| David Eckstein | |
|---|---|
 Eckstein with the San Diego Padres in 2009 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1975-01-20)January 20, 1975 (age 50) Sanford, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 3, 2001, for the Anaheim Angels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 2010, for the San Diego Padres | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .280 |
| Home runs | 35 |
| Runs batted in | 392 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
David Mark Eckstein (/ˈɛkstaɪn/; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professionalbaseball player. He was aninfielder inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He playedcollege baseball for theUniversity of Florida and played professionally for theAnaheim Angels,St. Louis Cardinals,Toronto Blue Jays,Arizona Diamondbacks, andSan Diego Padres. Eckstein won the2006World Series Most Valuable Player Award. After retiring from professional baseball, he briefly served as a special assistant in thePittsburgh Pirates operations department. Eckstein stood at 5' 7" during his playing career, which made him the shortest active player for the years he played.
Eckstein played baseball all four years atSeminole High School inSanford, Florida. He was a two-time all-state selection, and a prominent member of a state championship team. He was also a member of theNational Honor Society and theFellowship of Christian Athletes. Eckstein was voted "Most Helpful" in the Class of 1993.
In addition, Eckstein playedAmerican Legion Baseball for Post 53.[1]
At theUniversity of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, Eckstein was awalk-on player for coachJoe Arnold'sFlorida Gators baseball team in the fall of 1994; he later earned anathletic scholarship. A standout in theSoutheastern Conference (SEC), he was a first-team All-SEC selection in 1995 and 1996, a first-teamAll-American in 1996, a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll selection (1995–1997), and the first two-time Academic All-American in Gators baseball history. Eckstein was a member of the 1996 Gators squad that finished third in theCollege World Series. He was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2007.[2][3] Eckstein was a teammate at Florida with his older brother,Rick.[4]
Eckstein also played for theHarrisonburg Turks of the Valley Baseball League in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Eckstein was drafted by theBoston Red Sox in the 19th round of the1997 MLB draft,[5] and spent 4 years in the Red Sox minor league system, reachingTriple-A during the 2000 season, before being designated for assignment by Boston on August 14. Two days later, Eckstein was selected off waivers by theAnaheim Angels.[6] Eckstein spent the rest of the 2000 season with the Angels Triple-A affiliate, theEdmonton Trappers, where he hit .346 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs in just 15 games.
Entering the 2001 season, Eckstein earned a spring training call-up, and eventually earning a spot on the Angels'Opening Day roster. He made his major league debut on April 3, 2001, against theTexas Rangers, where he was the starter atsecond base and went 1 for 3, with his first hit coming againstKenny Rogers. Through his first month in the MLB, Eckstein appeared in 28 of the Angels' 31 games, and batted .318 with 1 home run, which eventually earned him the full-time starting job atshortstop,[7] which he held for the remainder of the season.Eckstein finished his rookie campaign with a .285batting average with 4home runs and 41RBIs in 153 games. He finished fourth inAmerican League (AL)Rookie of the Year Award voting, behindIchiro Suzuki,C.C. Sabathia, andAlfonso Soriano.[8]
During the Angels'2002 championship year, he led the major leagues with threegrand slams, including grand slams in back-to-back games against theToronto Blue Jays, one of which was a game-winning grand slam leading the Angels to complete the sweep over Toronto, at a time when the Angels were 7–14. After the sweep of the Jays, the Angels went on to win 20 of their next 23 games.[9] For the 2002 season, Eckstein hit .293 with 8 home runs and 63 RBIs in 152 games, he also led all of Major league baseball inhit by pitches (27) andsacrifice hits (14). He earned 24 votes inAmerican League (AL)MVP voting, finishing in a tie withNomar Garciaparra for eleventh place.[10]
The 2003 season was a down season for Eckstein as he hit just .252 with 3 home runs and 31 RBIs as the Angels failed to qualify for the postseason and defend their title. 2004 was much of the same for Eckstein as he hit .272 with only 2 home runs and 35 RBIs, however the Angels were able to win theAL West and qualify for the postseason, where they were swept in 3 games by theBoston Red Sox in the2004 ALDS, with Eckstein batting .333 in 12at-bats.
At the end of the2004 season, Eckstein was part of a "shortstopmerry-go-round," in which threefree agent shortstops swapped teams:Édgar Rentería went from the Cardinals to theBoston Red Sox,Orlando Cabrera went from the Red Sox to the Angels, and Eckstein went from the Angels to the Cardinals.[11] Eckstein signed a three-year, $10.25 million contract with the Cardinals on December 23, 2004.[12]
In his first seven seasons, he amassed 1,079 hits while batting .286. He was voted to theNational LeagueAll-Star team in2005, along with teammatesChris Carpenter,Albert Pujols,Jason Isringhausen, andJim Edmonds.[13] He was a late addition to the2006 All-Star team. In 3,772 regular seasonat-bats, Ecksteinstruck out only 305 times, with a total of 22 in2007.
Eckstein was a fan favorite in St. Louis, who considered him to be a "pesky" hitter[14] (he choked-up on the bat about two inches[15]). OnMother's Day, May 14, 2006, Eckstein was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished apink bat to benefit theBreast Cancer Foundation.
A member of the2006 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals, Eckstein was named theWorld Series MVP. Following a 0-for-11 start in the first two games of the World Series, Eckstein went 8-for-22 with fourRBI and scored threeruns in the series, including going 4-for-5 with threedoubles in Game 4.[16][17] The World Series victory with the Cardinals made Eckstein one of few[quantify] starting shortstops who have won a World Series in both the American and National Leagues.
Eckstein was brought back in front of over 47,000 fans to throw out the first pitch of Game 6 of the World Series in St. Louis on October 27, 2011.[18]
On October 30, 2007, Eckstein became afree agent along withKip Wells,Troy Percival, andMiguel Cairo.[19] On December 13, 2007, he signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract with theToronto Blue Jays.[20]
On August 31,2008, Eckstein was traded to theArizona Diamondbacks for minor leaguepitcherChad Beck.[21]
On January 15, 2009, he signed a discounted one-year contract with theSan Diego Padres on the condition that he would play primarilysecond base.[22] On August 22, 2009, theSan Diego Padres extended Eckstein's contract through2010.[23]
Eckstein did not join a team for the2011 season. In June, it was reported that he received offers from the Padres and other teams, but opted to not play baseball. He officially retired on January 22, 2012.[24]
In 1,311 games over 10 seasons, Eckstein posted a .280batting average (1,414–5,041) with 701runs, 232doubles, 20triples, 35home runs, 392RBI, 123stolen bases, 376bases on balls, .345on-base percentage and .355slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .982fielding percentage playing at shortstop and second base. In 44 postseason games, he hit .278 (49–176) with 26 runs, four doubles, two home runs, 18 RBI, seven stolen bases and 12 walks.[25]
Eckstein became a candidate for induction into theNational Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for the first time on November 9, 2015.[26] He received two votes.[27]
Eckstein, aCatholic, made an effort to attendmass every Sunday during his playing career.[28] However, seemingly because of his name, a misconception spread early in his career that he was Jewish.[29][30]
Eckstein was born inSanford, Florida. He married actressAshley Drane on November 26, 2005, at his family church in Sanford, followed by a reception atWalt Disney World.[31] He is a fan ofprofessional wrestling, having made public appearances withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling during the 2006 World Series and on February 11, 2007, heco-managed (along withTampa Bay Rays outfielderJohnny Damon) TNA wrestler Lance Hoyt for his match with currentWhite Sox conditioning coachDale Torborg, managed by Sox catcherA. J. Pierzynski at TNA'sAgainst All Odds pay-per-view.
After his older brother,Rick, was hired after the 2018 season as the hitting coach for thePittsburgh Pirates,[32] David was hired in February as a special assistant in their baseball operations department.[33] He left the position before the 2021 season.[34]
I hate to break the hearts of those belonging to such a loyal fan base, but Eckstein's Jewish heritage is nothing more than an assumption based on his last name.
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