 19 consecutive games
without a strikeout from May 18 to June 9...snapped out of his slump with
two four-hit games in a four-game series at Colorado Springs on May 25
and 28...then had a 24-game hitting streak from June 5 to 29, which was
the longest streak in the PCL in 2007...hit .490 (49 for 100) during the
streak with 14 doubles, two home runs, 20 RBI and 24 runs scored...that
included a streak of 11 straight multiple hit games from June 15 to 25 (27
for 40, .675)...had four-hit games on June 21 against Tacoma and June 24
at Salt Lake...also scored four runs in the game against Tacoma...the hitting
streak pushed his season average to .329 and he was batting .321 as
late as July 23...then went 33 for 148 (.223) over his final 39 regular season
games...followed that up by going 11 for 20 (.550) with four home
runs, 10 RBI, four walks and five runs scored in five games against Salt
Lake in the first round of the PCL playoffs before he was promoted to
Oakland.
2005
Split his season between Single-A Stockton and Double-A Midland and batted a combined .317 with 13 home runs and 89 RBI in 135 games...added 97 walks for a .426 on-base percentage...had career highs in batting average, games (135), at bats (504), runs (98), hits (160), doubles (36), triples (3), RBI, walks and strikeouts (79) and matched his best in home runs...ranked tied for fourth in all of Minor League Baseball in walks...tied with Andre Ethier for the best batting average in the A's farm system and ranked fourth in RBI...now has a .312 (308 for 987) career batting average to go with a .431 on-base percentage in 279 minor league games...his .317 batting average in 2005 broke down to .329 (120 for 365) against right-handed pitchers and .288 (40 for 139) against left-handers...batted .315 (52 for 165) with runners in scoring position but that mark jumped to .380 (30 for 79) with RISP and two outs...reached base safely via hit or walk
in 123 of his 135 games...hit in every spot in the order except leadoff and saw his most action batting clean-up where he appeared in
62 games (73 for 232, .315)...appeared in 113 games at first base and one each at catcher, third base, left field and right field...also went
17 for 73 (.233) in 20 games at designated hitter...began the year at Stockton and hit .318 with eight home runs and 52 RBI in 79 games
with the Ports...started slowly as he hit just .244 in April...then hit .294 in May before batting .404 (40 for 99) with three home runs, 24
RBI, 23 runs scored and 22 walks in 25 games in June...reached base safely via hit or walk in 40 consecutive games from May 3 to June
13...hit .306 (44 for 144) with 37 walks for a .451 on-base percentage during the streak...had three four-hit games with the Ports and all
came over an eight-game span from June 16 to 23...was 4 for 5 with four RBI on June 16 against San Jose, 4 for 5 with five RBI on June
19 against Rancho Cucamonga and 4 for 5 on June 23 at Rancho Cucamonga...had an 11-game hitting streak from June 18 to July 2 (25 for 46, .543) that boosted his average from .279 to .321...then went 0 for 2 on July 3 to finish the Stockton portion of his campaign with a .318 batting average...was promoted to Midland on July 4 and hit .316 with five home runs and 37 RBI in 56 games with the Rockhounds...hit .280 in July and .348 in August...played for the United States team in the Futures Game on July 10 at Comerica Park
and went 0 for 1...had his fourth four-hit game of the season on August 7 against Frisco to start a season best 20-game hitting streak that ran through August 28...batted .390 (32 for 82) during the streak which equaled the second longest hitting streak in the Texas League in 2005...then hit .303 (10 for 33) with a home run and two RBI in nine postseason games to help Midland win the Texas League Championship...played for the Arizona Fall League Champion Phoenix Desert Dogs and hit .267 (20 for 75) with one home run and 10
RBI in 24 games ...tied for the AFL league lead in walks (21) and had a .429 on-base percentage.
2004
Was named to the Midwest League Postseason All-Star team at catcher while playing for Single-A Peoria...led the Midwest League in on-base percentage (.445), ranked third in batting (.313) and was fourth in slugging (.511)...his on-base percentage ranked second among all minor leaguers to Josh Willingham of Carolina (.449)...his batting average ranked second among all minor league catchers to Phil Avlas of Lancaster (.315)...ranked fourth in the St. Louis farm system in batting and RBI (77)...also led the Midwest League in intentional walks (10), ranked fourth in walks (69) and fewest strikeouts per plate appearance (8.93) and was ninth in RBI...appeared in just 90 games for Peoria as he did not join the club until May 16...despite joining the club a month late, he led the team in RBI, walks, on-base percentage and slugging and tied for the team lead in home runs (13)...batted .409 with runners in scoring position, including
.439 with RISP and two outs...hit .349 with nine of his 13 home runs at home compared to .270 on the road...appeared in 52 games at
catcher and had a .975 fielding ercentage...tossed out 18 of 71 (25.4%) attempted base stealers...also hit .315 with seven home runs
and 37 RBI in 36 games at designated hitter and was 0 for 2 with a walk as a pinch-hitter...saw most of his playing time batting third (61
for 194, .314) and fifth (34 for 109, .312) in the batting order...got off to a quick start as he hit safely in each of his first 12 games from
May 16 to 29, his longest hitting streak of the season (20 for 41, .488)...was named Midwest League Player of the Week for the week of
May 24-30...had his only two homer game of the season on June 7 against Battle Creek...added two singles in that contest for his first
of two four-hit games...average was above .400 as late as June 16 when it was at .408...had a season high five RBI on July 7 at Battle
Creek as part of a streak of nine consecutive games with an RBI from July 5 to 17 (14 RBI total)...matched his season high for hits on
August 23 against Beloit when he went 4 for 4 with three doubles...went 3 for 12 (.250) with two walks and two stolen bases in three playoff games for Peoria.
2003
Was the first round draft pick of St. Louis and signed on June 10...was assigned to Johnson City of the Rookie Appalachian League...ranked third in the league in walks (37) and on-base percentage (.420)...batted .294 with four home runs
and 29 RBI in 54 games...led Johnson City in walks and ranked second in on-base percentage...appeared in 37 games at catcher and had a .983 fielding percentage...tossed out 16 of 56 (28.6%) attempted base stealers...also appeared in six games at third base...batted .185 (10 for 54) over his first 20 games through July 13...then went 3 for 4 with three doubles and four runs scored on July 14 at Pulaski...that started a stretch where he hit .345 (40 for 116) over his final 34 games.
