Lyle Overbay

Lyle Overbay
Overbay while with the Blue Jays in 2009.
New York Yankees – No. 55
First baseman
Born: (1977-01-28) January 28, 1977 Centralia, Washington
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 19, 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks
Career statistics (through May 15, 2013)
Batting average	.270
Hits	1,222
Home runs	139
Runs batted in	605
Teams
Arizona Diamondbacks (2001–2003) Milwaukee Brewers (2004–2005) Toronto Blue Jays (2006–2010) Pittsburgh Pirates (2011) Arizona Diamondbacks (2011–2012) Atlanta Braves (2012) New York Yankees (2013–present)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2001)

Lyle Stefan Overbay (born January 28, 1977) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in MLB since 2001 for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Atlanta Braves.

Amateur career

Overbay attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he played college baseball for the Nevada Wolf Pack baseball team.

Professional Baseball Career

Arizona Diamondbacks (1999–2003)

Overbay was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 18th round of the 1999 MLB draft. While playing in the farm system, he was named Diamondbacks minor league player of the year. He was briefly called up in 2001, but played mostly in AA and AAA until 2003.

Overbay first played with the Diamondbacks as the full-time first baseman in 2003. He struggled, batting .276 with 28 RBI and 4 home runs. He was sent down to AAA Tucson in June, but was called up in September to be part of the 40-man roster expansion. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers during the off-season.

Milwaukee Brewers (2004–2005)

Overbay was acquired by the Milwaukee Brewers on December 1, 2003, in a trade that sent Richie Sexson and Shane Nance to Arizona for Overbay, Craig Counsell, Junior Spivey, Chris Capuano, Chad Moeller, and Jorge de la Rosa. He earned the National League's doubles championship in 2004 with 53 doubles.

In 2005, he also played well with the Brewers. He hit a then career high 19 home runs, surpassing his 2004 total of 16. On July 23, he had a career high 6 RBI versus Cincinnati, hitting two home runs, including a grand slam. This feat was also the most in a season by a Brewer. He played very well against the Reds, batting .431 with 6 home runs and 18 RBI. He was traded to the Blue Jays in the off-season. He was a fan favorite in Milwaukee. When Overbay stepped up to plate, fans would do the "O chant." Fans would raise their hands over their heads in an "O" symbol - some brought cardboard cut outs of the letter "O" - and would chant a prolonged "O" sound to honor Overbay. Overbay said of the chant, "The "O" chant doesn't break my concentration. Sometimes it gets me too pumped up because I want to come through and give the fans something to cheer about, instead of just chanting. But overall, I think it's cool that I get that treatment from Brewers fans."

Overbay on a rehab assignment with the Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliates of the Blue Jays.

Toronto Blue Jays (2006–2010)

Overbay taking a catch at 1st Base against the Astros at Minute Maid Park in July 2011.

On December 7, 2005, Overbay was traded from the Brewers along with pitching prospect Ty Taubenheim to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for outfielder Gabe Gross and pitchers Dave Bush and Zach Jackson. Although, the trade was acknowledged as a needed acquisition for the Blue Jays, Overbay has not had the statistical impact hoped for, at least beyond 2006. In 2007 to 2008, Overbay statistically trailed Bush in the Sabermetric categories Wins above replacement player and Value over replacement player.

On July 5, 2006, Overbay was named American League Player of the Week after hitting .423 and hitting 4 HR during the week of June 26 to July 2, 2006.

In 2006, he had a career season. He batted .312 with 22 home runs, 92 RBI and 181 hits, which were all career highs. He had 46 doubles, which was tenth among the major leagues. On June 4, 2007, Overbay was hit by a pitch in the 6th inning in a game against the Chicago White Sox. The pitch was a high and inside fastball that ran in and hit Lyle in the hand, breaking 3 bones in his hand. He was on the Disabled List until July 13, 2007, after which he rejoined the Blue Jays after the All-Star break. Since his return, he has struggled at the plate, especially with hitting for power.

On January 15, 2007, the Toronto Blue Jays signed Overbay to a 4-year contract, buying out his final two arbitration-eligible years, and his first two years of free agency, with a $24,000,000 contract.

Overbay set a new team record on May 25, 2008 by reaching base in his 12th consecutive plate appearance by walking on a full count in the second inning. The previous record holder was Tony Fernández who reached base 11 straight times. That season, he was criticized by fans for his penchant to ground into double plays. He finished 2008 tied for seventh overall in this category, with 24. Overbay is also one of only 15 players to hit into an unassisted triple play, serving up Asdrúbal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians on May 12, 2008.

Overbay with the Pirates in 2011.

On June 8, 2009, Overbay was again named American League Player of the Week after leading the Major League in both batting average and slugging.

Overbay was named the 2009 American Legion Graduate of the Year.

Pittsburgh Pirates (2011)

On December 14, 2010, Overbay signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. After batting .228 with eight home runs and 37 RBIs, he was designated for assignment on August 1, 2011 and released on August 5.

Second run with the Diamondbacks (2011-2012)

On August 13, he re-signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks, replacing the injured Xavier Nady.

On December 8, 2011, Overbay signed a one-year deal with the Diamondbacks.

On July 30, Arizona designated Overbay for assignment, and then released him on August 3.

Atlanta Braves (2012)

On August 20, 2012, the Atlanta Braves signed Overbay to a minor league contract. He was called up when the rosters expanded on September 1, 2012.

Boston Red Sox/New York Yankees (2013)

On January 13, 2013, the Boston Red Sox announced that Overbay had been signed to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training. He was released by the Red Sox on March 26, 2013, and signed by the New York Yankees to a 3-day minor league deal later that day. On March 31, the Yankees added Overbay to their 25-man active roster.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference