Vital Statistics:
Born: July 27, 1975
Hometown: Columbus, Ga.
Height: 6-5
Weight: 240
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
Teams: Chicago White Sox (1990-2005), Oakland Athletics (2006), Toronto Blue Jays (2007-08), Oakland Athletics (2008)
Primary positions: First baseman and designated hitter
Before The Bigs:
- Played baseball and football at Auburn University, where he was a tight end. He made just three career receptions and was injured, giving up football after his freshman season.
- Played on the Pan-American Games team in 1987 and was a finalist for the 1988 Olympic squad.
- Was Southeastern Conference MVP in 1989, when he hit .403 with 19 home runs. He hit a school-record 49 homers at Auburn.
- Drafted in the first round, seventh overall, by the Chicago White Sox in 1989.
- Played just two minor-league seasons, skipping Triple-A. He hit .323 with 19 HRs for Birmingham in 1990 before being called up to the majors on Aug. 2.
Career Highlights:
- In 19 big-league seasons, he had a career batting average of .301 with 526 home runs (18th all-time at the time of his retirement) and 1,704 RBI (22nd all-time at the time of his retirement). He was also ninth all-time in walks with 1,667.
- Coined "The Big Hurt" by White Sox announcer Ken Harrelson in 1992, a nickname that stuck.
- Finished third in American League MVP voting in 1991, his first full season, when he hit .318 with 32 home runs and 109 RBI.
- Won back-to-back AL MVP awards in 1993 and 1994, when he hit .353 with 38 home runs and The only other first basemen to win back-to-back MVPs were Jimmie Foxx and Albert Pujols.
- Had a .729 slugging percentage in 1994, the most in the AL since 1957.
- Made five AL All-Star teams, all in a row from 1993-97.
- Won the AL batting title in 1997, hitting .347.
- Hit .328 with 43 homers and a career-best 143 RBI in 2000, but never hit better than .300 in a season again.
- Hit 39 homers in 2006 for Oakland.
- The White Sox won the World Series in 2005, but he did not play in the postseason because of injury. He batted .219 in 34 games that season.
- Wasn't signed after the 2008 season, and announced his retirement in Feb. 2010.
- Played 1,311 games at designated hitter and 971 at first base.
