Garrett Bernard Atkins (born December 12, 1979) is an American former

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 (A ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

. Between 2003 and 2010, he played for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

Amateur career

High school career

Atkins attended University High School in Irvine, California. As a senior, he was named the Irvine World News All-City MVP, after posting a .557 batting average, along with a school single-season record 13 home runs.

College career

After being drafted by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

out of high school, Atkins elected to attend college. He was recruited by

Pepperdine Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

and

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, choosing the Bruins. At

, Atkins majored in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and became the first three-time All-American. He began as a

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 ...

before converting to third base, where he made 51 starts in . However, in , his sophomore campaign, Atkins played first base again and led the team in hits. He was a teammate and roommate of

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 ...

' second baseman

Chase Utley Chase Cameron Utley (born December 17, 1978), nicknamed "The Man" and "Silver Fox", is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 16 seasons, primarily for the Philadelphia Phillies. ...

, and along with him, was one of only two Bruins to start every game. In 1998 and 1999, Atkins played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the lea ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL). He hit .383 in 1998, and in 1999 he was named playoff MVP as he led the Kettleers to the league title. Atkins was inducted into the CCBL Hall of Fame in 2013. Atkins was drafted in by the

in the fifth round (137th overall).

Professional career

Colorado Rockies

Atkins made his Major League debut in 2003 and hit .159 with 0 home runs and 4 RBIs. He fared better in his second stint in the Major Leagues in 2004 hitting .357 with 1 home run and 8 RBIs. Atkins won the Rockies' third base job in 2005 but was placed on the DL with a strained hamstring before the season started. He returned in April and finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year voting after a season in which he topped NL rookies with 221 total bases, 31 doubles, 45 walks, and 45 extra-base hits. He also finished the year with a 16-game hitting streak in September. His final stat line was impressive: .287 batting average, 13 homers, and 89 RBIs. Atkins followed with two strong seasons in 2006 and 2007, where he hit a combined 54 HR and 231 RBI and took part in his only World Series, where the Rockies fell in four games to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

. In , Atkins spent much of the season playing first base in the absence of injured teammate Todd Helton, marking a defensive transition to "a more natural position for him." Prior to the start of the 2009 season, Atkins accepted a one-year $7 million contract from the Rockies. He struggled, hitting .226 with nine home runs, and 48 RBIs. With the emergence of Ian Stewart, Atkins became less of a priority in the Rockies long-term plans and was non-tendered on December 12, 2009, officially making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

Baltimore Orioles

Atkins agreed to a one-year, $4 million deal with the

for 2010. On June 27, the Orioles designated Atkins for assignment. On July 6, he was released.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Atkins agreed to a minor league deal with the Pirates on December 23, 2010. In March 2011, Atkins was released.

Awards and honors

* 2005 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team; 3B *

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

Rookie of the Month (June 2005)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Garrett 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Orange, California Colorado Rockies players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from California Major League Baseball third basemen UCLA Bruins baseball players Cotuit Kettleers players Sportspeople from Irvine, California Portland Rockies players Salem Avalanche players Carolina Mudcats players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players