| Derrek Lee | |
|---|---|
 Lee with the Baltimore Orioles in 2011 | |
| First baseman | |
| Born: (1975-09-06)September 6, 1975 (age 50) Sacramento, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 28, 1997, for the San Diego Padres | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 2011, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .281 |
| Home runs | 331 |
| Runs batted in | 1,078 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), nicknamed "D-Lee", is an American former professional baseballfirst baseman. Lee played with theSan Diego Padres,Florida Marlins,Chicago Cubs,Atlanta Braves,Baltimore Orioles andPittsburgh Pirates ofMajor League Baseball (MLB).
Lee was aWorld Series champion with the Marlins in 2003, and he won theNational Leaguebatting title in 2005. He was a two-timeAll-Star selection, and won theGold Glove Award three times.
Lee was born on September 6, 1975, inSacramento, California.Leon Lee is his father andLeron Lee is his uncle. Each of them played professional baseball in Japan. During his elementary years, Lee lived in Japan, and during his high school years, he often lived there during his summer breaks. He played Little League Baseball at Sierra Little League and graduated fromEl Camino High School in 1993.
Lee was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the1993 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres, and made his MLB debut on April 28, 1997.
Lee was traded, along with prospects, to the Florida Marlins a year later forKevin Brown, Lee was a member of the2003 World Series Marlins championship team. Lee won his firstGold Glove during the 2003 championship season and his spectacular grab and unassistedputout on a hard-hitHideki Matsui one-hop line drive snuffed out aYankees rally and ended Game 5 of the World Series with a Marlins victory. The Marlins went on to win the World Series in Game 6.
Lee was traded to the Cubs forHee-seop Choi, who, coincidentally, had been scouted by Lee's father years before. He hit .278 with 32home runs and 98RBIs in his first year with the Cubs. In2005, Lee had a career first half of the season, with an MLB-leading .376batting average, 72 RBIs, and a tie for the major league lead in home runs with 27.
The Cubs had traded superstarSammy Sosa, who had previously been one of their best hitters, before the 2005 season. 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 thetriple crown categories: batting average, home runs, and RBIs. Lee finished the season with a career-high 46 home runs and led the National League in batting average (.335),slugging percentage (.662),on-base plus slugging (1.080),hits (199),doubles (50),extra-base hits (99),total bases (393), andruns created (167). His batting average was the highest by a Cub sinceBill Madlock's .339 in1976 and made him the first Cub sinceBill Buckner in1980 to win a National League batting title. Lee became the first player in major league history to record 50 doubles, 40 home runs, and 15 stolen bases in one season. He also finished third inNL MVP voting and won the NLGold Glove andSilver Slugger awards at first base that year.
Lee was named to the U.S. roster for the2006World 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, Lee signed a five-year, $65 million extension with the Chicago Cubs.[1] The deal replaced his contract for the 2006 season and extended him as the Cubs' first baseman through the 2010 season and included a no-trade clause. He broke his wrist less than two weeks later, in a collision involving baserunnerRafael Furcal, and he missed 59 games due to the injury. The Cubs posted a 19–40 record during Lee's stint on thedisabled 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 2008, Lee hit 20 home runs, 90 RBIs and had a .291 batting average as the Cubs had the best regular-season record in the National League, leading the Cubs to the NL Central championship, later losing in the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3–0. In 2009, Lee overcame a slow start with a 21-game hitting streak from May 29 until June 24 and finished ninth in the voting forNL MVP, as he had a .306 batting average, and hit for 35 home runs and 111 RBIs.
On June 9, 2010, Lee hit his 300th career home run in a game against theMilwaukee Brewers.
On June 25, 2010, Lee was involved in a dugout altercation with Cubs pitcherCarlos Zambrano after the pitcher gave up four runs in the first inning and apparently blamed Lee for failing to field a sharply-hit lead-off double. Zambrano was suspended for his behavior.
In late July 2010, Lee used his10-and-5 rights to veto a trade to theLos Angeles Angels.[2] On August 18, 2010, Lee, with his approval, was traded to theAtlanta Braves for minor league pitching prospects Robinson Lopez, Tyrelle Harris, and Jeffrey Lorick.[3] Lee began to serve as the Braves' starting first baseman on August 20, 2010, including postseason play in theNLDS.
Lee was signed from free agency to a one-year contract with theBaltimore Orioles for the 2011 season.[4] He played in 85 games with the last place Orioles, batting .246 with 12 home runs and 41 runs batted in.
On July 30, 2011, Lee was traded to the Pirates for minor league Class A first baseman Aaron Baker and cash considerations.[5] Lee hit two home runs in his first game as a Pirate. He was hit by a pitch and broke a bone in his left wrist on August 3, and missed most of the next month, but then finished the season productively as the Pittsburgh first baseman. Playing in 28 games as a Pirate in 2011, Lee batted .337 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs.
Lee is the son of Leon Lee. Leon never played in the Major Leagues, but did play professionally in Japan. 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 LeagueoutfielderLeron Lee, who played eight seasons with theSt. Louis Cardinals,Dodgers,Indians, and Padres. Currently, he works with theCincinnati Reds as an advising batting coach to scouted players.[citation needed]
In September 2006, Lee's three-year-old daughter Jada was diagnosed withLeber's congenital amaurosis, a rare genetic disease resulting in loss of vision. Lee andBoston Celtics co-owner and CEOWyc Grousbeck with theUniversity of Iowa establishedProject 3000 in an effort to eradicate the disease, which affects both their families. Lee guest starred in an episode of NBC's drama seriesER, "Gravity", which was first broadcast in October 2007. Lee agreed to the brief appearance because the producers ofER 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 disease.
In 2009, Lee revealed that Jada had been misdiagnosed and does not have the disease, but Lee continues to be active in raising money for Project 3000.[6]
The 1st Touch Foundation was established in 2005 by Lee and his wife as a vehicle to encourage and support the educational aspirations of the community's young people. The initial vision was to build The 1st Touch Academic Youth Center in Sacramento, California. In 2009, Lee unveiled a cabernet wine called CaberLee through Charity Wines where 100% of the proceeds will benefit the 1st Touch Foundation.[7] However, in September 2012, the foundation closed after helping children in Sacramento for seven years.
Lee has visited countries such as Uganda and Israel to help out with the baseball programs. He visited the Israel Baseball Academy in 2015 helping them out with skills while visiting the country.
· Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | National League Player of the Month April 2005 September 2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | National League Slugging Percentage Champion 2005 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |