Carlos Noriel Lee (born June 20, 1976), nicknamed "El Caballo", is a

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

nian former professional baseball

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) from 1999–2012 with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros and Miami Marlins. He had 17 career grand slams, ranking him seventh in MLB history (tied with

Jimmie Foxx James Emory Foxx (October 22, 1907 – July 21, 1967), nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, ...

and

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...

); his seven grand slams hit with the Astros is a club record.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Lee made his major league debut with the

on May 7, 1999, hitting a home run in his first Major League at-bat. In his rookie year, Lee hit .293 while driving in 84 runs in 127 games. He finished 7th in the AL Rookie of the Year voting. In 2000, Lee drove in 92 RBI while hitting 24 home runs. In 2001, Lee once again hit for power, hitting 24 home runs and driving in 84 runs but his average dipped from .301 the previous year to .269 in 150 games. In 2002, Lee played in just 140 games but was consistent once again, driving in 80 runs while hitting 26 home runs. In 2003, Lee had his breakout season for the White Sox, playing in 158 games, Lee drove in 113 RBI while homering 31 times and scoring 100 runs. The following year, Lee continued his success, hitting 31 home runs and scoring 103 runs. He also drove in 99 RBI while hitting .305 for the White Sox. After the season, Lee was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Scott Podsednik Scott Eric Podsednik (; born March 18, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Best known for his baserunning, Podsednik led the major leagues in stolen bases in with 70, in times caught stea ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Luis Vizcaíno Luis Vizcaíno Árias (born August 6, 1974) is a Dominican Republic former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago White Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, Chi ...

Milwaukee Brewers

In 2005, Lee hit 32 home runs with 114

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

and an NL-leading 11

sacrifice flies In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

. He was selected for the National League All-Star team in his first two seasons as a Brewer, and participated in the Home Run Derby in 2005. In 2005, he also won his first career

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

. On July 28, 2006, he was traded to the Texas Rangers with minor league outfielder

Nelson Cruz Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez Jr. (born July 1, 1980) is a Dominican-American professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder who is currently a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas ...

for outfielders

Kevin Mench Kevin Ford Mench (born January 7, 1978) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played eight years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Texas Rangers (2002–2006), Milwaukee Brewers (2006–2007), Toronto Blue Jays ...

and

Laynce Nix Laynce Michael Nix (born October 30, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Nix played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, and Philadelphia Phillie ...

, relief pitcher

Francisco Cordero Francisco Javier Cordero (born May 11, 1975) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, and Housto ...

, and minor league pitcher Julian Cordero. According to Brewers General Manager

Doug Melvin Robert Douglas Melvin (born August 8, 1952) is a Canadian front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB) who previously served as the general manager of the Texas Rangers (1995–2001) and Milwaukee Brewers (2002–2015). He is currently a ...

, the Brewers attempted to re-sign Lee, but by July 27, it became apparent he would not sign a contract extension. The Brewers reportedly offered a four-year, $48 million contract extension, close to the four-year, $50 million extension David Ortiz signed earlier in 2006. Lee's agent Adam Katz said the two parties were too far away in negotiations.

Texas Rangers

In 59 games for the Rangers, Lee hit 9 home runs while hitting .322 while serving as their DH and left fielder. Between both the Brewers and the Rangers, Lee hit a career high 37 home runs while compiling 116 RBI in 161 games.

Houston Astros

On November 24, 2006, Lee agreed to a six-year, $100 million contract with the Houston Astros. Lee had a productive first year in Houston, hitting .303 with 32 home runs and driving in 119 runs, which was good for a three-way tie in the National League with

Miguel Cabrera José Miguel Cabrera Torres (born April 18, 1983), nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Since his debut in 2003 he has been a two-t ...

and

Prince Fielder Prince Semien Fielder (born May 9, 1984) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers. He was selected in ...

. In his second year, despite playing in just 115 games due to injury, Lee drove in 100 runs and homered 28 times for the Astros. In 2009, he had the lowest range factor of all starting major league left fielders (1.56). Despite his limited range, Lee was a force once again at the plate, driving in 102

while hitting exactly .300 in 160 games. In 2010 after

Lance Berkman William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian H ...

was traded to the New York Yankees, Lee played a handful of games at first base. While this was not the first time in his career he had played first, it was the first time he did so on a regular basis. Lee hit a career low .246 despite driving in 89 runs and homering 24 times for the Astros. In 2011, he was an above average defender according to UZR and other statistical measurements. Through 66 games in 2012 for Houston, Lee struck out just 17 times in 258 at bats. During his 6-year tenure with the Astros, Lee never struck out over 65 times in a season.

Miami Marlins

On July 4, 2012, Lee was traded to the Miami Marlins for minor leaguers Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen. He played his first game as a Marlin the next day against the Milwaukee Brewers, and went 2-for-4 with a run in a win. He hit his first home run as a Marlin, a grand slam, on July 17 against the Chicago Cubs. In 81 games for the Marlins, Lee failed to produce as Miami expected, hitting just .243 while homering just 4 times in 338 plate appearances.

Career statistics

In 2,099 games over 14 seasons, Lee compiled a .285

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(2,273-for-7,983) with 1,125 runs, 469 doubles, 19 triples, 358 home runs, 1,363 RBI, 125 stolen bases, 655 base on balls, 984

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

, .339 on-base percentage and .483 slugging percentage. Defensively, he recorded a .988 fielding percentage playing left field and first base.

Personal life

In reference to his nickname, Carlos has a fan club called ''Los Caballitos'', which means "Little Horses". He is married and has two daughters, Cassandra and Karla and two sons, named Karlos and Carlos. Lee owns and operates cattle ranches in Aguadulce and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

. His younger brother, also named Carlos, Carlos Humberto Lee, played professional baseball in the

and Milwaukee Brewers'

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

systems from 2001–2007.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Carlos 1976 births Living people Birmingham Barons players Bristol White Sox players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Corpus Christi Hooks players Gulf Coast White Sox players Hickory Crawdads players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Panama Miami Marlins players Milwaukee Brewers players National League All-Stars Panamanian expatriate baseball players in the United States Panamanian people of Chinese descent People from Aguadulce District Silver Slugger Award winners Texas Rangers players Winston-Salem Warthogs players 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players Caribes de Oriente players Panamanian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela