Lastings Milledge

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**Lastings Milledge**

New York Mets — No. 44
Outfielder
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
May 30, 2006 for the New York Mets
Selected MLB statistics (through the 2006 season)
Avg	.241
HR	4
RBI	22

Lastings Darnell Milledge (born April 5, 1985) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the New York Mets. He is the youngest player in the National League [1].

1 Biography/early life
2 Rookie Woes
3 Trivia
4 External links
5 References

[edit] Biography/early life

Milledge was born in Palmetto, Florida. At the age of twelve, he played third base and hit clean-up for the Manatee East Little League team that was the national runner-up in the 1997 Little League World Series. In 2001, he led Team USA to a Gold Medal game victory over Venezuela in the International Baseball Federation's AA World Youth Championships. Later that year, Baseball America named Milledge the best 16-year-old player in the USA. He graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School in Bradenton, Florida in 2003 after leading his team to the state 5A title his senior year.

Controversial allegations of sexual misconduct while in high school affected Milledge's nascent professional career. Prior to the 2003 amateur draft, he was expected to be among the top three selections. But as draft day approached, press reports from 2002 [2] resurfaced regarding Milledge's expulsion from Northside Christian High School after his junior year for "inappropriate behavior". Milledge, who was 17 at the time of his expulsion, admitted to having sexual relations with his 15-year-old girlfriend and agreed to enter a juvenile arbitration program to avoid prosecution. He subsequently transferred to Lakewood Ranch High School where he finished his education and amateur baseball career.

As a result of his misconduct issues, Milledge was passed over in the 2003 amateur draft until the Mets selected him as the twelfth overall pick in the first round. The Mets began contract negotiations with Milledge, but the talks were interrupted in early August, 2003, when the Mets learned of allegations of additional sexual misconduct against Milledge during his time at Northside. [3] The Mets completed a private investigation of the matter and, satisified with the results, signed Milledge to a contract with a $1.9 million bonus.

The delay in signing Milledge prevented him from beginning his professional career until shortly before the end of the minor league season in 2003. He appeared in only seven games, hitting .231 for the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League. In 2004, he was slated to start the year with the class A Capital City Bombers, but he suffered a fractured metacarpal on his right hand in spring training, missing the first six weeks of the season. In 65 games with the Bombers, he hit .337 with 13 home runs, 58 RBI and 23 stolen bases, earning him a promotion to the St. Lucie Mets in August. In 2005, he continued his minor league success hitting .302 with St. Lucie in the first half of the season and .337 with the AA Binghamton Mets in the second half. He began the 2006 season leading off and playing right field for the AAA Norfolk Tides.

Milledge made his major league debut on May 30, 2006 as the starting right fielder for the Mets in a 7-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He went 1 for 4 with a double off Arizona pitcher Miguel Batista. In his three separate stints in the majors in 2006, Milledge hit .241 with 4 HR and 22 RBI in 56 games.

[edit] Rookie Woes

Throughout his rookie season, Milledge has received criticism from analysts, teammates, and his manager for being too cocky. On June 4, 2006 against the San Francisco Giants, Milledge hit a solo homerun off former Met closer Armando Benitez to tie up the game 6-6 in the bottom of the tenth inning (this was Milledge's first career home run). When the Mets returned to the field the following inning, Milledge high-fived the Shea faithful as he returned to right field, gaining the ire of his manager and some teammates. [4] On June 15, Milledge reported to the Mets clubhouse at 11:55 a.m., just 70 minutes prior to a game against the Philadelphia Phillies. [5] In late September one of Milledge’s teammates placed a sign on his locker which read “Know Your Place Rook.” [6]

[edit] Trivia

Milledge's father, Tony Milledge, Sr., played one year of professional baseball in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
His mother named him Lastings because she believed he would be her last child. (Lastings has two older brothers).[7]
Milledge made his major-league debut for the Mets at the age of 21 years, 55 days. Darryl Strawberry was also 21 years, 55 days old when he made his 1983 Met debut.
Milledge's first outfield assist came off a Chad Tracy single, which Milledge threw from right field to gun out Craig Counsell versus the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 31, 2006.
Milledge nearly missed his Major League debut. His original flight from T. F. Green Airport in Rhode Island, where the Norfolk Tides were playing the Paw Sox, was cancelled and his second flight was delayed. Milledge finally arrived at Shea Stadium around 6:00 PM, giving him just enough time to meet his new teammates and suit up for the first time in a New York Mets uniform.