Darin Erstad

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Darin Erstad

White Sox — No. 17
[[Center Fielder / First Baseman]]
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
Major League Baseball debut
June 15, 1996 for the California Angels
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
AVG	.286
HR	114
RBI's	625
OPS	.757
Awards
1998, 2000 All-Star 2000 AL Silver Slugger (OF) 2000, 2002 AL Gold Glove (OF) 2004 AL Gold Glove (1B)

Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a first baseman/center fielder in Major League Baseball currently with the Chicago White Sox. Prior to 2007, he had played his entire career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006). He bats and throws left-handed.

Contents 1 College 2 Career 3 Current Contract 4 Facts 5 Highlights 6 Best season 7 External links

[edit] College

Erstad attended the University of Nebraska, playing baseball there for three years and to date, holds the school record for career hits with 261. In his final year there, Erstad hit .410 with 19 home runs and 79 RBIs, earning First-Team All-American status and was a finalist for the 1995 Golden Spikes Award[1]. Also, Erstad was a punter on the football team and was part of the Cornhuskers' 1994 National Championship squad.

[edit] Career

In an eleven-season career, Erstad has compiled a .286 batting average with 114 home runs and 625 RBI in 1320 games. He has also collected 1505 hits. Notably, he is the only player in MLB history to have won Gold Gloves both as an infielder and outfielder.

[edit] Current Contract

Erstad's current contract with Chicago is for one year at $1 million in 2007, with a team option for 2008.

[edit] Facts

• On June 10, 2000, Erstad hit a double in the Angels' 10-3 win over Arizona. With a major league-leading 100 hits in 61 games, he became the fastest to reach the 100-hit mark since Heinie Manush did it in 60 games for the 1934 Washington Senators.
• Erstad was the first pick overall in the 1995 MLB draft from the University of Nebraska.
• Mentioned in the California Courts of Appeal case Schauer v. Mandarin Gems of Cal., 125 Cal. App. 4th 949, 23 Cal. Rptr. 3d 233 (2005), which ruled that his ex-wife Sarah Jane Schauer had legal standing to sue the jeweler who sold Erstad her engagement ring and allegedly defrauded Erstad by misrepresenting the value of the ring.
• Erstad has a billboard in his honor off Interstate 94 in his hometown of Jamestown, ND.
• During Erstad's tenure with the Angels, his hometown carried all Angels games over the radio. Most North Dakota stations only carry Minnesota Twins games.

[edit] Highlights

• Has been selected twice to the American League All-Star team (1998, 2000)
• 3-time Gold Glove Award winner (2000 [outfielder], 2002 [outfielder], 2004 [first baseman])
• Won the Silver Slugger Award (2000)
• Member of 2002 World Series Champion Anaheim Angels. Erstad batted .300 in the seven game series vs. the San Francisco Giants. He hit a key home run in Game 6 of the series with the Angels losing 5-3 in the eighth inning and facing elimination. He also caught the final out of Game 7.

[edit] Best season

• In the 2000 season, Erstad led the American League in hits (240), singles (170) and at-bats (676); was second in total bases (366), third in runs (121), and hit .355, finishing second in the batting race behind Nomar Garciaparra (.372).

Template:White Sox

[edit] External links

• Darin Erstad at ESPN.com
• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis

Preceded by Paul Wilson

First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1995

Succeeded by Kris Benson