Marlon Byrd

Marlon Byrd
Chicago Cubs — No. 24
Outfielder
Born: August 30, 1977 (1977-08-30) (age 34) Boynton Beach, Florida
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 8, 2002 for the Philadelphia Phillies
Career statistics (through 2011 Season)
Batting average	.281
Home runs	81
Runs batted in	436
Hits	1,037
Teams
Philadelphia Phillies (2002–2005) Washington Nationals (2005–2006) Texas Rangers (2007–2009) Chicago Cubs (2010–present)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star selection (2010)

Marlon Jerrard Byrd (born August 30, 1977, in Boynton Beach, Florida), popularly known as The Position or The Possish or Sish, is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs. He has also played on the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington Nationals and Texas Rangers.

Biography

High school career

Byrd is a 1995 graduate of Sprayberry High School (Marietta, Georgia), and won All-State honors in baseball and football.

He played on the 1993 State Runner up team as a sophomore, and was part of the 1995 State Championship team.

College career

The "Possish" played baseball at Georgia Tech. After a major injury, he transferred to Georgia Perimeter Junior College where he earned an AS Degree in Business in May 1999, while rededicating himself to baseball. The injury was to his right leg in which he sustained muscular damage and an infection which cut off the circulation to his nerves. He had to undergo three operations to correct the problem. Many doctors had wanted to amputate his right leg, but Byrd refused and underwent a two-year rehab process. During the rehab process, Byrd reached up to 300 pounds.^[1]

Major league career

Philadelphia Phillies

Once he reached the big leagues in 2003, Byrd had an outstanding season. He came in fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting, batting .303 with 86 runs scored, 28 doubles, four triples, seven home runs and 11 stolen bases in 135 games and 495 at-bats. In 2004, he did not keep his high level performance and was eventually traded to the Washington Nationals.

Washington Nationals

Byrd was traded to the Washington Nationals in 2005 for Endy Chávez. On July 15, 2006, Byrd was designated for assignment and assigned to Washington's Triple-A affiliate, the New Orleans Zephyrs.

Texas Rangers

Byrd batting for the Rangers in 2009.

Byrd was signed as a free agent by the Rangers on December 8, 2006, to compete for the starting position in center field.^[2] After failing to make the Rangers' major league roster out of spring training, Byrd was assigned to the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks. Byrd's contract was purchased on May 26, 2007, following injuries to outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Jerry Hairston, Jr. ^[3] Making the most of his call-up by hitting over .400 for the month of June,^[4] Byrd played his way into the line-up, allowing the Rangers to trade center fielder Kenny Lofton prior to the trading deadline. On August 4, 2008, he hit a walk-off grand slam to help the Rangers beat the Yankees 9–5.

Byrd had a career season in 2009, hitting 20 home runs and collecting 89 RBIs.

Following the 2009 season, Byrd filed for free agency, declining the Rangers' offer of salary arbitration.^[5]

Chicago Cubs

On December 31, 2009, Byrd signed a three year, $15 million contract with the Chicago Cubs.^[6] In his first season with the Cubs, Byrd had his best season. He was selected for his first All-Star Game, Byrd entered the game as a substitute and drew a walk off of Matt Thornton. He scored from first base on a double by the Braves' Brian McCann. In the ninth inning, while playing right field, Byrd made an outstanding play, forcing David Ortiz at second after fielding what normally would have been a base hit. Also, a popular saying among Cubs fans is "The Byrd is the Word."

On May 21, 2011, while batting during the 2nd inning of a game against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, Byrd was hit near his left eye by a pitch from Red Sox pitcher Alfredo Aceves. The pitch was, according to Aceves, unintentional. After the pitch hit him, Byrd dropped to the ground, covered the area by his left eye and rolled in pain; he was helped off the field by Cubs medical personnel and taken to the trainer's room in the clubhouse. Byrd did not return to the game. He was taken to Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where he stayed overnight to be examined. The incident marked the fifth time that Byrd had been hit by a pitch in a ten day period.^[7] Byrd was placed on the 15-day disabled list the following day. Justin Berg was called up to take his place.^[8] Since coming off his stint on the disabled list, Byrd has worn a protective mask customized to his helmet in order to shield his weakened facial bones.

References

1. ^ http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=407781
2. ^ http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061208&content_id=1754734&vkey=hotstove2006&fext=.jsp
3. ^ Sullivan, T.R. (2007-05-30). "Notes: Byrd trying hard to stay". mlb.com. http://mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070530&content_id=1994661&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex. Retrieved 2007-08-13. 
4. ^ Davison, Drew (2007-06-23). "Notes: Byrd credits hitting coach". mlb.com. http://mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070623&content_id=2044720&vkey=news_tex&fext=.jsp&c_id=tex. Retrieved 2007-08-13. 
5. ^ Sullivan, T.R. Byrd, Rodriguez decline arbitration, MLB.com. Published December 7, 2009. Retrieved December 8, 2009.
6. ^ Cubs, Outfielder Marlon Byrd Agree to Three-Year Contract
7. ^ [1]
8. ^ Neyer, Rob (2011-05-22). "Marlon Byrd Placed On DL After Beaning". Baseball Nation. SB Nation. http://mlb.sbnation.com/2011/5/22/2184608/marlon-byrd-injury-beaned-dl-chicago-cubs-roster-news. Retrieved 2011-05-22. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Persondata
Name	Byrd, Marlon
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	August 30, 1977
Place of birth	Boynton Beach, Florida
Date of death
Place of death