Andre Ethier

: "For the Canadian rock singer/songwriter, see Andre Ethier (musician)."Infobox MLB player
name=Andre Ethier


position=Outfielder
team=Los Angeles Dodgers
number=16
bats=Left
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1982|4|10
birthplace=city-state|Phoenix|Arizona
debutdate=May 2
debutyear=2006
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
statyear=September 3, 2008
stat1label=Batting Average
stat1value=.297
stat2label=Home Runs
stat2value=44
stat3label=Runs Batted In
stat3value=190
teams=
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|2006-present)

Andre Everett Ethier IPA|/ˈiθiɚ/(born April 10, 1982 in Phoenix, Arizona), is a Major League Baseball outfielder of French and Mexican descent. Ethier plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He graduated from St. Mary's High School in Phoenix, Arizona. After briefly attending Chandler-Gilbert Community College, he went on to Arizona State University.

High school career

Graduated from St. Mary's High School in 2000. In his senior year, he batted .527 while being named first team all-region and second-team all-state.

Junior College Career

Ethier transferred to Chandler-Gilbert Community College after playing with ASU in the fall of 2000. The coaching staff at ASU told him that they thought he did not have Division I talent and that he would do better to play junior college ball. At CGCC, Ethier recorded 94 hits as one of the top junior college players in Arizona, batting .468 with 32 doubles. He was named team MVP. During the summer of 2001, he played with the Keene (N.H.) Swampbats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.

Arizona State University

Ethier re-enrolled at ASU in the fall of 2001 and played there until the end of his junior year in 2003 with an ASU career batting average of .371, 113 runs, 27 doubles, 7 triples, 14 home runs and 118 runs batted in. His collegiate career ended in the midst of a 23-game hitting streak. He was a two-time Pacific-10 Conference All-Star in 2002-2003.

MLB Draft

Ethier was originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 37th round of the 2001 amateur draft. Opting to attend ASU instead, he was drafted in the second round of the 2003 amateur draft, again by the Oakland Athletics. He signed with the Athletics on July 1 2003.

Minor leagues

Oakland assigned him to the Class "A" Vancouver Canadians and later to the Kane County Cougars for the 2003 season. His minor league career continued in 2004 with the Modesto Athletics, where he hit .313, and in 2005 with the Midland RockHounds "AA" team, where he hit .319 with 18 homers and was selected as the Texas League Most Valuable Player, Oakland Athletics Minor League Player of the Year, Texas League All-Star Outfielder and Texas League All-Star Game MVP. He also played four games in 2005 with the Sacramento Rivercats AAA team. [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/statistics/2005/10371.shtml]

The Trade

On December 14, 2005, Ethier was traded by the Oakland Athletics to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez. Scout Al LaMacchia has been credited with convincing the Dodgers' front office to make the deal. [ Bill Plaschke: "There's Trust in His Eyes" Los Angeles Times, August 16, 2006 ]

Major League Debut

Ethier hit a double and drew a walk in his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 2, 2006, against the Arizona Diamondbacks in his home state of Arizona and hit his first home run the next night against Dewon Brazelton of the San Diego Padres .

2006 Season

On May 19, 2006, Ethier had a breakout game, going 5 for 5 with four runs scored as he raised his batting average from .222 to .317. He remained hot throughout the summer and was named National League Player of the Week for the week ending July 9, 2006. Ethier batted very well for much of the season with his average peaking at .354 before a late slump dropped it to .308 at season's end [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/players/7710/gamelog;_ylt=AiPWOIq8fZX9WNt52f8UlQiFCLcF?year=2006] . An early front-runner for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, he finished fifth in voting [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2660401] .He used the song Alive as his batting song his rookie year.

2007 Season

Ethier entered the 2007 Season expecting to split time with Matt Kemp, and Luis Gonzalez in the outfield. But Ethier got a lot of playing time early due to an injury to Kemp. Ethier enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign, batting .284, with 13 home runs, and 64 RBIs.

2008 Season

Ethier beat out Juan Pierre to become the Dodgers starting left fielder for the start of the 2008 season. Since the Dodgers acquired future Hall-of-Fame outfielder Manny Ramirez, he has moved to his more natural position of right field, with Kemp playing his natural position in center field. In the reguler season, Ethier hit an amazing .305 batting avg. with 20 Homers and 77 RBIs.

Personal life

In the offseason, he resides with his wife, Maggie Germaine, in Chandler, Arizona. Germaine was an All-American gymnast at Arizona State. They have a baby boy born on September 13, 2008.He has stated his intention to play for Mexico in the next World Baseball Classic.

Ethier is a Catholic and has done a recorded piece for [http://www.catholicathletesforchrist.com/ Catholic Athletes for Christ] .

Etheir is a foodie. He has a food blog at [http://diningwithdre.mlblogs.com/ Dining with 'Dre]

References

External links

*Baseballstats |mlb=444843 |espn= |br=e/ethiean01 |fangraphs= |cube=E/Andre-Ethier
* [http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/ethier_andre00.html Andre Ethier's ASU Bio Page]
* [http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-adande26may26,1,4089648.column?coll=la-utilities-sports "Ethier Learns to Deal With Name Recognition"]
* [http://www.minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?pl=444843 Minor League Splits and Situational Stats]
* [http://diningwithdre.mlblogs.com/ Dining with 'Dre]