Lance Berkman
William Lance Berkman, nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the former head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Huskies. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers. Berkman is a six-time MLB All-Star and won a World Series championship and the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award with the Cardinals in 2011. He stands, and weighs. Berkman spent various seasons of his career as a regular at all three outfield positions.
A standout baseball player at Canyon High School, Berkman attended Rice University, where he played college baseball for the Owls. The Astros selected Berkman in the first round of 1997's amateur draft, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1999. He joined the Astros' vaunted "Killer B's" lineup that included Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio as all three players were instrumental in the club's playoff success. The Astros traded Berkman to the Yankees at the 2010 trade deadline. He signed with the Cardinals as a free agent for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Berkman played a key part in the Cardinals winning the 2011 World Series, hitting a game-tying single in the bottom of the tenth inning of Game 6, with the Cardinals just one strike away from elimination. He played the 2013 season with the Rangers before signing a one-day contract with Houston to officially retire as an Astro. In fifteen seasons of baseball, he had an Adjusted On-base plus slugging + at 150 or above six times while drawing 100 walks in a season three times and 100 RBIs in a season six times. His career OPS ranks 32nd in major league history, and he is one of only four players to draw at least 90 walks in nine consecutive seasons, along with Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, and Joe Morgan.
Active in charity work, Forbes recognized him on their list of "30 most generous celebrities" in 2012. He has led a group called "Berkman's Bunch," an outreach for 50 underprivileged kids to meet Berkman before each Saturday home game for autographs and other gifts. In 2013, he purchased a fire truck and donated it to the City of West, Texas, after the West Fertilizer Company explosion.
Early life
Berkman was born in Waco, Texas, the son of Cynthia Ann and Larry Gene Berkman. His paternal grandfather, whose family's surname was originally "Björkman", was of Swedish descent. Berkman graduated from Canyon High School in New Braunfels, Texas, in 1994. Berkman's No. 23 jersey was retired by his high school alma mater on Mar 2, 2023 and is displayed on the right-field wall at Canyon High School's baseball field.College career
Berkman then attended Rice University playing on the Owls baseball team, where he played for the legendary Wayne Graham, and was named a first team All-America by Collegiate Baseball Magazine, Baseball America and The Sporting News. He was invited to visit the White House and dined with President Clinton along with the rest of the Baseball America honorees.Throughout college, he batted a collective.385 with 67 home runs and 272 RBI. His 41 home runs in 1997 ranked third-most in NCAA history. That year he also made the all-time record book in RBIs, slugging percentage and total bases while leading the Rice Owls to their first College World Series appearance.
In 1996, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he won the league's Thurman Munson Award for leading all hitters with a.352 batting average. Berkman was named to the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2023.
Berkman returned to Rice in 2014 to finish his degree.
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
The Houston Astros of Major League Baseball selected Berkman in the first round, with the 16th overall selection, of the 1997 MLB draft. The team assigned him to play with the Kissimmee Cobras, their Class A-Advanced affiliate, of the Florida State League. In 53 games, he hit.293 with 12 home runs and 35 RBI.In, his second minor league season, the Astros promoted Berkman to the Jackson Generals of the Class AA Texas League. His potential was beginning to show, as he hit.306 with 24 home runs and 89 RBI over 122 games. The Astros granted him a mid-season promotion to the New Orleans Zephyrs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League. He played 17 games in New Orleans, and 1998 would prove to be his last full season in the minor leagues. In, Berkman was midway through a great season in New Orleans when he was called up to the parent club, the Houston Astros. Prior to the promotion, he had been hitting.323 with 8 home runs and 49 RBI through 64 games.
Houston Astros (1999–2010)
1999–2004: Early Astros career
Throughout his entire high school, college, and minor league career, Berkman had almost exclusively played first base. The Astros, who called him up to the major leagues for the first time in 1999 and already had Jeff Bagwell entrenched at first, shifted Berkman to the outfield so he could regularly hit in the starting lineup. Because of his last name and reputation as a strong hitter, Berkman gained distinction as one of the Astros' "Killer B's" early in his career, which included Bagwell and Craig Biggio, two formidable veteran players who helped established the club as perennial playoff contenders in the 1990s and 2000s. In fact, journalist Dayn Perry jocosely noted in 1999 that the Astros, "in pursuit of arcane history, used eight players whose last names began with 'B.'" The eight included Bagwell, Paul Bako, Glen Barker, Derek Bell, Sean Berry, Berkman, Biggio, and Tim Bogar. After appearing in 34 games in 1999, Houston demoted Berkman to the minor leagues for more seasoning.The demotion proved brief, however; 31 games into the 2000 season, Houston again promoted Berkman. Moving from left field to right field, he dramatically increased his offensive production by hitting.297 with 21 home runs and 67 RBI, resulting in him becoming a starter for the rest of his career in Houston. Berkman received a single vote in 2000 National League Rookie of the Year voting, tying him for sixth place with Juan Pierre and Chuck Smith. In 2001, Berkman hit.331, fourth in the National League, posted a.430 on-base percentage , and drove in 126 runs. He also scored 110 runs and hit 34 home runs, while his 55 doubles led the league. 2001 also marked his first All-Star appearance and he was 5th in Most Valuable Player voting.
2002 saw his batting average drop to.292, although he kept his OBP high at.405. His power output increased also, resulting in 42 home runs. Berkman scored 106 runs and drove in 128, good enough to lead the league. He made his second All-Star appearance and was third in the NL in the Most Valuable Player voting.
In 2003, Berkman's batting average dipped to.288, but his OBP remained high at.412. He hit 25 home runs, and drove in 93 runs, scoring 110. In the field, he played every game in left field, moving to center field once. Berkman also continued his reputation for being colorful and outspoken, advocating for the use of instant replay in games. In a game against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, fans waved Twinkies at Berkman during the a pitching change in the seventh inning on June 1. He responded by asking for Twinkies to be thrown to his glove, and when two came to him, he proceeded to eat one of them while putting the other in his pocket. He subsequently hit a home run in the next innings earning chants of "Twinkie Power" when he came back to the field in the ninth.
In May 2004, Berkman produced a.785 slugging percentage with 24 RBI, winning the National League Player of the Month honors for the first time in his career. Berkman made the All-Star team, his third All-Star appearance, and placed second in the 2004 Home Run Derby behind Miguel Tejada. He hit the longest home run of the tournament at. Berkman's average for the season increased to.316 from the year before, and his OBP was.450, having walked 127 times. He hit 30 home runs, drove in 106, and scored 104 runs. He also hit 40 doubles and appeared in 160 games, the most in his career for a single season. Defensively, Berkman split 2004 between left and right field. Berkman finished 7th in Most Valuable Player voting.
2005–10
Berkman signed a six-year, $85-million deal in March 2005. He moved to first base early in the 2005 season while Bagwell spent a significant portion of the season injured. Berkman ended the season with 24 home runs and 82 RBIs. He tied for 14th with Bobby Abreu in NL MVP voting.In Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves, Berkman hit a grand slam in the 8th inning. That brought the score to 6–5 in favor of the Braves, but the game was tied in the next inning on a two-out solo home run by Brad Ausmus. The teams then battled for 9 more innings in what became the longest game in Major League Baseball playoff history, with the Astros eventually winning the game in the bottom of the 18th inning on a Chris Burke home run. Burke had replaced Berkman as a pinch runner in the 10th. In the 2005 World Series, Berkman's first, the Astros were swept by the Chicago White Sox in four games, though Berkman compiled a.385 average with two doubles. His six RBIs during that series were the most of any of the Astros' hitters.
On Mother's Day, May 14, 2006, Berkman was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a pink bat to benefit the . On September 13, 2006, Berkman became only the second switch hitter in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in multiple seasons, with Mickey Mantle being the first.
During the 2006 season, Berkman hit 45 home runs and had 136 RBI. He broke the Astros' single season record for RBI, previously set by Bagwell in 1997 with 135. He also had a.315 batting average, an on-base percentage of.420, as well as a slugging percentage of.621. He also hit a career high 5 home runs from the right side of the plate. He finished third in the MVP voting behind Ryan Howard and Albert Pujols.
Berkman started the 2007 season in a bit of a slump, batting.261, well below his career average, but rebounded for a strong second half of the season. Berkman finished the 2007 season with a.278 batting average, 34 home runs and 102 RBIs, along with 7 stolen bases.
Berkman started the 2008 season batting well above.385 through April, won the NL Player of the Month in May and two separate Player of the Week awards, one which he went 29–32 with 6 home runs, including a McCovey Cove splash landing. At the All-Star break, he was in the NL's top four in batting average, with 22 home runs, and was on pace for 130+ RBIs. However, despite the rest of the team picking up steam behind the likes of Roy Oswalt, Wandy Rodríguez, Hunter Pence, and Ty Wigginton's rebound second half, Berkman's individual performance dipped significantly, and by season's end, he batted.312, with 29 home runs, 106 RBI, and an NL-leading 46 doubles. Berkman was fifth in the voting for the 2008 NL MVP award, behind Albert Pujols, Ryan Howard, Ryan Braun, and Manny Ramirez.
Berkman hit his 300th home run against Arizona Diamondbacks starter Jon Garland on June 13, 2009.