Bubba Crosby

Richard Stephen "Bubba" Crosby (born August 11, 1976 in Houston, Texas) is a Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. The utility outfielder is known for his defensive prowess, great hustle, and speed. After years of playing in the minors, Bubba was called up by the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League in 2003. After going 1 for 12, he was traded to the Yankees and earned a place in the hearts of Yankees' fans. In 2004, he immediately hit two homeruns with the Yankees and played sparkling defense. The left-hander batted .153 for the season but showed extreme hustle and proved to be a reliable backup. Many feel his offense will improve if given more playing time.

Prior to June 16, 2005, he was playing for the Yankees AAA affiliate, the Columbus Clippers, but he was called up by the Yankees on June 16, 2005. He was optioned down to the Clippers about three weeks later, on July 8, 2005. On July 18, Crosby returned to the Yankees wearing jersey number 18 because his previous number, 19, had been assigned to the newly acquired Al Leiter.

During the 2004 season, as Bubba was being sent back and forth to Columbus and New York for numerous times all season long, Manager Joe Torre jokingly called the process of calling-up from the Minors as the "Bubba".

September 19, 2005 marked a glorious day for Bubba's career as he hit his very first walk-off homer against Eric DuBose of the Baltimore Orioles. Bubba lead-off the bottom of the ninth inning, taking a 1-0 count first before drilling a breaking ball over the right-center fence.

Crosby was a star at Rice University from 1996-98, earning all-America honors in 1997 and 1998. He is the all-time Rice leader with 20 career triples and second with 59 home runs, 243 RBI, 499 total bases, and a .737 slugging percentage, trailing only Lance Berkman in each category.

External links

• MLB: Bubba Crosby
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference
• Template:Espn mlb