Mark Ellis (baseball)
| Mark Ellis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: June 6, 1977 Rapid City, South Dakota | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| debut | |
| April 9, 2002, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) | |
| Batting average | .266 |
| Home runs | 92 |
| Runs batted in | 459 |
| Teams | |
Mark William Ellis (born June 6, 1977) is an American professional baseball player who has been a second baseman in Major League Baseball since 2002 for the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies. He is presently an infielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Early career
Ellis as born in Rapid City, South Dakota. Ellis graduated from Stevens High School in Rapid City in 1995, and is one of three players to have made it to the major leagues who played for the Rapid City Post 22 American Legion baseball program in Rapid City. (The other two are Dave Collins and Kelvin Torve.) As a 16-year-old, Ellis was the starting shortstop for the 1993 Rapid City Post 22 varsity "Hardhat" baseball team which had a 70–5 record and won the national title in Roseburg, OR. He went on to earn South Dakota American Legion Player of the Year honors in back-to-back years, 1994 and 1995. He went on to play for the University of Florida Gators baseball program.
Ellis attended the University of Florida and was a ninth-round selection by the Kansas City Royals in the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft. He was acquired by the Oakland Athletics along with outfielder Johnny Damon and pitcher Cory Lidle in a three-team trade with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the Royals for outfielder Ben Grieve, shortstop Angel Berroa, and catcher A.J. Hinch.[1]
Major league career
Oakland Athletics
Ellis made his major-league debut in 2002, batting .272 in 98 games. He followed by hitting .248 the following season, but missed the entire 2004 season due to a torn labrum in his right shoulder resulting from a collision with shortstop Bobby Crosby in a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs.[2] In 2005, he returned to the Athletics and led the team in batting average (.316), on base percentage (.384), and slugging average (.477) as the team's regular second baseman.
On May 14, 2006, Ellis was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat as part of the Mother's Day Strikeout Challenge benefiting Susan G. Komen for the Cure.[3] In 2006, Ellis broke Bret Boone's single-season American League record for a second baseman with a .99685 fielding percentage,[4] although the Gold Glove Award went to the Royals' Mark Grudzielanek.
Ellis missed most of the A's 2006 post-season due to a hand injury suffered during Game 2 of the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins.[5]
On June 4, 2007, Ellis became only the sixth player in Oakland Athletics history to hit for the cycle. On July 23, 2007, he had his first career multi-home run game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On August 5, 2007, he tied the A's team record for consecutive error-less games by a second baseman at 70 games.
On March 25, 2008, in the MLB season opener in Tokyo, Ellis hit a solo home run off Daisuke Matsuzaka in the first inning of a game the Red Sox would eventually win 6–5.
Ellis missed the last two months of the season due to cartilage damage in his shoulder. He underwent successful surgery that also fixed a torn labrum from a previous injury. He is expected to be cleared to play second base on March 25, though he is cleared to DH before then.[6]
In October 2008, the Athletics signed Ellis to an $11 million contract through 2010, with an option of extending the deal an additional season.[7]
Colorado Rockies
On June 30, 2011, Ellis was traded to the Colorado Rockies for Bruce Billings and a player to be named later.[8] On September 30, the Athletics announced that they received 22-year-old outfielder Eliezer Mesa as the player to be named later to complete the deal.[9]
Through 2011, he had the third-highest career range factor per game of all active major league second basemen, behind Ian Kinsler and Orlando Hudson.[10]
Film
- In the 2011 film, Moneyball, focusing on the Oakland A's analytical approach to economically assembling a competitive baseball team, the role of Mark Ellis is played by actor Brent Dohling.
See also
References
- ^ "Mark Ellis Statistics: Transactions". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
- ^ Nelson, Steve (April 10, 2004). "Ellis out for the season". MLB.com. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
- ^ "Major League Baseball, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation team up for "Strikeout Challenge" Mother's Day promotion" (Press release). MLB.com. May 9, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
- ^ 2007 Oakland Athletics Media Guide (PDF). MLB Advanced Media. pp. p. 69. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
- ^ Quinn, Ryan (October 5, 2006). "Notes: A's defense takes a hit". MLB.com. Retrieved June 1, 2007.
- ^ Urban, Mychael (February 17, 2008). "Ellis' hitting is ahead of his throwing". oaklandathletics.com. Retrieved February 24, 2009.
- ^ Urban, Mychael (October 21, 2008). "Ellis embraces two-year deal". MLB.com. Retrieved October 21, 2008.
- ^ Nicholson-Smith, Ben. "Rockies Acquire Mark Ellis". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "A's announce coaching staff changes for 2012". Oakland Athletics Press Release. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
- ^ ge_factor_per_game_2b_active.shtml "Active Leaders & Records for Range Factor/Game as 2B". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved September 29, 2011.
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External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)