Casey Blake #1

William Casey Blake...he and his wife Abbie have three daughters: Bailey (6/14/01), Lauren (7/14/03), and Dana (9/27/06)...was a 1992 graduate of Indianola (IA) High School, where he played baseball, football, basketball and ran track...played his college ball at Wichita State University from 1993-96...was inducted to the Pizza Hut Shocker Hall of Fame in 2003...was a Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball First-Team Freshman All-American in 1993, when Wichita State lost to LSU in the championship William Casey Blake...he and his wife Abbie have three daughters: Bailey (6/14/01), Lauren (7/14/03), and Dana (9/27/06)...was a 1992 graduate of Indianola (IA) High School, where he played baseball, football, basketball and ran track...played his college ball at Wichita State University from 1993-96...was inducted to the Pizza Hut Shocker Hall of Fame in 2003...was a Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball First-Team Freshman All-American in 1993, when Wichita State lost to LSU in the championship

2008

Batted .274 with 21 homers, 81 RBI, and 71 runs scored in a combined 152 games with the Dodgers and Indians...hit .251 with 12 doubles, 10 homers, and 23 RBI in 58 regular-season games with the Dodgers after being acquired from Cleveland on July 26 for two minor leaguers, catcher Carlos Santana and right-handed pitcher Jon Meloan (cash considerations were also included in the deal)...the Dodgers went 34-26 after he joined the team...Matched his career high with 36 doubles (also in 2004, 2007 with Cleveland)...starting July 26, his 10 home runs ranked second on the club to Manny Ramirez's 18...His .985 fielding percentage at third base starting July 26 was the best in the National League over that span and was second among major league third basemen behind Jack Hannahan's .991 percentage with Oakland...started at third base in 56 of the Dodgers' 60 final regular-season games...Overall with the Indians and Dodgers, started 130 games at third and 19 games at first...also made one appearance at shortstop with Cleveland (June 25 vs. San Francisco) and one regular-season appearance at second base with the Dodgers (July 31 vs. Arizona)...started at first base twice with the Dodgers: Aug. 8 at San Francisco and Aug. 20 vs. Colorado...Batted .310 (44-for-142) with runners in scoring position... was hitting .393 (33-for-84) with runners in scoring position at the time of the trade, which ranked fourth in the American League and the Majors...batted .190 (11-for-58) with men in scoring position with the Dodgers...Batted .354 (23-for-65) in 18 Interleague games...hit .306 (125-for-408) in 114 night games and just .172 (22-for-128) in 38 day games...17 of his 21 homers came off right-handed pitchers...Hit his fourth career grand slam on April 22 at Kansas City off Gil Meche...established a career high with four strikeouts on May 1 vs. Seattle (an 11-inning game)...matched his career high with seven RBI on June 2 at Texas (also July 5, 2003 at Minnesota)...also had two homers on June 2 for his eighth career multi-homer game...went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored in his Dodger debut on July 26 vs. Washington... hit his first home run in a Dodger uniform on Aug. 2 off Arizona's Yusmeiro Petit at Dodger Stadium...hit .267 (8-for- 30) with a homer and four RBI...started at third base in each of the Dodgers' eight postseason games...hit a solo homer in the sixth inning of Game 4 of the NLCS vs. Philadelphia, snapping a 3-3 tie (the Dodgers would lose 7-5)

2007

Had a very consistent offensive season in his 4th year with the Indians as his move to third base in late April proved to be a trigger point for the club ... Had a career-high 26-game hitting streak 'from May 20- June 17, the longest hitting streak in the Majors (??) in 2007 and tied for 7th longest in franchise history with Dale Mitchell (1953) ...Was the longest by an Indian since Sandy Alomar in 1997 (30G)... After the hitting streak hit .263 (88-335) the remainder of the season... The versatile Blake started the season as the club's first basemen/reserve OF before taking over at third base in late April after an injury and option of Andy Marte... Overall on the year made 145 starts at third base (134G), compiling a fielding % of .962 (371TC, 14E, 7th in the AL @3B) Also made 5 starts at first base (12G) and 7GS in RF, the last of which came on April 22 Hit a game-winning, solo "walk-off" home run on Sept. 14 vs. KC off David Riskie, the 3rd 'walk-oft" homer of his career. ..Was his first home run since August 1 vs. TEX, a span of 144 AB between HR (8/2- 9/12) ... Enjoyed another walk-off home run 3 nights later on Sept. 17 vs. Detroit (4th career off Miner)... Hit 4 HR in 70 2nd half games... From August 31 thru the end of the season he hit .311 (28-90) with 3HR &17 RBI in 27 games... Hit .227 (62-273) with runners on and .163 (14-86) with RISP-20uts... Hit .321 (18-56) when batting 6th... His 4.17 pitches seen per PA were 11th among AL hitters.

2006

Had a more consistent offensive season in his 4th year with the Indians...Raised his average 41 points from .241 in 2005 to .282 in 2006...Enjoyed a career-high 15-game hitting streak from April 29-May 18 (.426, 23- 54)... Was leading the American League in hitting on May 20 at .366 (41G, 53-145)...The versatile Blake made 93 starts in rightfield for Eric Wedge and 7 starts at first base (9G)...Season was cruising along until suffering a strained left oblique during BP on June 14 at New York-AL and was placed on the DL the following day...At the time of the injury he was hitting .304 (65-214) with 14 2B, 10HR & 30RBI in 60 games...Missed the rest of the first half and was activated from the DL on July 13 after a brief rehab at A Lake County...Appeared in 19 games (.329, 24-73) in the 2nd half before suffering a sprained right ankle on August 5 at Detroit sliding back into 2nd base after a line-out...At the time of that injury his season average was .310 (89- 287)...Was activated for the 2nd time on August 25 and hit .211 (24-114) over the last 30 games of the season (3HR, 17RBI)...Hit his 2nd career grand slam in the home opener on April 7 vs. Minnesota (Lohse)...Hit 3rd career grand slam on Sept. 25 vs. Chicago-AL (Logan), the Major League-record tying 14th by the Indians in 2006 (hit 1st and 14th by the Indians this year)...Enjoyed four 2-homer games to give him 7 for his career, the last of which came on Sept. 30 vs. Tampa Bay...Also had a season-high 5RBI on July 31 at Boston and Sept. 25 vs. Chicago-AL after his 2nd career slam on the season...Had the 4th inside-the-park home run by an Indian in Jacobs Field on July 25 vs. Detroit...Reached base 5 times on April 4 at Chicago-AL (2-2, 3BB)...Hit .272 (31-114) off LHP with 10HR & 24RBI and .286 (82-287) off RHP with 9 HR & 44RBI...Was 6 for 11 (.545) w/2HR & 20RBI with the bases loaded...Compiled a .986 (3E, 6A, 219TC) in 93 games in RF a .984 fielding % in 9 games at first base (1E, 64TC)...Hit .315 (69-219) w/no one on base and .242 (44-182) with runners on....His .281 (16-57) average with 2 outs and RISP after hitting .085 (5-59) with RISP-2outs in 2005...Hit .333 (28-84) in April and .319 (30-94) in May...Hit .294 (5-17) batting 3rd, .356 (32-90) batting 9th and .341 (14-41) on the first pitch with 4HR...Hit .305 (40-131) after the 7th inning. ...His .561 slugging % off LHP was 16th in the AL...Indians exercised his 2007 club option on October 3.

2005

Spent his third straight season in Cleveland, converting to outfield while providing Eric Wedge with versatility at first and third base when needed...Topped the 20HR mark for the 2nd straight season, collecting 56 extra base hits while driving in 58 runs...Got off to a slow start offensively, hitting .187 (36-193) with 6HR & 16RBI thru the first 53 games thru June 8...The .187 mark was 2nd to last among league qualifiers at the time...From June 9 thru the end of the season he hit .273 (90-330) with 17HR & 42 RBI in 94 games...Overall on the year he made 132 starts in right field, 6 starts at third base and 4 starts at first base...In the outfield he made 8 errors (T2nd most among AL RF's) in 298 total chances w/3 assists (.973 fielding %)...Settled into the #9 spot in the order over the last two months of the season, hitting .264 (48-182) with 10 HR & 22 RBI in the 9-spot and .254 (65-256) overall in the 2nd half (13HR, 29RBI, 74G) ...Started in every spot in the order except #3 hole...Enjoyed his third career 2 home game on Sept. 7 at Detroit...Hit leadoff for the 2nd time in his career (other 6/1/01) on May 9 at Los Angeles-AL...Snapped an 0 for 18 on May 11 at LAA (also had an 0 for 16 in July)...Enjoyed two 11-game hitting streaks during the season (June 9-24, July 29-August 10)...Made start at first base on August 14 vs. Tampa Bay, his first start at first base since the end of the 2003 season...Missed 6 of 7 games with a neck strain from July 1-6...Hit .210 (21-100) in Sept./Oct. w/6HR & 14RBI...Finished 78th in the AL in batting out of 80 qualifiers (143 out of 146 in MLB)...Hit .085 (5-59) with RISP-2 outs for the year and .208 (36-173) from the 7th inning on...His 4.28 pitches per plate app. ranked 1st in the entire AL...Hit .278 (83-299) w/no one on base...Hit .293 (24-82) in June and .313 (30-96) in August.

2004

Had his finest offensive season to date in his second straight full season in the big leagues as the Tribe 3rd baseman established himself as one of the upper tier third sackers in the American League...Established careerhighs in virtually every offensive category, ranking 4th among American League third basemen in HR (28), RBI 88), runs scored (93) and on-base + slugging % (.840)...Ranked behind Alex Rodriguez, Melvin Mora & Hank Blalock in most categories. His career-high 28 home runs were the most by an Indians third baseman since Travis Fryman's 28 in 1998 ranked 9th among MLB 3B...Got off to a slow start, hitting .237 (36-152) w/7 2B, 6HR & 20RBI in the first 40 games...Caught fire in June, hitting .330 (37-112) w/7HR & 21 RBI in 28 games and from June 1 thru the end the season he hit .283 (123-435) with 22 HR & 68 RBI in 112 games...Over his last 118 games from May 25th on he hit .281 (128-455) with 29 2B, 25HR & 73 RBI...Had 2 walk-off homers on the year (May 14 vs. TB, May 28 vs. Oakland). Tied his career-high by going 5 for 6 w/an RBI on August 3 at Toronto and enjoyed his 2nd career 2-homer game on August 29th vs. Chicago-AL...Made 151 starts at third base (152 games overall) and appeared in 8 games first base (0GS)...Struggled defensively at times, compiling a fielding % of .939 (423TC, 26E) at third base, which ranked 9th among AL third basemen...Made 8 errors in July and led all AL third basemen in miscues w/26 (Mora had 21). Had an 11-game hitting streak from 6/18-29 (.356, 16-45, 1 shy of career-high)...Also had an 8-game streak from 9/14-21...Had two 4-RBI games on the year, the last of which came on Sept. 17 vs. Kansas City...Had right hamstring problems early in the year, missing several games in April and early May after leaving game of May at Baltimore...Made 49 starts in the #5 hole (.320, 64-200) and 46 starts in the #6 hole (46-167)...His 4.26 pitches per at bat led all AL hitters (was T5th in the AL w/139SO's) and he also swung at the first pitch 14.5 of the time (97/669), which was 6th most in the AL...Led the team with 25 hits with RISP-2outs as he hit .281 (25- 89) in the clutch (RISP-2outs)...Hit .280 (83-296) with no one on base...Signed 2-year contract on January 21.

2003

Was the Tribe's every day third baseman led the entire Indians team in starts with 148 (136 3B, 12 1B) in his first full season in the major leagues...Had a solid offensive season, leading the team in games (152), hits (143) and doubles (35) while compiling career-highs in every offensive category...Finished 4th among AL third basemen in doubles (35), 8th in on-base plus slugging % (.723), 6th in hits and tied for 4th in runs scored...His 35 doubles were 6th among major league third basemen... Started in every spot in the batting order except the lead-off spot, the most common slot being the #2 hole in the line-up (55GS)...Hit .272 (61-224) w/15 2B, 8HR & 27RBI in the #2 hole...Had the 6th best fielding % among regular AL third basemen, compiling a fielding % of .952 (19E, 399TC, 29DP) in 140 games at third base...Made his first career start at first base on 4/12 vs. KC...Did not make an error in 143 total chances in his 31 games at first base...Was named AL Player of the Week from 6/30-7/6 after batting .375 (12-32) with 4HR & 14 RBI...Collected his first career grand slam on 6/30 at Kansas City (G1) off Kris Wilson and hit 2 homers and drove in 7 runs in the doubleheader that day...Drove in a career high 7 runs and notched a career-high 5 hits in game of 7/5 at Minnesota (both 2003-highs for an Indian)...Hit in a career-high 12 games from 6/17-7/1, batting .385 (20-52) over the span (4HR, 12RBI)...Got off to a shaky start, hitting .209 (19-91) over his first 28 games thru 5/6...From 5/9 thru the end of the season he hit .266 (124-466) with 28 2B, 14 HR & 61 RBI over his final 123 games... Finished tied for 5th in the AL with 9CS...Was also tied for 9th in both sac hits (8) and sac flies (8).

2002

Spent most of the season at AAA Edmonton in the Minnesota organization of the Pacific Coast League... Hit safely in 13 of 14 games, going 22-55 (.400) from 4/21-5/4...Was recalled to Minnesota on 5/10 and hit in 3 consecutive games, 5/12-15...Overall made 5 starts for the Twins at third base in place of an injured Corey Koskie and was optioned back to Edmonton on 5/24 (also appeared in 3 games at 1B)...Had 16-game hit-streak, going 26-62 (.419) from 7/1-20 and also hit consecutively in the final 16 games of the season, going 25-63 (.397), from 8/15-9/2...Third 2-homer game of season and season-high 7 RBI on 7/30 at Tacoma...Tied season-high with 4 hits on 8/15 at Omaha...Led club in stolen bases (24), was third in hits and walks and fourth in at-bats and runs... Appeared in 111 games at third, 7 games at second and 6 games each at first base and left field at Triple A.

2001

Began season at Edmonton...Had 20-game hit-streak, going 33-79 (.418) with 7 doubles, 3 triples, 2 homers and 12 RBI, 4/17-5/8...Hit safely in 15 of 18 games, 5/10-27...Season-high 4 RBI on 5/17 vs. Portland...Recalled on 6/7...Appeared in 13 games and was optioned to Edmonton on 7/20...Batted .343 (34-99) with runners in scoring position and .311 (87-280) vs. lefthanders...Led club in stolen bases...Claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles on 9/21 and appeared in 6 games with the Orioles prior to the season ending...Hit his 2nd career homer off Casey Fossum on 9/26 at Boston...Re-claimed off waivers from Baltimore by Minnesota on 10/12.

2000

Began season at Syracuse in the Toronto organization...Had a season-high 10-game hit-streak, 4/30-5/9... Claimed off waivers by Twins from Toronto, 5/23...Disabled with pulled left rib cage, 6/28-7/7...Had a grand slam and season-high 5 RBI on 8/19 at Iowa...Had 3-homer game, 8/28 at Edmonton...Twins' Minor League Player of the Week, going 10-24 (.417), 9/3-9...Recalled to Minnesota on 9/16...Career-high 7-game hit-streak from 9/26/99-9/20/2000.

1999

Began season at Syracuse...season-high 5 RBI, April 20 at Scranton-Wilkes Barre...season-high 4 hits and 2-homer game, June 30 at Columbus...played for International League in Class AAA All-Star Game, July 14 at New Orleans...recalled August 13...made Major League debut, August 14 vs. Oakland...singled off John Burkett for first Major League hit, August 29 vs Texas...optioned to St. Catharines, August 30...recalled September 3...season-high 5-game hit streak to end the season, going 8-21 (.381), September 26-October 3...homered off Jim Brower for first big-league home run, October 2 at Cleveland...was named the Best Defensive Third Baseman in the International League by Baseball America.

1998

Began season at Dunedin...grand slam and season-high 5 RBI, May 18 vs. St. Petersburg...Florida State League Player of the Week, May 18-24 and June 6-12...had 31-game hit streak (longest in minors), June 28-August 1...reached base safely in 60 consecutive games (longest in minors), June 28-September 2...had 2-homer game, June 29 vs Sarasota...season-high 5 hits, July 16 at Tampa...led Florida State League in batting, was fourth in slugging percentage (.547) and fifth in on-base percentage (.409)...selected third baseman on Florida State League postseason All-Star team...promoted to Knoxville, July 21...homered in consecutive games, August 23-24...finished third in the minors in hits (183), 10th in total bases (294) and 14th in extra-base hits (68).

1997

Had season-high 10-game hit streak, June 16-July 1...tied for second on club in games and was third in at-bats.

1996

Played 47 games at third base, one at first base and one in outfield.