The position of the third baseman

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A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number '5.'

The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, as he is often the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter. The third base position requires a strong arm, as the third baseman often makes long throws to first base. The third baseman sometimes must throw quickly to second base in time to start a double play. The third baseman must also field fly balls in fair and foul territory.

Third base is known as the "hot corner", because the third baseman is relatively close to the batter and most right-handed hitters tend to hit the ball hard in this direction. The third baseman needs good hand-eye coordination and quick reactions in order to catch hard line drives sometimes in excess of 125 miles per hour (201 km/h).^[1] Third basemen often must begin in a position even closer to the batter if a bunt is expected, creating a hazard if the ball is instead hit sharply. As with middle infielders, right-handed throwing players are standard at the position because they do not need to turn their body before throwing across the infield to first base. Mike Squires, who played fourteen games at third base in 1982 and 1983, is a very rare example of a third baseman who threw lefty.^[2][3] Some third basemen have been converted from middle infielders or outfielders because the position does not require them to run as fast.

Expectations of how well a third baseman should be able to hit have varied a great deal over time; in the early years of the sport, these expectations were similar to those for shortstops, the third baseman being merely the less skilled defensive player. Players who could hit with more ability often were not suited for third base, either because they were left-handed or because they were not mobile enough for the position. However, the beginning of the live-ball era in the 1920s created a greater demand for more offense, and third basemen have since been expected to hit either for a high average (.290 or better) or with moderate to substantial power. Since the 1950s the position has become more of a power position with sluggers such as Eddie Mathews, Mike Schmidt and Ron Santo becoming stars.

There are fewer third basemen in the Baseball Hall of Fame than there are Hall of Famers of any other position. Furthermore, with the notable exception of John McGraw and Bobby Cox, few third basemen have gone on to have successful managing careers, with Jimmy Dykes and Negro Leaguer Dave Malarcher being perhaps the next most prominent managers who began their careers at third base.

Prominent third basemen[link]

Baseball Hall of Fame members[link]

• Frank "Home Run" Baker
• Wade Boggs
• George Brett
• Jimmy Collins
• Ray Dandridge (Negro Leagues)
• Judy Johnson (Negro Leagues)
• George Kell
• Freddie Lindstrom
• Eddie Mathews
• John McGraw (primarily elected as a manager, although a third baseman in his short but successful playing career)
• Paul Molitor (longtime designated hitter who played primarily third base on the field)
• Cal Ripken, Jr. (spent most of his career at shortstop)
• Brooks Robinson
• Mike Schmidt
• Pie Traynor
• Jud Wilson (Negro Leagues)
• Ron Santo

Multiple Gold Glove Award winners[link]

• Brooks Robinson – 16
• Mike Schmidt – 10
• Scott Rolen – 8
• Eric Chavez – 6
• Robin Ventura – 6
• Buddy Bell – 6
• Ken Boyer – 5
• Doug Rader – 5
• Ron Santo – 5
• Gary Gaetti – 4
• Matt Williams – 4
• David Wright – 2
• Wade Boggs – 2
• Evan Longoria – 2
• Graig Nettles - 2

All Time Single Season Assists Leaders Among Third Basemen[link]

1. Graig Nettles: 412 (Cleveland Indians, 1971)
2. Graig Nettles: 410 (New York Yankees, 1973)
3. Brooks Robinson: 410 (Baltimore Orioles, 1974)
4. Brooks Robinson: 405 (Baltimore Orioles, 1967)
5. Harlond Clift: 405 (St. Louis Browns, 1937)
6. Mike Schmidt: 404 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1974)
7. Doug DeCinces: 399 (California Angels, 1982)
8. Brandon Inge: 398 (Detroit Tigers, 2006)
9. Clete Boyer: 396 (New York Yankees, 1962)
10. Mike Schmidt: 396 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1977)
11. Buddy Bell: 396 (Texas Rangers, 1982)

All Time Single Season Putouts Leaders Among Third Basemen[link]

1. Denny Lyons: 255 (Philadelphia Athletics, 1887)
2. Jimmy Williams: 251 (Pittsburgh Pirates, 1899)
3. Jimmy Collins: 251 (Boston Beaneaters [National League], 1900)
4. Jimmy Collins: 243 (Boston Beaneaters [National League], 1898)
5. Willie Kamm: 243 (Chicago White Sox, 1928)
6. Willie Kamm: 236 (Chicago White Sox, 1927)
7. Frank Baker: 233 (Philadelphia Athletics, 1913)
8. Bill Coughlin: 232 (Washington Senators, 1901)
9. Ernie Courtney: 229 (Philadelphia Phillies, 1905)
10. Jimmy Austin: 228 (St. Louis Browns, 1911)

References[link]

1. ^ Brian A. Raue PhD page
2. ^ Mike Squires page
3. ^ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/blog/archives/10835 Lefty 3B since 1919

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Ryan Roberts
Arizona Diamondbacks – No. 14
Third baseman/Second baseman
Born: (1980-09-19) September 19, 1980 (age 31)
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 30, 2006 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Career statistics (through 2011)
Batting average	.250
Home runs	29
Runs batted in	100
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (2006–2007) Texas Rangers (2008) Arizona Diamondbacks (2009–present)

Ryan Alan Roberts (born September 19, 1980, in Fort Worth, Texas), nicknamed "Tatman"^[1], is a Major League Baseball infielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks. A right-handed batter, Roberts is 5' 11" tall and weighs 190 pounds. He is married to actress Kim Camille. Roberts has over 30 tattoos.^[2]

College career[link]

After graduating from L. D. Bell High School, Roberts' team won an NJCAA Division III World Series his sophomore year at Eastfield Junior College in Mesquite, Texas. Roberts was an All-American with a .475 batting average, 17 home runs, and 73 RBIs, and was named a MAC All-Conference and All-American Selection at shortstop. Roberts transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington. After his senior year in 2003, he was named Southland Conference Player of the Year and Hitter of the Year.^[3] He was among the conference leaders in eight different offensive categories, was first-team all-SLC as a third baseman, and was also named to several All-America teams. In 2003, Baseball America analyst John Manuel described Roberts as the best player on UTA's squad which also included Hunter Pence now with the Philadelphia Phillies.^[4]

Professional career[link]

Toronto Blue Jays[link]

The Toronto Blue Jays selected Roberts with the 530th overall pick of the 2003 draft, in the 18th round. Roberts signed with the Blue Jays and made his professional debut in the New York-Penn League. In 2003, after Roberts had been drafted, Manuel described him in an online chat as an "interesting sleeper", and said that "his best tool is his bat".^[5]

He was named to the 2005 Eastern League All-Star team.^[6] The Blue Jays allocated Roberts to the Arizona Fall League that off-season,^[7] and on November 18 of that year, they purchased his contract from the New Hampshire Fisher Cats and added him to their 40-man roster.^[8]

Roberts began the 2006 season in Triple-A Syracuse before being called up to the 25-man Toronto Blue Jays roster. On August 3, 2006, Roberts hit a solo home run in Yankee Stadium, his first hit in a Major League Baseball game.

In 2007 Roberts batted .249 in AAA, and then went 1–13 in the major leagues. After the 2007 season, Roberts' was released by the Blue Jays.

Texas Rangers[link]

Roberts signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on November 21, 2007, with an invitation to spring training.

Arizona Diamondbacks[link]

In November 2008, Roberts signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He made the opening day roster for the first time in his career. He has played mostly as a utility player during the 2009 season with the Diamondbacks.

Through June 13, 2009, Roberts had a .274 batting average in the minor leagues, and a .243 batting average in the major leagues in 111 at bats.

When the Diamondbacks traded second baseman Felipe López on July 20, 2009, Ryan Roberts was named the Diamondbacks everyday second baseman.In the 2009 season, Roberts hit .279 with 8 home runs and 25 RBI, while playing at second base for 57 games, third base for 19 games, and left field for 16 games.^[9]

In game 4 of the NLDS against the Brewers, Roberts hit a two-out grand slam in the first inning to help keep the Diamondbacks alive in the postseason. This home run came only a week after Roberts' first career grand slam, a game-winning "ultimate grand slam" capping a dramatic 10th inning rally to defeat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6, as well as a day after teammate Paul Goldschmidt hit a grand slam in game 3 of the NLDS.

See also[link]

Baseball portal

• List of players with a home run in first major league at bat

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2009)

Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder playing slide guitar in 2009 Photograph: Dani Canto
Background information
Birth name	Ryland Peter Cooder
Born	(1947-03-15) March 15, 1947 (age 65) Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres	Americana, roots rock, folk, blues, Tex-Mex, country, gospel, world music
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, film scorer, record producer, instructor
Instruments	Guitar, mandolin, vocals, array mbira
Years active	1967–present
Labels	Warner Bros., Nonesuch, Elektra
Associated acts	Taj Mahal, Captain Beefheart, Buena Vista Social Club, Ali Farka Toure
Website	Ry Cooder

Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947)^[1] is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.

His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing folk, blues, Tex-Mex, soul, gospel, rock, and much else. He has collaborated with many musicians, including Larry Blackmon, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Randy Newman, Earl Hines, Little Feat, Captain Beefheart, The Chieftains, John Lee Hooker, Pops and Mavis Staples, Flaco Jiménez, Ibrahim Ferrer, Freddy Fender, Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and Ali Farka Touré. He formed the band Little Village with Nick Lowe, John Hiatt, and Jim Keltner.

Ry Cooder produced the Buena Vista Social Club album (1997), which became a worldwide hit. Wim Wenders directed the documentary film of the same name (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.

He was ranked eighth on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".^[2] A 2010 ranking by Gibson placed him at number 32.^[3]

Career[link]

1960s[link]

During the 1960s, Cooder briefly attended Reed College in Portland, Oregon.^[4] Cooder first attracted attention in the 1960s, playing with Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, after previously having worked with Taj Mahal and Ed Cassidy in the Rising Sons. He also played with Randy Newman at this time, including on 12 Songs.^[5] Van Dyke Parks worked with Newman and Cooder during the 1960s. Parks arranged Cooder's "One Meatball" according to Parks' 1984 interview by Bob Claster.

Cooder was a session musician on various recording sessions with the The Rolling Stones in 1968 and 1969, and his contributions appear on the albums Let It Bleed (mandolin on "Love in Vain"), and Sticky Fingers, on which he contributed the slide guitar on "Sister Morphine". During this period, Cooder joined with Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, and longtime Rolling Stones sideman Nicky Hopkins to record Jamming with Edward! Cooder also played slide guitar for the 1970 film soundtrack Performance, which contained Jagger's first solo single, "Memo from Turner". The 1975 compilation album Metamorphosis features an uncredited Cooder contribution on Bill Wyman's "Downtown Suzie."

Ry Cooder also collaborated with Lowell George of Little Feat, playing slide guitar on the original version of "Willin'".^[6]

1970s[link]

Throughout the 1970s, Cooder released a series of Warner Bros. Records albums that showcased his guitar work. Cooder explored bygone musical genres and found old-time recordings which he then personalized and updated. Thus, on his breakthrough album, Into the Purple Valley, he chose unusual instrumentations and arrangements of blues, gospel, calypso, and country songs (giving a tempo change to the cowboy ballad "Billy the Kid"). The album opened with the song "How Can You Keep on Moving (Unless You Migrate Too)" by Agnes "Sis" Cunningham about the Okies who were not welcomed when they migrated west to escape the Dust Bowl in the 1930s – to which Cooder gave a rousing-yet-satirical march accompaniment. His later 1970s albums (with the exception of Jazz, which explored ragtime/vaudeville) do not fall under a single genre description, but his self-titled first album could be described as blues; Into the Purple Valley, Boomer's Story, and Paradise and Lunch as folk and blues; Chicken Skin Music and Showtime as a mix of Tex-Mex and Hawaiian; Bop Till You Drop as 1950s' R&B; and Borderline and Get Rhythm as rock-based. His 1979 album Bop Till You Drop was the first popular music album to be recorded digitally. It yielded his biggest hit, an R&B cover version of Elvis Presley's 1960s recording "Little Sister". Cooder is credited on Van Morrison's 1979 album, Into the Music, for slide guitar on the song "Full Force Gale". He also played guitar on Judy Collins' 1970 concert tour, and is featured on Living, the 1971 live album recorded during that tour.

1980s[link]

Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks including Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas (1984). Cooder based this soundtrack and title song "Paris, Texas" on Blind Willie Johnson's "Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)", which he described as "The most soulful, transcendent piece in all American music."^[7] Musician Dave Grohl has declared Cooder's score for Paris, Texas is one of his favorite albums.^[8]

"Dark Was the Night (Cold Was the Ground)" was also the basis for Cooder's song "Powis Square" for the movie Performance. His other film work includes Walter Hill's The Long Riders (1980), Southern Comfort (1981), Brewster's Millions (1985), Johnny Handsome^[9], Last Man Standing (1996), Hill's Trespass (1992) and Mike Nichols' Primary Colors (1998). Cooder dubbed all slide guitar parts in the 1986 film Crossroads, a take on blues legend Robert Johnson. In 1988, Cooder produced the album by his longtime backing vocalists Bobby King and Terry Evans on Rounder Records titled Live and Let Live. He contributed his slide guitar work to every track. He also plays extensively on their 1990 self-produced Rounder release Rhythm, Blues, Soul & Grooves. Cooder's music also appeared on two episodes of the television program "Tales From the Crypt" – "The Man Who Was Death" and "The Thing From the Grave" (http://www.allmusic.com/album/original-music-from-tales-from-the-crypt-w93724).

Also in 1988 he produced and featured in the Les Blank directed concert documentary film Ry Cooder & The Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: Let's Have a Ball where he plays in collaboration with a selection of musicians famous in their various musical fields.^[10] The following year, he played a janitor in the Jim Henson series The Ghost of Faffner Hall, in the episode "Music Is More Than Technique".^[11][12]

1990s[link]

In the early 1990s Cooder collaborated on two world music "crossover" albums, which blended the traditional American musical genres that Cooder has championed throughout his career with the contemporary improvised music of India and Africa. For A Meeting by the River (1993), which also featured his son Joachim on percussion, he teamed with Hindustani classical musician V.M. Bhatt, a virtuoso of the Mohan Veena, a modified 20-string archtop guitar of Bhatt's own invention. In 1995 he teamed with African multi-instrumentalist Ali Farka Toure on the album Talking Timbuktu, which he also produced; the album also featured longtime Cooder collaborator Jim Keltner on drums, veteran blues guitarist Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, jazz bassist John Patitucci and African percussionists and musicians including Hamma Sankare and Oumar Toure. Both albums won the Grammy Award for 'Best World Music Album' in 1994 and 1995 respectively. Cooder also worked with Tuvan throat singers for the score to the 1993 film Geronimo: An American Legend.

In 1995 he performed in The Wizard of Oz in Concert: Dreams Come True, a musical performance of the popular story at the Lincoln Center in New York to benefit the Children's Defense Fund. The performance was originally broadcast on Turner Network Television (TNT), and was issued on CD and video in 1996.

In the late 1990s Cooder played a significant role in the increased appreciation of traditional Cuban music, due to his collaboration as producer of the Buena Vista Social Club (1997) recording, which became a worldwide hit and revived the careers of some of the greatest surviving exponents of 20th century Cuban music. Wim Wenders, who had previously directed 1984's Paris Texas, directed a documentary film of the musicians involved, Buena Vista Social Club (1999), which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2000.^[13]

2000s[link]

Cooder's 2005 album Chávez Ravine was touted by his record label as being "a post-World War II-era American narrative of 'cool cats', radios, UFO sightings, J. Edgar Hoover, red scares, and baseball"^[14]— the record is a tribute to the long-gone Los Angeles Latino enclave known as Chávez Ravine. Using real and imagined historical characters, Cooder and friends created an album that recollects various aspects of the poor but vibrant hillside Chicano community which no longer exists. Cooder says, "Here is some music for a place you don’t know, up a road you don’t go. Chávez Ravine, where the sidewalk ends."^[14]Drawing from the various musical strains of Los Angeles, including conjunto, R&B, Latin pop, and jazz, Cooder and friends conjure the ghosts of Chávez Ravine and Los Angeles at mid-century. On this fifteen-track album, sung in Spanish and English, Cooder is joined by East L.A. legends like Chicano music patriarch Lalo Guerrero, Pachuco boogie king Don Tosti, Thee Midniters front man Little Willie G, and Ersi Arvizu, of The Sisters and El Chicano.

Cooder's next record was released in 2007. Entitled My Name Is Buddy, it tells the story of Buddy Red Cat, who travels and sees the world in the company of his like-minded friends, Lefty Mouse and Rev. Tom Toad. The entire recording is a parable of the working class progressivism^[15] of the first half of the American twentieth century, and even has a song featuring executed unionist Joe Hill. My Name Is Buddy was accompanied by a booklet featuring a story and illustration (by Vincent Valdez) for each track, providing additional context to Buddy's adventures.

Cooder produced and performed on an album for Mavis Staples entitled We'll Never Turn Back, which was released on April 24, 2007. The concept album focused on Gospel songs of the civil rights movement and also included two new original songs by Cooder.^[16]

Ry Cooder's album I, Flathead was released on June 24, 2008. It is the completion of his California trilogy. Based on the drag racing culture of the early 1960s, the album is set on the desert salt flats in southern California. The disc was also released as a deluxe edition with stories written by Cooder to accompany the music.

In late 2009, Cooder toured Japan, New Zealand and Australia with Nick Lowe, performing some of Lowe's songs and a selection of Cooder's own material, mainly from the 1970s. Joaquim Cooder (Ry's son) provided percussion, and Juliette Commagere and Alex Lilly contributed backing vocals.

The song "Diaraby", which Cooder recorded with Ali Farka Touré, is used as the theme to The World's Geo Quiz. The World is a radio show distributed by Public Radio International.

In 2009, Cooder performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States. Cooder performed with Bob Dylan and Van Dyke Parks on the documentary broadcast on December 13, 2009 on the History Channel. They played "Do Re Mi" and reportedly a couple of other Guthrie songs that were excluded from the final edit. He also traveled with the band Los Tigres del Norte and recorded the 2010 album San Patricio with the Chieftains, Lila Downs, Liam Neeson, Linda Ronstadt, Van Dyke Parks, Los Cenzontles, and Los Tigres.^[17][18]

2010s[link]

In June 2010, responding to the passage of Arizona SB 1070, he released the single "Quicksand", which tells the story of Mexicans attempting to emigrate to Arizona through the desert.^[19][20] Cooder's critically acclaimed^[21][22] new album Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down, released on August 30, 2011, contains politically charged songs such as "No Banker Left Behind"^[23] which was inspired by a Robert Scheer column.^[24]

In 2011, he published a collection of short stories called Los Angeles Stories, written about people living in Los Angeles in the 40s and 50s. With story titles such as "La vida es un sueño" and "Kill me, por favor", the book has a Hispanic theme and deals partially with Latinos living in Los Angeles during this time.

Awards[link]

• 1988 Grammy Award – Pecos Bill (Rabbit Ears Productions)
• 1993 Grammy Award – A Meeting by the River
• 1995 Grammy Award – Talking Timbuktu with Ali Farka Toure
• 1998 Grammy Award – Buena Vista Social Club
• 2000 – Ry Cooder received an honorary doctorate from Queen's University, Canada
• 2001 – Ry Cooder received an honorary doctorate from the California Institute of the Arts

Discography[link]

Singles

• "Little Sister" (1979; Warner Records)
• "Crazy 'Bout An Automobile (Every Woman I Know)" Recorded live, October 25, 1980 at Victoria Apollo, London / "If Walls Could Talk" Recorded live, February 26, 1981 at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California / "The Very Thing That Makes You Rich (Makes Me Poor)" Recorded live, February 26, 1981 at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California/ "Look At Granny Run Run" Recorded live, February 26, 1981 at Old Waldorf, San Francisco, California (1981; Warner Records)
• "Gypsy Woman"/ "Alimony" (1982; Nonesuch Records)
• "Get Rhythm"/ "Get Your Lies Straight/ "Down In Hollywood" (1988)
• "Come Down" / "Get Rhythm" / "Little Sister" (1994)
• "Quicksand" (June 2010)

Solo albums

• Ry Cooder (December 1970)
• Into the Purple Valley (February 1972)
• Boomer's Story (November 1972)
• Paradise and Lunch (May 1974)
• Chicken Skin Music (October 1976)
• Showtime (August 1977)
• Jazz (June 1978)
• Bop Till You Drop (August 1979)
• Borderline (October 1980)
• The Slide Area (April 1982)
• Get Rhythm (November 1987)
• Chávez Ravine (May 2005)
• My Name Is Buddy (March 2007)
• I, Flathead (June 2008)
• Pull Up Some Dust and Sit Down (August 2011)

Compilations

• Why Don't You Try Me Tonight (1986)
• River Rescue – The Very Best Of Ry Cooder (1994)
• Music by Ry Cooder (1995) (two-disc set of film music)
• The Ry Cooder Anthology: The UFO Has Landed (October 2008)

Collaborations

• Tanyet (1967) (with The Ceyleib People)
• Ry Cooder and the Moula Banda Rhythm Aces: Let's have a ball (1988)
• Rising Sons featuring Taj Mahal and Ry Cooder with Rising Sons (recorded 1965/66, released 1992)
• Little Village (1992)
• A Meeting by the River (1993) (with Vishwa Mohan Bhatt)
• Talking Timbuktu (1994) (with Ali Farka Touré)
• Buena Vista Social Club (September 1997)
• Hollow Bamboo with Jon Hassell and Ronu Majumdar (bansuri) (2000)
• Mambo Sinuendo (January 2003) (with Manuel Galbán)
• San Patricio (March 2010) (with The Chieftains)

Soundtracks

• Performance (1970)
• The Long Riders (June 1980)
• Southern Comfort (1981)
• The Border (1982)
• Streets of Fire (1984)
• Paris, Texas (February 1985)
• Music from Alamo Bay (August 1985)
• Blue City (July 1986)
• Crossroads (July 1986)
• Cocktail (1988)
• Johnny Handsome (October 1989)
• Trespass (January 1993)
• Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
• Last Man Standing (1996)
• The End of Violence (1997)
• Primary Colors (1998)

Performs on:

• Safe as Milk (1967) with Captain Beefheart
• Taj Mahal (album) (1968) with Taj Mahal
• Neil Young (album) (1968) with Neil Young
• Head (1968) with The Monkees
• 12 Songs (1970) with Randy Newman
• The Candlestickmaker (1970) with Ron Elliott
• Washington County (1970) with Arlo Guthrie
• Stained Glass Morning (1970) with Scott McKenzie
• Living (1971) with Judy Collins
• Money and Cigarettes (February 1983) with Eric Clapton
• Midnight Mission (1984) Carla Olson & The Textones (featured on two songs)
• Bring the Family (1987) with John Hiatt
• Live and Let Live (1988) with Bobby King & Terry Evans
• King Cake Party (1994) with The Zydeco Party Band
• Good Dog, Happy Man (1999) with Bill Frisell
• The Wind (2003) with Warren Zevon (slide guitar on two tracks: "Dirty Life and Times" and "Prison Grove")

Written works[link]

• Los Angeles Stories, City Lights Publishers (2011) [1]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ry Cooder (Nonesuch Records)
• Easy Guitar Chords Homepage
• The People Speak at the Internet Movie Database
• Los Angeles Stories Book Description

Brett Gardner
Gardner with the Yankees
New York Yankees – No. 11
Left fielder / Center fielder
Born: (1983-08-24) August 24, 1983 (age 28) Holly Hill, South Carolina
Bats: Left	Throws: Left
MLB debut
June 30, 2008 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics (through May 29, 2012)
Batting average	.265
Home runs	15
Runs batted in	125
Hits	369
Stolen bases	137
Teams
New York Yankees (2008–present)
Career highlights and awards
2009 World Series champion 2× Fielding Bible Award winner (2010, 2011) AL stolen base leader (2011)

Brett Michael Gardner (born August 24, 1983) is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the New York Yankees. Gardner, who is 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), bats and throws left-handed.

College baseball career[link]

In 2001, Gardner attended walk-on tryouts for the baseball team at the College of Charleston. After the tryouts, Coach John Pawlowski told the players that he would contact them if they made the team. Without hearing a word from the coach, Gardner came to the field the next day for the first official practice, wearing his high school uniform. When Pawlowski asked Gardner why he was there, Gardner told him that he knew he was capable of playing at the Division I level. Pawlowski told Gardner that he could practice with the team, but if at any time if Pawlowski saw that Gardner wasn't capable then he would be let go.^[1]

Gardner was a three-year starter at the College of Charleston. In 2004, he was chosen to the All-Southern Conference Team. His .447 batting average was third in the nation in 2005, and his 122 hits tied for most in the country. His 85 runs in 2005 is the all-time record at College of Charleston, and his 38 stolen bases led the Southern Conference. He wrapped up his Cougar career as a third-team All-American and a second-time All-Southern Conference player, sporting a .382/.456/.508 career line, mostly from the lead-off spot.

Professional baseball career[link]

After his junior year in college he was drafted by the Yankees in the third round in 2005, and received a $210,000 signing bonus.

Minor leagues (2005–08)[link]

Gardner finished the 2005 season in the New York-Penn League season ranking 5th in at bats (with 282), 2nd in runs (62), and 5th in stolen bases (19). He was a Florida State League all star in 2006, batting .323 in 63 games with 22 RBIs with the Tampa Yankees. He was 3rd in the Florida State League in batting average, and led the league in stolen bases with 30. Gardner also was second in the league in walks with 47.^[2]

In 2007, he played 54 games for the Double-A Trenton Thunder, though he missed time with a broken bone in his hand. In 203 at bats, he stole 18 bases (tied for 5th in the league; while being caught 4 times), hit 5 triples, and batted .300 with a .392 OBP, before being promoted to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees.^[3][4] There, in 45 games he batted .260 with a .343 OBP, and stole 21 bases while being caught only 3 times.^[5]

In the fall of 2007, he played in 26 games in the Arizona Fall League, leading it in runs (27) and stolen bases (16), while being caught stealing only once. He batted .343 (5th in the league) with a .433 obp (3rd), and was 3rd in the league in walks (17).^[6] In 2007, he was the 12th-best prospect in the Yankees minor league system according to Baseball America.^[7]

Gardner in 2011

Gardner headed into 2008, according to Baseball America, as the Yankee's fastest minor league runner and the one with the best plate discipline.^[8] Playing for Scranton/Wilkes Barre in 2008, in 94 games Gardner was 2nd in the International League with a .414 on base percentage, 70 walks, and 11 triples, and 6th in the IL with 37 stolen bases, while being caught only 9 times.

Through 2008 in the minor leagues, he had a .291 batting average and a .389 OBP. He had stolen 153 bases, and been caught 31 times, an 83% success rate.^[9]

Major leagues (2008-present)[link]

On June 30, 2008, Gardner was called up and made his major league debut,^[10] batting lead-off and going 0 for 3 with a stolen base. On July 2, he got both his first hit and first RBI off fellow rookie, Texas Rangers relief pitcher Warner Madrigal, in the seventh inning. Gardner went on to steal second and eventually score in that inning.

On July 26, 2008, Gardner was optioned back to AAA after the acquisition of Xavier Nady in order to continue to receive playing time. On August 15 Gardner was called back up to the big leagues.

On September 21, 2008, Gardner scored the final run of Major League Baseball in Yankee Stadium history as a pinch runner for Jason Giambi, scoring on a sacrifice fly by Cano in the seventh inning of an eventual 7–3 win for the Yankees over the Baltimore Orioles.

He was named the Yankees' starting center fielder for the 2009 season on March 29, 2009, beating out Melky Cabrera for the position.^[11]

Gardner finished the 2010 season with a .277 batting average and 47 stolen bases in 150 games. He also won the 2010 Fielding Bible Award as the best defensive left fielder in MLB.^[12][13]

Gardner's speed gives him exceptional range in the outfield.

On December 7, 2010, Gardner underwent surgery to get rid of inflamed tissue in his wrist, with Yankees GM Brian Cashman supporting that he will be back in time for Spring Training ^[14]

Gardner started the 2011 season hitting lead off for the Yankees, but after struggling was demoted to the bottom 3rd of the order. However, after Derek Jeter was put on the disabled list for a calf injury, Gardner was returned to the top of the order, alternating with Nick Swisher.^[15] Since Jeter's return, and Alex Rodriguez's stint on the DL for knee surgery, Gardner and Jeter have periodically shared the top of the order, with Gardner as leadoff and Jeter batting 2nd.

Gardner finished the 2011 season tied for first in the American League in stolen bases with Coco Crisp, each having 48 stolen bases.^[16] Gardner won his second consecutive Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding left fielder in MLB.^[17]

Gardner and the Yankees agreed on a $2.8 million contract for the 2012 season, avoiding arbitration.^[16]

Player profile[link]

Gardner is one of the fastest players in Major League Baseball, joining the ranks of Ichiro Suzuki, Andrew McCutchen, Carl Crawford, Jose Reyes, Jacoby Ellsbury and Michael Bourn, along with former Kansas City Royals outfielder Joey Gathright.^[18] Gardner is best known for stealing bases and being very disciplined at the plate. He makes contact with 93% of his swings, third best in the American League.^[19] In 2010, Gardner saw more pitches per at-bat than any other player in the American League.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Brett and his wife Jessica had their first son, Hunter, on November 19, 2008.^[21] Gardner has one older brother. His father, Jerry Gardner, played in the minors for the Phillies.^[22] For the 2011 season, Gardner resides in Westchester, New York, adjacent to Mike Pelfrey of the New York Mets.^[23]

See also[link]

• List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions

References[link]

External links[link]

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Prospect Profile
• Profile 12/29/06
• "Gardner makes fast impression in camp; Prospect pleases teammates, rattles pitchers with speed," 3/1/07