Lance Berkman

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Lance Berkman
Astros Opening Day-24 Lance Berkman.jpg
Berkman with the Houston Astros in 2009
Outfielder / First baseman
Born: (1976-02-10) February 10, 1976 (age 48)
Waco, Texas, U.S.
Batted: Switch
Threw: Left
MLB debut
July 16, 1999, for the Houston Astros
Last MLB appearance
September 17, 2013, for the Texas RangersDatesRef
National League champion 2 2005, 2011
World Series champion 1 2011
Honors received
TitleDateRef
Texas Sports Hall of Fame inductee2009
Awards
Statistical achievements

Notes: Per Baseball-Reference.com.

National League statistical leader
CategoryTimesDates
Doubles leader 2 2001, 2008
Runs batted in leader 1 2002
National League top-ten ranking
CategoryTimesSeasonsCategoryTimesSeasons
Adjusted on-base plus slugging 62001, 2004−06, 2008, 2011 Home runs 42002, 2006, 2007, 2011
Bases on balls 102001−09, 2011 On-base percentage 92001−06, 2008, 2009, 2011
Batting average 42001, 2004, 2006, 2008 On-base plus slugging percentage72006–08, 2010–13
Runs batted in 52001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008
Doubles 22001, 2008 Runs scored32002, 2003, 2008
Extra base hits 42001, 2002, 2004, 2008 Slugging percentage 52001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011
Games played32002, 2004, 2008
Hits 12001 Times on base 72001−04, 2006, 2008, 2011
Total bases 42001, 2002, 2006, 2008


Personal life

Berkman and his wife, Cara, live in Houston with their four daughters. Berkman has been very outspoken about his Christian beliefs throughout his career. [51] [52] Berkman uses his position as a professional athlete to discuss his religious beliefs with others. He told The 700 Club in May 2007: "What you’re running after, what you’re trying to find will not provide you with any lasting fulfillment. The only place you can find that is Jesus Christ. It's in the service of God you’ll find that lasting fulfillment." [53]

In 2001, Berkman began leading a charity called "Berkman's Bunch" where 50 underprivileged kids could meet Berkman before each Saturday home game for autographs and other gifts. [54] In April 2012, Forbes named Berkman one of the 30 most generous celebrities as he and his wife had donated $2,412,245 to a foundation they established called To The Lord's Fund. [55]

In July 2013, Berkman purchased a fire truck and had it overhauled by the City of Arlington. He then donated it to the City of West, Texas, in the wake of the West Fertilizer Company explosion that took place earlier in the year. The fire truck is white with a red Maltese cross on the doors and the name Berkman over the cross with his number "17" encircled within the cross. [56]

Berkman filmed an advertisement against the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, which was aimed at protecting LGBT individuals from discrimination. The ordinance sought to ban discrimination on a variety of levels, including sex, race, color, ethnicity and other classifications. Despite the wording of the ordinance, HERO's opponents including Berkman, instead honed in on the sexual orientation and gender identity protections. Berkman took to the airwaves to repeat a popular stance of HERO’s critics, arguing that the law would allow male predators dressed in drag to enter women’s bathrooms, rather than open public accommodations to transgender people. Berkman’s appearance garnered criticism from many, including former Minnesota Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe. The controversy flared when Houston Mayor Annise Parker stated of Berkman, "That someone who made his name in our city would inject himself into this debate by taking to the airwaves to discredit an effort to ban discrimination in all forms did upset me. This ordinance protects all Houstonians and his remarks diminished it to something trivial." The ordinance was rejected by Houston voters in a ballot initiative in November 2015. [57] [58] [59]

Nicknames

He is most popularly known as "Fat Elvis" and "The Big Puma." Before the 2006 season started, in an interview with a local Houston sports radio station, Lance joked "I'm more like a puma so I'm not sure why people call me Fat Elvis." [60] The show's hosts, John Granato and Lance Zierlein, ran with the moniker and Houston fans and media latched onto "The Big Puma." When questioned further, Berkman explained the nickname is simply logical. "Agile, athletic, sleek ... all the things that describe my game", he said, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. [61] With his outstanding start in 2008, this nickname also became known on a national level. [62] That same year, a Lance Berkman fan club calling themselves "The Little Pumas" emerged. During Berkman's long tenure with the Astros, they could be seen wearing puma costumes and foam puma paws at most Astros home games near the Conoco Pump in left-center field. The group became relatively well-known among Astros fans, as they were shown often during Astros broadcasts on Fox Sports Houston. [63]

Berkman was also one of the Astros' "Killer B's" in the mid-2000s, along with Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Derek Bell. [64]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Career Leaders & Records for On-Base Plus Slugging".
  2. ↑ Antunes, Anderson. "The 30 Most Generous Celebrities". Forbes. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  3. ↑ "San Antonio Express-News, Archives | mySA.com". Nl.newsbank.com. June 15, 1996. Retrieved April 3, 2013.(subscription required)
  4. ↑ "NewsBank for Statesman | www.prod.statesman.com". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "William Lance BERKMAN: SweAme". Swedesintexas.com. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  6. ↑ Wild, Danny (October 16, 2009). "Path of the Pros: Lance Berkman". MLB.com . Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Rice University Records" (PDF). Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Lance Berkman, 37, retires after 16 big league seasons". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. ↑ "2023 CCBL Hall of Fame Class Announced". capecodbaseball.org. June 9, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ Duarte, Joseph (October 12, 2014). "Berkman's back in the game as a student at Rice". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  11. ↑ "Astros Legend Lance Berkman Inducted into College HOF". Climbing Tal's Hill. March 4, 2015. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
  12. ↑ Perry, Dayn (December 23, 2012). "Remembering the 'Killer B's'". CBSSports.com . Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  13. ↑ "1999 Houston Astros: Batting, pitching, & fielding statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  14. ↑ "2000 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com . Sports Reference . Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Lance Berkman statistics & history". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 19, 2021.
  16. ↑ Lance Berkman wants instant replay. "We have the technology," Archived June 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine The Faster Times
  17. ↑ "Astros most comical moments". MLB.com .
  18. ↑ "Tower of Twinkies power". Chicago Tribune . June 3, 2003.
  19. ↑ Footer, Alyson (June 2, 2004). "Berkman NL Player of the Month". MLB.com. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  20. ↑ "Home Run Derby (2000–2008)". baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  21. ↑ Antonen, Mel (July 12, 2004). "Tejada blasts way to victory in Derby". USA Today. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  22. ↑ Footer, Alyson (March 19, 2005). "Astros, Berkman reach six-year deal". MLB.com . Retrieved August 1, 2010.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ Lance Berkman Pink Louisville Slugger Bat for Breast Cancer Awareness Big Time Bats
  24. ↑ "BASEBALL: NATIONAL LEAGUE ROUNDUP; Peavy Is Dominant As Padres Rout Reds". The New York Times. September 14, 2006. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  25. ↑ "Houston Astros Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  26. ↑ Lance Berkman Player Profiles
  27. ↑ Molony, Jim (November 20, 2006). "Berkman finishes third in MVP voting". Major League Baseball. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  28. ↑ Lance Berkman's long slump. Letterman books a real star. SportsJustice, by Richard Justice
  29. ↑ Splash Hits List MLB.com
  30. ↑ Leach, Matthew (November 17, 2008). "Crowning achievement: Pujols NL MVP | MLB.com: News". MLB.com . Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  31. ↑ Ortiz, Jose de Jesus (June 14, 2009). "Berkman, Tejada put milestones to good use". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved August 9, 2010.
  32. ↑ "Yankees make Berkman Deal Official". Yankees.lhblogs.com. July 31, 2010. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  33. ↑ McTaggart, Brian (July 30, 2010). "Astros finalize Berkman deal with Yankees". Pressbox.mlb.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  34. ↑ Yankees decline options on Berkman, Wood, Johnson The LoHud Yankees Blog
  35. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals - "Berkman's Number" Commercial - YouTube". www.youtube.com. March 31, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  36. ↑ Thriving Berkman marvels at Series' drama MLB.com
  37. ↑ "Rangers Reach Deal With Lance Berkman". CBS Dallas/Fort Worth. January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 5, 2013.
  38. ↑ "Texas Rangers decline $12 million contract option for Lance Berkman". Dallas Morning News. Associated Press. October 31, 2013. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  39. ↑ Durrent, Richard (January 29, 2014). "Lance Berkman decides to retire". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt retire". ESPN.com. April 5, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Berkman has dreams of coaching at UT". MLB.com . Retrieved May 12, 2009.
  42. ↑ "Wayne Graham on Lance Berkman: 'A great legacy'". Ultimate Astros. January 29, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  43. ↑ "Former Astros great Lance Berkman hired as Second Baptist baseball coach". Sports Update. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Berkman, Oswalt fall off Hall of Fame ballot". MLB.com. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  45. ↑ "Baseball". Archived from the original on May 31, 2021.
  46. ↑ "Astros legend Lance Berkman named head baseball coach at Houston Baptist University". www.abc13.com. ABC. May 31, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  47. ↑ "BSB: Berkman Resigns as HCU Head Baseball Coach" (Press release). Houston Christian Huskies. May 24, 2024. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  48. ↑ Lance Berkman Athletic Celebrity Marketing
  49. ↑ Berkman plays despite sore hand MLB.com
  50. ↑ Stark, Jayson. "Really fun record for most consecutive years homering on the same date in the regular season". The Athletic. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
  51. ↑ "Berkman's Just Fine As Is". chron.com. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  52. ↑ "Faith and America's Favorite Pastime". chron.com. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  53. ↑ "Lance Berkman: True Satisfaction – The 700 Club". Cbn.com. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
  54. ↑ Baldwin, Tony. "Berkman is clutch both on and off the field". EveryJoe. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  55. ↑ Pollock, Bill (April 18, 2012). "Berkman makes Forbes' list of 30 Most Generous Celebrities". MissouriNet. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  56. ↑ "Lance Berkman to donate fire truck to West". Houston Chronicle. July 4, 2013. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  57. ↑ "Lance Berkman appears in controversial ad over Houston's equal rights bill – For The Win". For The Win. September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  58. ↑ "Annise Parker hits back at Lance Berkman for anti-HERO advertisement". Houston Chronicle. October 6, 2015. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
  59. ↑ Peralta, Eyder (November 4, 2015). "In Houston, Voters Reject A Closely Watched Equal Rights Ordinance". NPR. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  60. ↑ "The Z Report: I am partly responsible for the nickname "Big Puma"...well, kind of". chron.com. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  61. ↑ "Mailbag: Berkman the 'Big Puma?'". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 22, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  62. ↑ "Berkman enjoying fruits of labor". MLB.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2009.
  63. ↑ "Little Puma Roster". Thelittlepumas.com. May 23, 2008. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved August 3, 2010.
  64. ↑ "MLB Pro Blog: NLCS: Astros v Cardinals". Birth of the B's. Major League Baseball. October 19, 2005. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by National League Player of the Month
May 2004
May 2008		Succeeded by
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