Vital Statistics:
Born: November 19, 1979
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
Height: 6-4
Weight: 255
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
Family: Single; son, Darian
Primary position: First baseman
Before The Bigs:
- Was selected in the fifth round (140th overall) in 2001 by the Philadelphia Phillies after three seasons at Southwest Missouri State.
- Hit 19 home runs in his first full pro season in 2002 for Single-A Lakewood, then hit 23 in 2003 for Single-A Clearwater.
- Had a monster season in 2004 for Double-A Reading, with 37 home runs and 102 RBI and batting .297. He also hit nine home runs for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
Career Highlights:
- Took over at first base after Jim Thome was injured in 2005 and was named National League Rookie of the Year, hitting .288 with 22 home runs in 88 games.
- Was named NL Most Valuable Player after his first full major-league season, when he hit a team-record 58 home runs.
- Drove in 41 runs in August of 2006, the most any player had in one month since 1962.
- Hit his 100th career home run on June 27, 2007, becoming the fastest to hit 100 home runs in MLB history.
- Named to the 2006 NL All-Star team and won the 2006 All-Star home run derby.
