Dan Uggla

Dan Uggla
Atlanta Braves — No. 26
Second baseman
Born: March 11, 1980 (1980-03-11) (age 31) Louisville, Kentucky
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 3, 2006 for the Florida Marlins
Career statistics (through September 4, 2011)
Batting average	.259
Home runs	186
Runs batted in	535
On base percentage	.344
Games played	913
Teams
Florida Marlins (2006–2010) Atlanta Braves (2011–present)
Career highlights and awards
2× All-Star selection (2006, 2008) NL Silver Slugger Award winner (2010) Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year: 2006 Players Choice NL Most Outstanding Rookie: 2006 Topps Rookie All Star Second Baseman: 2006 Florida Marlins All-Time career home run leader

Daniel Cooley Uggla (born March 11, 1980) is an American professional baseball second baseman with the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball.

Uggla finished third in the 2006 National League Rookie of the Year voting, behind teammate and winner Hanley Ramirez, and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals, but won the Players Choice and Sporting News NL ROY awards. He also had his own fan club at Sun Life Stadium, who called themselves "Uggla's Ugglies." Uggla is the all-time leader in home runs for the Marlins, and is the only second baseman in MLB history to hit at least 30 home runs in four consecutive seasons. He also holds the Atlanta Braves record for longest hitting streak.

Biography

Personal life and early career

Uggla was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Elizabeth Armistead (née Cooley) and John Carl Uggla.^[1] After graduating from Columbia Central High School in Columbia, TN, in 1998, Uggla attended the University of Memphis where after his junior season he was named an All-American by Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, and Collegiate Baseball.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th Round (338th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft, Uggla spent five seasons in the Diamondbacks organization, including a year with the short season-advanced team, the Yakima Bears in Yakima, Washington. He amassed a .276 career minor league batting average, .341 on-base percentage, and .443 slugging percentage, to go along with 64 home runs, 311 runs batted in, and 62 stolen bases. Although he was 25 years old, which would make him the same age as many AAA players, and moderately successful in 2005, he never advanced past the AA level.

Uggla was left off the Diamondbacks 40-man roster in 2005, and the Marlins selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Florida Marlins

Starting the 2006 season with the Marlins, Uggla would get his first major league hit just three days later when he singled off Houston Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte; his first home run was on April 13 against San Diego Padres starter Dewon Brazelton; his first stolen base was a steal of home plate against the Philadelphia Phillies on April 21.

Uggla was named to the 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Game on July 2, 2006, as a reserve; he is believed to be the first player in history to be selected for the All-Star Game in the same season in which he had been a Rule 5 pick.^[2]

On September 15, 2006, Uggla hit his 25th home run, breaking Joe Gordon's record for most home runs by a rookie second baseman. Because he received less publicity as a prospect than some of his fellow rookies in Major League Baseball, such as Prince Fielder, Ryan Zimmerman, and Nick Markakis, Uggla's display of power in the majors and his selection to the National League All-Star team caused him to suddenly draw more attention.^[3] Throughout his rookie season, due to the many mispronunciations of his last name, Marlins television announcers Rich Waltz and Tommy Hutton have exclaimed, "And his name...is DAN UGGLA!!", when Uggla hit a home run. Waltz and Hutton continue to use this call for most of Uggla's home runs.

Uggla finished his rookie season with 27 homers and 90 runs batted in. He won numerous rookie awards, including the Players Choice NL ROY award and Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award.

The Marlins finished Uggla's second season in last place. Uggla finished the year with a .245 batting average, caused mainly by slumps in April and September.^[4] However, he did surpass his rookie home run total, hitting 31 home runs and knocking in 88 runs.

Uggla is considered media friendly. He has hosted This Week in Baseball in the past with several of his teammates. He also appears weekly on Sirius' Mike & Murray Show (hosted by Bruce Murray and Mike Yam on channel 123) every week during the 2008 baseball season and has made multiple appearances on the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show.

On May 10, 2008, Uggla hit his first career Grand Slam in the fourth inning of the game against the Nationals off Joel Hanrahan. On May 25, 2008 Uggla set a Marlins record for most home runs for a Marlins in any month (12) passing Gary Sheffield. On June 11, 2008, about a month after his first grand slam, he hit a walk-off grand slam off Tom Gordon to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 6–2 at Dolphin Stadium.

The rising star emerged in 2008, named to the 2008 MLB All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, as well as opting to take part in the 2008 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. Uggla hit six home runs in the first round of the derby, two on the first two balls. Uggla finished fifth, tied with Grady Sizemore. In the All-Star Game, Uggla committed two consecutive errors on playable balls in the 10th inning that appeared to end the National League's hopes of victory, but those errors did not result in runs. He committed a third error in the bottom of the 13th, making him the first player with three errors in a single All-Star Game.^[5] Uggla also struck out three times, and grounded into a double play.

On September 28, 2008, Uggla hit the last home run ever at Shea Stadium.^[6]

Uggla, with the Florida Marlins, at Wrigley Field in 2009.

During the 2008 offseason, Uggla went to arbitration with the Marlins and was awarded $5.3 million dollars; the Marlins had offered him $4.4 million.^[7]

On June 5, 2009, Uggla became the fastest 2nd Basemen in history to get to the 100HR mark, in 502 games. He took the record from Alfonso Soriano, in 34 fewer games.^[8]

Uggla signed a one-year, $7.8 million contract with the Marlins on January 18, 2010. On July 31, he hit his 144th career home run, setting the Marlins all-time career mark. On September 13, he became the first second baseman in Major League History to hit 30 or more home runs in four seasons.

Atlanta Braves

After the 2010 season, Uggla rejected a four-year, $48 million contract offer from the Marlins.^[9] Soon thereafter, Uggla was traded to the Atlanta Braves for infielder Omar Infante and reliever Michael Dunn.^[10] On January 4, 2011, Uggla and the Atlanta Braves agreed to a 5-year, $62 million contract.^[11]

During the 2011 season with the Braves, Uggla became the 23rd player in MLB history to have a hitting streak of at least 33 games. Uggla, who had gotten off to a poor start, had a .173 batting average after going hitless on July 4. The next day, he collected two hits in four at bats to start the streak.^[12] During the hitting streak, Uggla along with rookie Freddie Freeman became the first Braves in the modern era to have concurrent 20-game hitting streaks.^[13] On August 12, Uggla his two home runs in a home game against the Chicago Cubs to break the Atlanta Braves record for longest hitting streak, which had been set by Rico Carty in 1970.^[14] He also hit a single and a home run in the next game, extending the streak to 33 games.^[15] The streak ended on August 14, 2011, after he went 0-for-3 with a sacrifice fly against the Chicago Cubs. He is the only player in the Modern Era to have a hitting streak of over 20+ games while batting under .200 during the hitting streak.

After the first few weeks, he raised his average over .200. Uggla hit .377 with 15 homers and 32 RBIs during his streak, which was the third-longest by a second baseman in major league history,^[16] and the longest in the majors since 2006.^[17]

On August 22, 2011, Uggla hit his 30th home run of the season for his fifth consecutive season of 30 or more home runs. As of the 2011 season, he is the only second baseman to have hit 30 or more home runs in more than three seasons. ^[18] Uggla was named National League Player of the Month for August; for the month, he was tied for the Major League and led all National Leaguers with 10 home runs. He also had 21 RBI, 33 hits, a .340 (33-for-97) batting average and a .670 slugging percentage with a .405 on-base percentage.^[19]

For the season, on defense he tied for the major league lead in errors by a second baseman, with 15.^[20]

References

1. ^ "Ancestry of Dan Uggla". Wargs.com. March 11, 1980. http://www.wargs.com/noble/uggla.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
2. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
3. ^ Mlbplayers.Com (January 1, 2011). "Uggla: Rule 5 draftee to ROY candidate". Florida.marlins.mlb.com. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060906&content_id=1648930&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
4. ^ "Individual Player Game by Game Log". Florida.marlins.mlb.com. January 1, 2011. http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_gamebygamelog.jsp?playerID=462564&statType=1. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
5. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (July 16, 2008). "Night Starts Out Badly for Uggla, and Stays That Way". Nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/16/sports/baseball/16uggla-web.html?_r=1&ref=sports&oref=slogin. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
6. ^ "Florida Marlins vs. New York Mets – Recap – September 28, 2008". Sports.espn.go.com. September 28, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=280928121. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
7. ^ Marlins' Uggla Wins Arbitration Yahoo Sports, February 12, 2009
8. ^ [2]^{[dead link]}
9. ^ Kalkman, Sky (November 8, 2010). "Dan Uggla rejects Marlins offer". Fish Stripes. http://www.fishstripes.com/2010/11/8/1801196/dan-uggla-rejects-marlins-offer. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
10. ^ Post Comment (November 17, 2010). "Florida Marlins trade Dan Uggla to Atlanta Braves". Msn.foxsports.com. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Florida-Marlins-Atlanta-Braves-Dan-Uggla-trade-talks-111610. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
11. ^ Post Comment (January 6, 2011). "Sources: Atlanta Braves make Dan Uggla highest-paid 2B ever". Msn.foxsports.com. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/Dan-Uggla-signs-with-Atlanta-Braves-for-five-years-62-million-010411. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
12. ^ For the Braves’ Uggla, Luck Is Not a Statistic
13. ^ "Braves' Dan Uggla, Freddie Freeman extend hitting streaks". Mlb.mlb.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110806&content_id=22840388&vkey=news_atl&c_id=atl. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
14. ^ O'Brien, David (August 12, 2011). "Streaking Uggla homers twice as Braves pound Cubs". Ajc.com. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/streaking-uggla-homers-twice-1103348.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
15. ^ "Dan Uggla extends hit streak to 33, but Braves lose". Sports.espn.go.com. August 13, 2011. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310813115. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
16. ^ 8:55 pm August 14, 2011, by David O'Brien (August 14, 2011). "Uggla’s streak thrilled and energized teammates". Blogs.ajc.com. http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-braves-blog/2011/08/14/ugglas-streak-thrilled-and-energized-teammates/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_braves_blog. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
17. ^ "Dan Uggla's hit streak halted at 33 in loss to Cubs". Sports.espn.go.com. August 14, 2011. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=310814115. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
18. ^ O'Brien, David (August 23, 2011). "Braves beat Cubs 3–0; Uggla clubs 30th homer". ajc.com. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/braves-beat-cubs-3braves-beat-cubs-3-1131406.html. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
19. ^ "Dan Uggla Named The Budweiser Presents National League Player Of The Month For August". Mlb.mlb.com. January 1, 2011. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20110906&content_id=24302788&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 
20. ^ "2011 Regular Season MLB Baseball 2B Fielding Statistics". Espn.go.com. http://espn.go.com/mlb/stats/fielding/_/seasontype/2/position/2b/sort/errors. Retrieved November 13, 2011. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Dan Uggla on the Fish@Bat Florida Marlins Wiki

Preceded by Willy Taveras	Sporting News National League Rookie of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Ryan Braun
Preceded by Willy Taveras	Players Choice NL Most Outstanding Rookie 2006	Succeeded by Ryan Braun

Persondata
Name	Uggla, Dan
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 11, 1980
Place of birth	Louisville, Kentucky
Date of death
Place of death