Vital Statistics:
Born: December 14, 1965
Hometown: Smithtown, N.Y.
Height: 5-11
Weight: 185
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Family: Wife, Patty; sons Conor, Cavan and Quinn
Primary position: Second baseman
Before The Bigs:
- Played with future big-league stars Mo Vaughn and John Valentin at Seton Hall University.
- Drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round in 1987, 22nd overall.
- Batted .344 as a minor-league catcher in the Astros organization. Hit .375 with nine home runs in 216 at-bats at Single-A Asheville in 1987, then spent half of a season and hit .321 at Triple-A Tucson in 1988 before being called up to Houston in June.
Career Highlights:
- Won a Silver Slugger at catcher in his first season as a starter in 1989, when he hit 13 home runs and stole 21 bases.
- Made the NL All-Star team as a catcher in 1991, then moved to second base and made his second All-Star team as a second baseman in 1992. He's the first player to make an All-Star team at both positions.
- Holds the National League record for most home runs to lead off a game with 53.
- Batted .300 for the first time in 1994 (.318), and hit 22 home runs while batting .308 in 1995.
- Led the majors in runs in 1995 and 1997 and in doubles in 1998 and 1999.
- He leads the Astros all-time in career games played, at-bats, runs scored, hits, doubles and extra-base hits.
- Is the all-time MLB leader in times hit by pitches with 285 as of August 2007.
- Four-time Gold Glove winner at second base. He also two seasons as a full-time outfielder in 2003 and 2004 before moving back to second base.
- Had his 3,000th career hit on June 28, 2007.
- Announced he'll retire after the 2007 season on July 26, 2007, then hit a game-winning grand slam that night, the fourth of his career.
