Frederick Deshaun Lewis (born December 9, 1980) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

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 cat ...

. He made his debut on September 1, , with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

. He is the cousin of former Major League outfielder

Matt Lawton Matthew Lawton, Jr. (born November 30, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player whose career spanned 15 seasons, including 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lawton, an outfielder, made his major league debut September 5, ...

. He lived in Chatham, New Jersey for a brief time before moving to Toronto.

High school and college

Lewis graduated from Stone High School in

Wiggins, Mississippi Wiggins is a city in and the county seat of Stone County, Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Me ...

in 1999, where he was a three sport star in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, and

. He went on to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he played both football and baseball. After graduating in 2001, he was drafted in the 20th round (585th overall) by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, but opted not to sign, instead attending

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is the largest historically black college or university (HBCU) in Louisiana, a ...

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

to play baseball. While attending Southern University, Lewis flipped a truck he was driving on a rainy night, and three of the occupants in the car were killed.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Lewis was drafted in the second round (66th overall), and was sent to the short season-A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. While there, earned Northwest League All-Star honors, leading the league with a .322 batting average, while finishing 5th for both hits (77) and

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

(.396). Lewis also was named co-Player of Month for July, along with

Dan Ortmeier Daniel David Ortmeier (born May 11, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. He made his major league debut on September 5, , with the San Francisco Giants. High school Ortmeier was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and ...

and

Greg Bruso Greg is a masculine given name, and often a shortened form of the given name Gregory. Greg (more commonly spelled " Gregg") is also a surname. People with the name *Greg Abbott (disambiguation), multiple people *Greg Abel (born 1961/1962), Canadi ...

. Lewis spent all of 2003 with the Hagerstown Suns, where he finished the season second in the Giants organization with 30 stolen bases. He also led the team with 61 runs scored, while ranking 3rd in games (114) and doubles(17). Lewis finished the season with a .250 batting average, but as a result of leading the team in walks with 68, wound up with a .361 on-base percentage. Lewis starred on the Norwich Navigators in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to Long ...

, where it was customary for fans to shout his name while he was at bat, on deck, running in from the field or anywhere else in view. Lewis would choose the loudest fans to join him in Fred Lewis' Pancake Breakfasts. Fred Lewis 2009

Major leagues

San Francisco Giants

Lewis was a September call-up in 2006, making his debut on September 1 at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

; he had a base hit in each of his first three at bats. Lewis finished the year 5–11 with 2 RBI. Lewis made his first appearance on a Major League 25-man roster on May 6,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, and hit for the cycle on May 13, Mother's Day, in only his 16th game in the majors at

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Lewis doubled leading off the game, then hit a three-run opposite-field home run in the fourth inning (both against

Taylor Buchholz Taylor Buchholz (born October 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Biography Buchholz stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, and weighs 220 lbs. He bats and throws right-handed. He grew up and lives in Springfield, P ...

), followed by an RBI triple in the fifth (against Tom Martin) and a single leading off the seventh inning (against

Denny Bautista Denny M. Bautista Germán (born August 23, 1980) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Bautista is tall and weighs . He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, De ...

). Lewis' cycle was the 22nd in Giants franchise history. Lewis is one of only a handful of Major League baseball players to hit his first homer as part of a cycle. On June 1, Lewis hit his first MLB grand slam against the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. About a month later, on July 4, Lewis hit another grand slam against the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

, becoming the first player in San Francisco Giants history to hit two grand slams in his rookie season. On April 26, 2008, Lewis hit the 46th

Splash Hit McCovey Cove is the unofficial name of a section of San Francisco Bay beyond the right field wall of Oracle Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, named after famed Giants first baseman Willie McCovey. The proper name for the cove is China Basin ...

at AT&T Park. On July 27, 2008, Lewis became the first left-handed batter to get four hits against Randy Johnson in a game. In the first at-bat in this game, a

fog horn A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

went off as Johnson was releasing his pitch, causing him to throw an eephus which fell for a strike. Lewis led the majors in steals of home in 2008 with 2, but was also caught twice while attempting to steal home.

Toronto Blue Jays

On April 16, 2010, Lewis was traded to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. Lewis had a somewhat successful stay with Toronto, batting first in the batting order on a regular basis with a .276 batting average. On December 3, 2010, the Blue Jays declined to tender a contract to Lewis prior to the non-tender deadline, thereby making him a free agent.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 10, 2011, it was announced that Lewis signed with the Cincinnati Reds to a 1-year $900,000 deal. He elected free agency on October 27.

Cleveland Indians

Lewis signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 19, 2012, which included an invitation to the Indians' spring training camp. On April 2, Lewis was released by the Indians.

New York Mets

On April 25, 2012, Lewis signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets. On September 3, 2012, the Mets selected the contract of Lewis as rosters expanded in September. He posted a .150/.320/.150 in 25 plate appearances over 18 games and was then outrighted off the 40-man roster on October 16, 2012, and opted to become a free agent.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On November 9, 2012, Lewis signed a one-year, $400,000 deal with a club option for 2014 with the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

. The deal included a $150,000 signing bonus.

Independent baseball

Lewis signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

for the 2014 season. He was then traded to the Bridgeport Bluefish. Lewis signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for the 2015 season. He resigned with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on April 8, 2016.

Personal life

Lewis was named after Hurricane Frederic which hit his home state the year before he was born. He is a second cousin of

. In November 2001, Lewis was driving a truck in a storm on

U.S. Route 49 U.S. Route 49 (US 49) is a north–south United States highway. The highway's northern terminus is in Piggott, Arkansas, at an intersection with US Route 62/ Highway 1/ Highway 139 (US 62/AR 1/AR 139). Its southern terminus is ...

in Mississippi when it hydroplaned and crashed into a ditch. Three passengers, two of them Lewis' cousins, died in the accident. Lewis' son, Kaleb, was born in 2002 or 2003. In 2019, Lewis opened a daiquiri shop in Gulfport, Mississippi.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Fred 1980 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan San Francisco Giants players Toronto Blue Jays players Cincinnati Reds players New York Mets players Major League Baseball outfielders Baseball players from Mississippi Sportspeople from Hattiesburg, Mississippi African-American baseball players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Louisville Bats players Hagerstown Suns players Grand Canyon Rafters players Scottsdale Scorpions players Naranjeros de Hermosillo players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico San Jose Giants players Fresno Grizzlies players Norwich Navigators players Southern Jaguars baseball players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Lancaster Barnstormers players Bridgeport Bluefish players Southern Maryland Blue Crabs players Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs baseball players Mississippi Gulf Coast Bulldogs football players