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Revision as of 20:16, 14 March 2010 by 208.99.128.133 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) Baseball player| Chad Tracy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chicago Cubs – No. 9 | |
| First baseman / Third baseman | |
| Bats: LeftThrows: Right | |
| debut | |
| April 21, 2004, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| Career statistics (through November 1 , 2009) | |
| Batting average | .280 |
| Home runs | 78 |
| Runs batted in | 318 |
Stats at Baseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Chad Austin Tracy (born May 22, 1980, in Charlotte, North Carolina) is a third baseman for the Chicago Cubs organization.
College & draft
Tracy compiled a .339 batting average during his career at East Carolina University. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the seventh round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.
Minor league career
He played third base in El Paso, Texas, for the El Paso Diablos. In four minor league seasons, Tracy hit .335 with 24 home runs, 85 doubles, and 206 RBIs in 337 games. In 2002, he was selected to participate in the Futures Game during the All-Star break as the starting third baseman on the U.S. squad.
Major league career
2004
Tracy made his major league debut with Arizona in 2004. He finished his rookie season with a .285 average, eight home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .343 on base percentage in 143 games. He led NL third basemen with 25 errors, and he had a major-league-low .935 fielding percentage at third.
2005
In 2005, Tracy had a breakout season, as he batted .308 (7th-best in the league) with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs. He also had a slugging percentage of .533, 10th-best in the NL.
2006
Tracy's numbers dipped in the 2006 season. He batted .281 with 20 homers and 80 RBIs. His slugging percentage went down over 100 points from his 2005 total, going from .553 to .451. His 129 strikeouts went up as they nearly doubled his 2005 total. He also tied Edwin Encarnacion for the major league lead in errors by a third baseman, with 25, as he again had a .935 fielding percentage at third base.
2007
His numbers dipped again in 2007, as he batted .264—the lowest batting average of his major league career. He batted .222 with 2 out and runners in scoring position.
2008
In 2008 he had his lowest on base percentage (.308) and slugging percentage (.414) of his major league career, as he batted .267. He again batted .222 with 2 out and runners in scoring position.
2009
On May 6, 2009, Tracy (who was batting .224) was taken out of the starting lineup, replaced by Josh Whitesell, who was called up to the Diamondbacks after hitting .356 for the Reno Aces with a .477 on base percentage (2nd in the Pacific Coast League) and a .552 slugging percentage. Whitesell took the roster spot of Tony Clark, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Manager Bob Melvin said Whitesell would get a chance to play every day, and that Tracy "is going to pinch hit, (and) he's going to fill in at third and first for a while." That didn't last long, however, as on May 19, not even two weeks later, Melvin had been fired as manager and the team optioned Whitesell back to Reno.
A right-oblique strain that Tracy suffered May 29 led to him being placed on the 15-day disabled list, and Whitesell was called up a second time, and then subsequently sent back down to AAA on June 19 when Clark came off the DL. Tracy came off the disabled list after missing 27 games.
Clark was released in mid-July, and Whitesell was called back up for the third time in the season to replace him on July 16. Tracy said: "Obviously, I want the playing time, I want to be out there every day. Right now, there are a lot of question marks, especially for me, and some of the other guys that are on their last year of their contract or have some value to be traded, so I think we're probably at that point now where anything can happen. I wouldn't be surprised by anything." Manager AJ Hinch spoke with Tracy, who was batting a career-low .222 with a .288 on base percentage at the time, and Whitesell on July 17. He told them that Whitesell would get the bulk of the action at first base, starting four or five times a week "for the time being".
In July the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers were reportedly interested in acquiring Tracy.
After the season Tracy filed for free agency.
2010
On January 26, 2010, Tracy signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs with an invite to spring training. The deal was announced on January 27, 2010.
Personal life
He married in 2007 to Katie Martin. They have two children.
External links
- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
References
- Bagnato, Andrew, "Diamondbacks looking for answers in second half," Charleston Daily Mail, 7/16/09, accessed 7/16/09
- Piecero, Nick, "Hinch: Whitesell to get bulk of time at 1B," The Arizona Republic, 7/17/09, accessed 7/18/09
- http://sports.espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/news/story?id=4861096
| Preceded byTy Wigginton | Topps Rookie All-Star Third Baseman 2004 |
Succeeded byGarrett Atkins |