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CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2001 Season
In his first season with the Rays he led the club in games played, at-bats, hits, doubles, walks and strikeouts. Hit .264 with 11 HR and 72 RBI, all career lows...prior to this season he averaged .278, 24 home runs and 93 RBI his first three full seasons in the majors. Finished with a career-high and club record 159 strikeouts...only CLE Jim Thome (185), MIL Jose Hernandez, MIL Richie Sexson (178) and PHI Pat Burrell (162) struck out more times in the majors in 2001...his previous career most was 130 in 2000 and the previous club record was 135 by Jose Canseco in 1999. Set a career high with 87 walks (9th in AL)...previous high was 85 in 1998...Rays record is 101 by Fred McGriff in 2000. Reached base in a TB record 37 consecutive games April 18-May 30. Collected three 5-RBI games, matching his career high (done it 5 times): May 2 @ BAL, June 12 vs. PHI and July 27 @ TEX. Hit two of the Rays´ four grand slams on the year (Greg Vaughn had other two.): June 12 @ PHI (Oropesa) and June 27 @ TEX (Bell)...the slam at Philly was the Rays´ first of the year and 2nd in interleague action (Paul Sorrento vs. Philly on June 27, 1998)...that game he also tied mark for most RBI by a Ray at the Trop. Swiped a career-high 7 stolen bases, all from July 25..was only caught once...was 2nd on club from that point to Jason Tyner (21)...were his first steals since Aug 24, 2000 for Oakland at Cleveland...had 9 total big league steals entering 2001. Had 19 game-tying, go-ahead RBI tied with Fred McGriff for 2nd-most on the club behind Greg Vaughn´s 31. Hit at every spot in the lineup but leadoff and 9th...had his most success batting in the #2 hole, hitting .311 (19/61)...first game there was July 16...had only hit there twice before in his career, last time June 23, 1999 with Oakland. Hit .583 with the bases loaded (T-3rd in AL), the 2nd-highest avg. in club history behind Fred McGriff´s .615 in 2000.
AL LEADERS WITH BASES LOADED Shane Halter, Detroit .714 (5/7) Corey Koskie, Minnesota .636 (7/11) Ben Grieve, Tampa Bay .583 (7/12) Rafael Palmeiro, Texas .583 (7/12)
MORE AL RANKINGS - 6th with 62.9% pitches taken; 8th with 4.05 pitches seen per plate appearance; 3rd with 2.13 groundball-to-flyball ratio; 3rd with 68.1% groundballs; and 10th with a 7.3 plate appearance-to-walks ratio. Also had the 3rd-lowest avg. in the AL with two strikes - min 100 PA - at .117 (33/283) behind CLE Russ Branyan (.111, 22/198) and BOS Troy O´Leary (.113, 18/159).
Got off to a .190 April, included was a 1-for-31 stretch April 7-16. Rebounded with a .316 May which was aided by a 21-game stretch May 2-27 in which he hit .367 (29/79) raising his avg. from .184 to .271. Hit his first HR as a Ray April 21 vs. BAL in his 61st AB (Johnson); first at Tropicana Field in 79 career AB...BLAST - ball glanced off the "D" ring catwalk in CF and landed on the walkway behind the Batter´s Eye Restaurant, the first ball ever to clear the restaurant - 463 ft...the HR snapped a 5-game, 192-AB homerless streak for the Rays. Collected a season-high 4 hits May 2 @ BAL, including his 2nd HR (Jorge Julio), and 5 RBI...game raised his avg. from .184 to .216. Totaled 10 games of three or more hits on the season, tied for most on the club with Tyner. Hit at a .234 clip (61/260) between June 1 and Aug. 31. Had a career-high 10-game hit streak Aug. 10-19 (12/36, .333). Hit a team-best .350 (35/100) from Sept. 1 thru season´s end, raising his avg. 20 points from .244 to final .264...hitting safely in 21 of 27 games. Hit 51 points better in the 2nd half then before the All-Star break (.291 up from .240). Hit 8 of his 11 HR off righthanders; in 2000 hit 19 of his 27 HR off lefties. Started 151 games - 60 in RF, 54 in LF, 35 at DH. Hit .353 (42/119), 5 HR, 24 RBI as the designated hitter; batted .240 (101/421) 6 HR, 48 RBI when playing in the field. Lead the Rays during spring training in hitting at .415 (3rd in AL)...also ranked among AL leaders this spring with a .755 slugg. pct. (6th) and on-base percentage (.458)...tied for TB lead w/ 4 HR.
2000 Season
Drove in 100 runs for the first time in his career as he finished the season with 104 RBI appeared in a career high 158 games and his 27 home runs fell one short of his best from last year the home runs ranked second most by an American League left fielder to Detroit's Bobby Higginson (28) the A's were 20-7 in games in which he homered now has 76 career home runs which rank fifth most in Athletics (1901-2000) history by a player before his 25th birthday will not turn 25 until May 4 next year had 40 doubles which tied for the third best single season total in Oakland history behind his Oakland record 41 (1998) which he shares with Jason Giambi (1997) had career highs in strikeouts (130) and grounded into double plays (32) the double plays set an American League record for left handed hitters, breaking the mark of 30 set by Carl Yastrzemski with Boston in 1964.also set the Athletics franchise (1901-2000) record, breaking the mark of 30 set by Billy Hitchcock in 1950 was hitting 154 after eight games but ended up with a .281 mark in April hit his first career grand slam on April 29 at Minnesota and it was the game winning shot in the A's 6-2, 10 inning win also tied his career high five RBI in that game had an eight game hitting streak from May 2 to 10 which ties his career high batted clean-up for the first time in his career on May 9 at Anaheim and hit .296 (69 for 233) with 15 home runs and 52 RBI when batting fourth hit .269 (97 for 361) with 12 home runs and 52 RBI in all other spots in the order appeared in each of the A's first 57 games before getting the day off on June 6 the day off came after a 1 for 16 stretch to start interleague play entered the season with a .388 career average in interleague play but was 8 for 61 (.131) against the National League West in 2000 finished May with a .333 batting average, his best mark in a month in 2000, and 11 doubles in 28 games homered eight times over a 13-game span from June 12 to 27 his eight home runs in June equaled his most ever in a month (August, 1999) also had 25 RBI in June, his most ever in a month had an eight-game hitting streak from June 14 to 27 (17 for 44, .386) also drove in at least one run in every game during that streak (17 total) had three three-hit game during the streak and had 13 for the season had just four games of three or more hits in all of 1999 struggled in July as he batted .237 but then hit .297 in August went 26 for 117 (.222) over his last 32 games which dropped his average to a season ending .279 that was the lowest his average was in 2000 beyond May 2 hit .232 in September, his lowest average in a month in 2000 hit 19 of his 27 home runs against left handed pitchers average improved to .315 (52 for 165) with runners in scoring position and .338 (25 for 74) with RISP and two outs was 7 for 21 ( .333) with three grand slams with the bases loaded.
1999 Season
Although his averaged tailed off from his Rookie of the Year season in 1998, he did hit a career high 28 home runs and was three RBI short of his total from the previous year with 86...the 28 home runs set an Oakland record for a left fielder. Batted .265 which marked a 23 point drop from last year...That was due to a slow start that saw his average at the .131 mark after his first 33 games...(May 19)... Rebounded to hit .303 (115 for 379) with 25 HR and 75 RBI over his final 115 games...Had never played left field in the majors prior to making the start there on Opening Night...Ended up making a team leading 127 starts in left field along with five in right field and four at designated hitter...Hit just .132 (9 for 68) in April after never hitting below .252 in a month in his career prior to that... The average was the lowest in a month by an A's player with a minimum of 50 at bats since Phil Plantier hit .127 in April of 1996... Like many of the A's left handed hitters, left handed pitching was an early season nemesis...Started the year just 1 for 29 against left handed pitching and was 2 for 42 (.048) at the end of June...Then hit .224 (15 for 67) off left handers the rest of the season...Hit .156 (17 for 109) against left handers overall and .297 (112 for 377) with 25 of his 28 HR and 73 of his 86 RBI against right handers...Also struggled early with just seven multiple hit games over his first 48 games...Then had 10 multiple hit games over an 18 game span from June 9-27...Hit .368 (25 for 68) over that stretch to boost his average 55 points from .193 to .248... Also had six HR and 14 RBI during that stretch after tallying just 3 HR and 19 RBI over his first 48 games... Ended up hitting .342 in June, his best average ever in a month...Had his lone two homer game of the season on June 23 at Texas...Has two career two-homer games, both against Texas, and has 8 HR and 23 RBI in his career against the Rangers which are his best marks against any club...Had his first three-hit game of the season on August 2 against Baltimore after going the first 91 games with two hits or fewer...Finished August with a .316 average to go with 8 HR and 24 RBI...The home runs were his most ever in a month and the 24 RBI tied his most from September of 1997...Had just one three-hit game over his first 119 games before posting back-to-back three-hit games at New York to start September...That boosted his average to a season high .273...Then went 22 for 94 (.234) over his final 27 games to finish the year at .265...Batted .359 (14 for 39) in interleague play with 4 HR and 11 RBI and is a .388 (40 for 103) career hitter against National League West opponents with 6 HR and 27 RBI .
1998 Season
Was named American League Rookie of the Year by the BBWAA and USA Today Baseball...Weekly, American League Rookie Player of the Year by The Sporting News and was also named to the Topps Rookie All-Star team....Set Oakland rookie records in doubles (41) and hits (168)...The doubles tied Jason Giambi's Oakland record set the previous season...Led all Major League rookies in runs, hits, walks and on-base percentage and topped all American League rookies in all of the above plus home runs, RBI, total bases, doubles, slugging percentage and extra base hits...His .288 batting average ranked second among A.L. rookies to the White Sox Mike Caruso (.306)...Became the fifth Oakland rookie to be named to the All-Star game joining Mark McGwire (1987), Jose Canseco (1986), Matt Keough (1978) and Wayne Gross (1977)...Ranked among the American League top 10 in doubles (t-7th) and walks (10th)...Led the A's in games played (155), at bats (583), hits and doubles...Was ranked first on Baseball America's list of the Top 100 Prospects for 1998...Got off to a quick start, batting .300 or better in each of the first three months of the season, but then hit .257 or lower in each of the final three months of the season...Began a career high eight-game hitting streak on the third game of the season but followed that with a career long 0 for 16 slump...Had an Oakland record tying five hits on April 29 at Cleveland, the first five-hit game by an A's rookie since Claudell Washington on August 30, 1974...Tied another Oakland record with three doubles on May 16 at Chicago, his first of two three-double games (August 29 at Cleveland)...Started each of the A's first 59 games (58 in right field and one at designated hitter) and played in each of the A's first 65 games before sitting out the first game of his career on June 13, a span of 89 games...Homered in his first two at bats in his first game in his hometown of Arlington, Texas on June 16 against the Rangers...Went into the All-Star Break batting .311 with 12 HR and 55 RBI and had a pinch hit walk in the All-Star game...Then batted just .258 after the break with 6 HR and 34 RBI... Switched spots with Jason Giambi in the batting order on August 15, moving from third to fifth, and ended up batting .361 when hitting fifth and .281 in the three spot...Hit a three-run homer in the 12th inning on September 13 at Minnesota to snap a career long 29-game, 109-at bat homerless drought...It was the third time he homered in the last at bat to give the A's a win...15 of his 18 home runs gave the A's the lead and 39 of his 89 RBI either tied the game or put the A's ahead...Batted .323 on the road, the third best road batting average in the league, with 13 HR and 58 RBI.
1997 Season
Made his major league debut after an outstanding minor league campaign...Was named Minor League Player of the Year by USA Today and The Sporting News, MVP of the Southern League and was also named to the Howe SportsData All-Prospect team... Made his major league debut on September 3 against San Francisco and tied an Oakland record with three doubles...Also drove in five runs which matched the A's season high...Doubled off Danny Darwin in the sixth inning for his first major league hit...Also doubled in the seventh and eighth innings and then doubled in the first inning the next night in Kansas City giving him four doubles in four consecutive innings...Had five multiple hit games in his first seven games... Connected off Willie Blair for his first major league home run on September 13... Drove in 24 runs in 93 at bats which tied for the eighth best RBI total in major league history for a player with fewer than 100 at bats...Finished with a .355 (11 for 31) average with runners in scoring position...Began the 1997 season at Double-A Huntsville and had a pair of 14-game hitting streaks... Finished the first streak with a four-hit, two-homer, six-RBI performance at Greenville on June 23... Hit safely in 30 of his final 32 games with Huntsville, including each of his last 11, before his promotion to Edmonton on August 5...Reached base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 97 of his 100 games at Huntsville and led the Stars with 81 walks...Reached base safely via hit or walk in 26 of his 27 games at Edmonton and 22 of 24 at Oakland for a total of 145 of 151 at all three levels... Had a 19-game hitting streak at Edmonton when he was called up to Oakland... Combined to hit .350 with 31 HR, 136 RBI, 93 walks and a .461 on-base percentage in 127 games at Huntsville and Edmonton... Led all of minor league baseball in on-base percentage and slugging percentage (.640)...Add in his Oakland numbers and he batted .344 with 34 HR, 160 RBI, 106 walks and a .452 on-base percentage in 151 games.
1996 Season
Rated as the A's number one prospect by Baseball America entering the season, Ben was named to the California League All-Star Team, the Baseball America Class-A All-Star team and the Howe SportsData All-Teenager team... Split his season between Modesto and Huntsville and batted a combined .302 which was third best in the A's farm system...His 83 total RBI ranked fourth...Opened the year at Modesto and had a season-high 13 game hitting streak that started on May 24 (27 for 53, .509)...Homered in three consecutive games, May 27-29 vs. Rancho Cucamonga and was named Cal League Player of the Week for the week of May 26...Was batting .356 when he was promoted to Huntsville on June 25...Had an 11-game hitting streak in early August (17 for 48, .354) to lift his average to the .256 mark before finishing the season at .237.
1995 Season
Opened the year at West Michigan but was moved up to Modesto on August 4... Hit a combined .262 and his 76 RBI were fifth best in the A's farm system...Started slowly at West Michigan as he was hitting .231 on May 16...Hit his first two home runs of the season on May 21 and earned Midwest League Player of the Week honors after batting .400 with 3 HR and 13 RBI for the week of May 21...Was hitting .261 with a team leading 62 RBI when he was moved up to Modesto on August 4...Went 7 for his first 15 (.467) with the A's and finished with a .262 mark in 28 games...Then hit .500 (5 for 10) in three post-season games with Modesto.
1994 Season
The number two overall pick in the draft (the Mets selected RHP Paul Wilson with the first pick), Ben was assigned to Southern Oregon and was named to the Northwest League All-Star team...Hit .329, which ranked third in the league...Also ranked second in hits (83) and on-base percentage (.456), fourth in RBI (50) and fifth in total bases (117) and walks (51)...Was named Northwest League Player of the Week for the week of June 19 after batting .522 (12 for 23) with 2 HR and 9 RBI..was named to the Baseball America Short-Season All-Star team.
All career info taken from TampaBayDevilRays.com and the Oakland A's Media Guide.