Chone Figgins
Senin, 26 Oktober 2009
Biography
A fourth-round draft pick by the Rockies in the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft, Chone played baseball during his childhood at East Point Little League in Mango, Florida. Figgins attended Brandon High School in Florida where he was third-team High School All-American as a senior. He was acquired by the Angels in a trade in 2001 for Kimera Bartee.
Figgins made his major league debut in 2002 for the World Series-winning Angels, used mostly, and effectively, as a pinch runner. His first full season in the majors was 2004. His breakout year came in 2005, when he was moved from nearly the bottom of the batting order to leadoff hitter, after original leadoff hitter David Eckstein signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, and used his speed to steal a major league high 62 bases, which was second most in Angels single season history. That year, he played two positions in the same game 24 times. He was named team co-MVP of the 2005 season for the Angels, with Bartolo Colón.
Prior to the 2006 season, the Angels signed Figgins to a three-year, $10.5-million deal. He had been eligible for salary arbitration, which could have been substantial considering his accomplishments the year before.
Figgins became the sixth Angel to hit for the cycle on September 16, 2006, in Arlington, Texas. Against the Oakland Athletics on September 29, 2006, Figgins hit his first career inside-the-park home run at Angel Stadium.
Along with third base, Figgins can also play shortstop, second base, and all three outfield positions. He is known as being one of the top utility players in the game of baseball. Although he was initially considered the most likely starter for center field in 2006, when the Angels decided to move Darin Erstad back to that position it opened up Figgins to be the starter at third base. With Erstad on the disabled list for much of the season, however, Figgins saw more time in center field.
On March 21, 2007, in a spring training game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Figgins suffered two broken fingers on his throwing hand while attempting to field a ground ball hit by Conor Jackson. He began the season on the disabled list and was expected to be out for at least five to six weeks.
In June 2007, Figgins recorded an Angels team record 53 hits in a month, breaking the record set by Darin Erstad in April 2000. With six hits on June 18, 2007, against the Houston Astros, including a walk-off triple, Figgins matched the American League record for most hits in a 9-inning game. On July 15, 2007, Figgins stole his 187th base as an Angel, breaking the 20-year-old club record previously held by Gary Pettis, in attendance that day as a coach for the visiting Texas Rangers.
In 2008 he averaged an RBI per every 20.6 at bats, by far the lowest average in the major leagues.
In 2009, Figgins was selected to his first All-Star Game. American League manager Joe Maddon, a former bench coach with the Angels, selected Figgins to fill the roster spot vacated by injured Tampa Bay Rays third-baseman Evan Longoria.[4]
Although he stole 42 bases in 2009, he was caught 17 times -- tied for the most in the majors
