Darin Erstad
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 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (April 2008) |
 Erstad batting for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim |
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| Houston Astros — No. 2 | |
| Outfielder / First baseman | |
| Born: June 4, 1974 | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| June 15, 1996 for the California Angels | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through May 9, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .284 |
| Home runs | 118 |
| Runs batted in | 661 |
| Teams | |
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Darin Charles Erstad (born June 4, 1974 in Jamestown, North Dakota) is a bench player for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball. Prior to 2007, he had played with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim franchise (1996-2006) before signing with the Chicago White Sox in 2007. He bats and throws left-handed.
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[edit] High School
Erstad graduated in 1992 from Jamestown High School in Jamestown, North Dakota. He was a kicker and punter on the school football team, logging a school-record 50-yard field goal. Erstad also played hockey (36 goals and 24 assists in 26 games) and participated in track and field (winning state titles in 110 and 300-meter hurdles).
Erstad played American Legion baseball (Jamestown had no high school baseball team), and hit .492 with 18 home runs and 86 RBI for Jamestown in 1992. He also was 10-2 with a 2.18 ERA as a pitcher, and was named AP North Dakota Athlete of the Year in 1992
[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].
Darin started his junior campaign on a tear and never stopped hitting. He was at his best against the conference’s top team, Oklahoma. In five games with the first-place Sooners, he batted .429 and blasted three home runs. Oklahoma lefty Mark Redman—with whom Darin would share conference Player of the Year honors—was among his biggest victims. The Huskers finished 35-23, and Darin led the Big Eight with a .410 average. He was the only batter in the conference to surpass 100 hits, and also led all players with 7 triples. Named a First Team All-American by Collegiate Baseball, Darin set career highs with 19 homers and 76 RBIs.
Erstad was also the starting punter on the Cornhuskers football team and was part of their 1994 National Championship squad, averaging 42.6 yards per punt, the 14th best mark in the country that year.
[edit] Career
In an 11-season career, Erstad has compiled a .286 batting average with 116 home runs and 646 RBIs in 1363 games. He has also collected 1551 hits, scored 868 runs and has 177 stolen bases.
Erstad led all major league center fielders in range factor (3.39) in 2002. Notably, he is the only player in MLB history to have won Gold Gloves both as an infielder and outfielder.
[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.
- When the Angels won the World Series in 2002, Erstad was the second player hailing from North Dakota to be on a World Series winning roster. Roger Maris was the first with the 1961 Yankees and 1967 Cardinals.
- Hit a home run in his first at-bat as a member of the Chicago White Sox on opening day off C.C. Sabathia.
- Erstad is the only MLB player in history to win a gold glove award in both the outfield and the infield (has 3 total: two in the OF in 2000 and 2002, and one in the infield at 1B in 2004).
- Caught the final out of the 2002 World Series to give the Anaheim Angels a world series championship.
- Erstad endorses Dakota Kid brand Big Sunflower Seeds.
- Erstad has two children, a daughter Jordan Elizabeth and a son Zack with his wife Jessica.
[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.
- With three hits on Aug. 29, 2000, reached 200 hits faster than any player in 65 years.
[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).
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
| Preceded by Paul Wilson |
First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1995 |
Succeeded by Kris Benson |
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