Joe Crede

Infobox MLB player


width = 300px
name = Joe Crede
team = Chicago White Sox
number = 24
position = Third baseman
birthdate = birth date and age|1978|4|26
birthplace = city-state|Jefferson City|Missouri
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = September 12
debutyear = 2000
debutteam = Chicago White Sox
statyear = September 02, 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .257
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 125
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 422
teams =
*Chicago White Sox (by|2000-present)
awards =
* All-Star selection (by|2008)
* World Series champion (2005)
* Silver Slugger Award winner (by|2006)

Joseph "Joe" Crede (born April 26, 1978 in Jefferson City, Missouri) is an American Major League Baseball player who was the starting third baseman for the Chicago White Sox until September 2008.

Crede attended high school at Fatima High School in Westphalia, MissouriThe Official Site of The Chicago White Sox, [http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=150317 Biography and Career Highlights: Joe Crede] , mlb.com, Retrieved on July 7, 2008.] where he led them to 3 district championships (1993, 1995, 1996) and two final four berths ('95, '96) as a pitcher. Crede was drafted by the White Sox in the 5th round of the 1996 amateur draft and made his debut with the team in 2000. Joe Crede recently signed a one-year contract with the Sox for $5.15 million, successfully avoiding arbitration.

Crede was a member of the White Sox when they won the World Series in 2005, their first championship in eighty-eight years. The highlight of his postseason came in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series when he hit a game-winning RBI double in the bottom of the ninth inning.

On the 3/6/07 show of ECW, Crede was seen along with other members of the White Sox in the audience. He was asked who he wanted to see get their head shaved, Donald Trump or Vince McMahon, and he enthusiastically said McMahon.fact|date=July 2008 Crede missed the rest of the 2007 season due to season ending lower back surgery.

Baseball career

Offensively, Crede has been less consistent. Though his home run totals have increased every year since he joined the majors, his career batting average is only .258. He completed the 2006 season batting .283 and had career highs with 30 HR and 94 RBI, winning the 2006 Silver Slugger Award for third base. He also hits very well in the clutch, and is dubbed "Joe Joe, the Late Inning Hero" by White Sox commentators Ken Harrelson and Darrin Jackson.fact|date=July 2008 On April 18th, 2007, Crede recorded an assist on the final out of Pitcher Mark Buehrle's no-hitter.fact|date=July 2008

On July 7, by|2008, Crede became an all-star for the first time in his career, selected as a reserve to the 2008 MLB All-Star Game.cite web|url=http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=Ar.sci4A7zW.aJm893l67HGFCLcF?slug=ys-allstarrosters070608&prov=yhoo&type=lgns|title=Major League Baseball All-Star Game rosters|coauthors=Yahoo! Sports Staff|date=2008-07-06|publisher=Yahoo!|accessdate=2008-07-08]

Personal life

On October 22, 2005, the due date of his second daughter, Lucy, Joe Crede hit his first World Series home run and saved several runs with his glove. Luckily, Lucy had been born three weeks earlier, making Joe's appearance in Game 1 possible. On November 6, 2005, Crede was honored by his hometown of Westphalia, Missouri, with "Joe Crede Day," where he was presented the key to the city. In February 2006, Crede's high school, Fatima High School in Westphalia, Missouri, retired his jersey.fact|date=July 2008 Joe's older brother Brad won a high school baseball state championship with Fatima High School in '92, and an NCAA Division II National Championship with CMSU in '94.fact|date=July 2008 He was drafted by the Orioles after high school but chose to play in college first.fact|date=July 2008 He was drafted again after college by the Phillies on the same day Joe was drafted.fact|date=July 2008

ee also

* Chicago White Sox all-time roster

References

External links

* [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/salaries?team=chw] - salary information
* [http://www.fatima.k12.mo.us/sports/baseball/baseball.htm] - high school bio