Juan Pierre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Free Agent — No. 9 | |
| Center field | |
| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| August 7, 2000 for the Colorado Rockies | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
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| Avg | .303 |
| Stolen bases | 325 |
| RBI | 287 |
| Hits | 1,244 |
| Teams | |
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Juan D'Vaughn Pierre (born August 14, 1977 in Mobile, Alabama), is a professional baseball center fielder who used to play for the Chicago Cubs and is now a free agent. He bats and throws left-handed.
In a 7-year career, through 2006 Pierre has batted .303 with 12 home runs, 287 RBI, and 325 stolen bases in 1,007 games.
Through 2006 he leads all active major league ballplayers in at-bats per strikeout (16.51), and has led the NL in that category 5 of the past 6 years.
Also through 2006, in the 2000s he leads all major leaguers in stolen bases (210), is tied for 2nd in sacrifice hits (56), and is 6th in triples (35).
Contents |
[edit] College
Prior to his professional career he played at University of South Alabama and Galveston Junior College.
[edit] Minor leagues
Pierre began his professional career with the Portland Rockies of the Northwest League, after being drafted by Colorado in the 13th round of the 1998 MLB Draft. He won the league batting and stolen base titles in his first professional season, and was a fan favorite even at that level.
[edit] Major leagues
Juan became a fan favorite early in his career because of his speed, durability, and work ethic. He led the National League in stolen bases in 2001 and 2003 and stole at least 45 bases each year from 2001 to 2006; because of his great speed and ability for contact hitting, many believe he is one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball. Critics are quick to point out that, in contrast to a prototypical leadoff hitter, Pierre rarely walks and must hit for a high average to sustain a high on-base percentage, which Pierre has not accomplished since 2004. In 2004, he led the National League in at-bats (for the second year in a row) with 678; in hits, with 221; and in triples, with 12. In addition, he was the only player in Major League Baseball to play every inning of each of his team's games.
Juan was a major contributor to the Marlins' 2003 World Series championship. After a regular season in which he posted a .305 batting average and 65 stolen bases, he batted .333 in the World Series and .301 overall in his first postseason.
On June 3, 2005, Pierre's consecutive-games streak ended at 386 (including 375 after joining the Marlins). It was the second-longest such streak in the majors at the time, behind that of Miguel Tejada of the Baltimore Orioles.
On December 7, 2005, the Florida Marlins traded Pierre to the Chicago Cubs, receiving RHP Sergio Mitre, RHP Ricky Nolasco and LHP Renyel Pinto in exchange. The deal was motivated by the Marlins' need to cut payroll after finding itself unable to secure a new stadium deal in South Florida.
In 2006, despite batting only .292, Pierre led the NL with 204 hits, winning his 2nd hit title, along with leading the league in at-bats with 699. (He led the NL with 221 hits in 2004.)
[edit] Accomplishments
- Member of 2003 World Series champion Florida Marlins, and was named the Marlins most valuable player by the South Chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America
- Received the Cool Papa Bell Award from the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in 2003
[edit] Trivia
- Led the National League in stolen bases in 2001 (46) and 2003 (65)
- Pierre was the only player in baseball to play every inning of all his team's games, and was only the 3rd player to do it since 1971.
- On May 9, 2006, Pierre robbed the San Francisco Giants' Barry Bonds of a career 714th home run by catching the ball as it topped the fence, which would have tied Bonds with Babe Ruth for second on the all-time list.
- Was the first Marlin in history to record 200 hits in a season
- Pierre is mentioned by Jay-Z in the Beyonce song, "Déjà Vu."
- Pierre is also mentioned by Trick Daddy in the Rubberband Man remix (T.I. ft. Mack 10, Trick Daddy and Twista)
- Became only the second player in history to record 200 hits in a season and not bat .300 (The other player was Buddy Bell).
[edit] Teams
- Colorado Rockies (2000-2002)
- Florida Marlins (2003-2005)
- Chicago Cubs (2006-)
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- MLB.com
