Rickie Weeks

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**Rickie Weeks**

Milwaukee Brewers — No. 23
Second base
Born: September 13, 1982 (1982-09-13) (age 25)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
September 15, 2003 for the Milwaukee Brewers
Selected MLB statistics (through May 26, 2008)
Batting Average	.243
Home Runs	44
Runs Batted In	130
Teams
Milwaukee Brewers (2003, 2005-present)

Rickie Darnell Weeks (born September 13, 1982) is a Major League Baseball second baseman for Milwaukee Brewers.

Weeks bats and throws right-handed. A potential five-tool player, Weeks was considered a top prospect throughout college, winning the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate player of the year, and excelled through the minor leagues. He has shown promise in three of the five tools: speed, power, and throwing arm. Although Weeks has not yet shown he can consistently hit for average and field his position well, he played much of the 2005 season with a thumb injury. In his first full MLB season in 2005, Weeks had a batting average of .239 to go with 13 home runs and 15 stolen bases in 96 games. These HR/SB number are consistent with his minor league totals (playing in 209 games) of 21 home runs and 24 stolen bases. In 2006, Weeks hit .279 with 8 home runs, 34 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases in 95 games.

Weeks has a distinctive batting stance that is similar to that of Gary Sheffield, waggling his bat heavily before swinging.

1 History
2 3N2
3 Family
4 Awards
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Weeks was born in Daytona Beach, Florida. He made his major league debut on September 15, 2003, soon after inking a contract which included a $3.6 million signing bonus. Weeks did not become a full-time player for the Brewers until June of 2005, when he was recalled from Nashville (AAA). Along with Prince Fielder and J. J. Hardy, the Brewers hope to have an outstanding young infield for years to come. Rickie attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA where he was a finalist for the 2004 James E. Sullivan Award as the United States top amateur athlete and was a two-time All-American.

Weeks was sent down to AAA Nashville on July 31, 2007, since he was batting below .200 after returning from a wrist injury.^[1]

In 2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all NL second basemen (.976), and the lowest zone rating among all major league second basemen, .737. His target at first base was Prince Fielder, who finished 2007 last of all eligible major league first basemen in range factor (8.49), and first in errors (14).^[2]

[edit] 3N2

In 2005, Rickie Weeks signed a sponsorship contract with sportswear company 3N2, which designed a shoe for him.

[edit] Family

Weeks's brother Jemile Weeks was drafted by the Brewers in 2005 out of high school, though Jemile chose to attend the University of Miami instead of signing with the Brewers. The Oakland Athletics drafted Jemile in the first round of the 2008 MLB Draft, twelfth overall.^[3]

Rickie is the son of Richard and Valeria Weeks and has an older sister named Kaisha. Kaisha was an NCAA Regional Finalist at Southern University in track.^[4]