Derrek Lee

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Derrek Lee

Chicago Cubs — No. 25
First baseman
Born: September 6, 1975 (1975-09-06) (age 32) Sacramento, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 28, 1997 for the San Diego Padres
Selected MLB statistics (through June 04,2008)
Batting average	.282
Home runs	251
Runs batted in	775
Teams
San Diego Padres (1997) Florida Marlins (1998-2003) Chicago Cubs (2004–present)
Highlights and awards
Silver Slugger award (2005) 2x All-Star selection (2005, 2007) Led NL in batting average in 2005 Led NL in hits in 2005 Led NL in doubles in 2005

Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975) is a first baseman in Major League Baseball who has played for the Chicago Cubs since 2004. From 1997 through 2003, Lee played with the San Diego Padres (1997) and Florida Marlins (1998-2003). He bats and throws right-handed.

[edit] Early Life

Derrek was born on 6 Sep 1975. Leon Lee is his father and Leron Lee is his uncle. Each of them played professional baseball in Japan. Derrek often lived in Japan during his summer breaks.

[edit] Professional career

Lee was born in Sacramento, California and graduated from El Camino High School in 1993. He was then drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres, and made his major league debut on April 28, 1997. Traded to the Florida Marlins a year later, Lee was a member of the 2003 World Series Marlins championship team. Lee won his first Gold Glove during the 2003 championship season and his spectacular grab and unassisted putout on a hard hit Hideki Matsui one-hop line drive snuffed out a Yankees rally and ended game 5 of the World Series with a Marlins victory. The Marlins went on the win the World Series in game 6.

Lee was traded to the Cubs for Hee Seop Choi. He hit .278 with 32 home runs and 98 RBI in his first year with the Cubs. In 2005, Lee had a career first half of the season, with an MLB-leading .376 batting average, 72 RBI, and a tie for the major league lead in home runs, 27.

The Cubs had traded superstar Sammy Sosa, who had previously been one of their best hitters. Lee showed early on that he could more than compensate for the loss, and while Sosa had a disappointing 2005 season with the Baltimore Orioles, Lee had a career year. By midseason, he was among MLB's leaders in each of the triple crown categories: batting average, home runs, and RBI. Late in the season, He became the first Cub since Bill Buckner in 1980 to win a batting title, his .335 batting average being the highest by a Cub since Bill Madlock's .339 in 1976. Lee was named to the U.S. roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic, where he was the first player to hit a home run for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

On April 10, 2006, Derrek Lee signed a 5-year, $65 million extension with the Chicago Cubs. The deal replaces his contract for the 2006 season and extends him as the Cubs' first baseman through the 2010 season and includes a no-trade clause. He broke his wrist less than two weeks later, in a collision involving baserunner Rafael Furcal, and he missed 59 games due to the injury. The Cubs posted a 19-40 record during Lee's stint on the disabled list. Later, Lee went back on the disabled list with a post-traumatic inflammation in the outer bone of the medial side of the wrist.

In September 2006 Lee's three-year-old daughter Jada was diagnosed with Leber's congenital amaurosis, a rare genetic disease resulting in loss of vision. Lee and Boston Celtics co-owner and CEO Wyc Grousbeck with the University of Iowa began Project 3000 in an effort to eradicate the disease affecting both their families. Lee guest starred in an episode of NBC's drama series ER, "Gravity", which was first broadcast in October 2007. Lee agreed to the brief appearance because the producers of ER aired an episode in January 2008 that deals with Leber's congenital amaurosis. Lee's efforts to raise awareness and funds for research into the condition have helped to raise over $1,000,000 of additional research funds. An eventual cure for the disease depends greatly on getting data on patients and Lee's support has had a significant impact both in fundraising and testing patients who have the condition.

Lee hit his 200th career home run as a member of the Chicago Cubs on August 20, 2007 off Cardinals reliver Troy Percival.

Lee takes the field

[edit] Awards

• Gold Glove winner - 2003, 2005, 2007.
• 2-time (2005, 2007) National League All-Star first baseman. Starter and leading NL vote getter in 2005 - 2005.
• National League Batting Champion - 2005.
• Silver Slugger winner - 2005
• National League Player of the Month - April 2005.

[edit] Career statistics

Through the 2007 season, Lee has compiled the following career statistics:

[edit] Personal life

Lee is the son of Leon Lee. Leon Lee never played in American Major Leagues. Today, he is a scout for Major League Baseball and, coincidentally, he was the scout who "found" Hee-Seop Choi who was later traded for his son. Lee is the nephew of former Major League outfielder Leron Lee, who played eight seasons with the Cardinals, Dodgers, Indians and Padres. Currently, he works with the Cincinnati Reds as an advising batting coach to scouted players.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Derrek Lee

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Major League Baseball batting champions
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
• Florida Marlins all-time roster

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• Derrek Lee stolen base, home run photos 08/28/2005