by Mark McDermott/BaseballSacramento.com 

Born: September 6, 1975  

High School: El Camino 

Bats: Right—Throws: Right 

Height: 6-5—Weight: 245 

Position: First Base 

Drafted: 1^st round in 1993 by the San Diego Padres 

Debut: April 28, 1997 

Teams:  San Diego Padres 1997; Florida Marlins 1998-2003; Chicago Cubs 2004-2010;
Atlanta Braves 2010              

Playing for the Chicago Cubs, the 6-foot-5, 245-pounder led the National League in hitting (.335), hits (199), doubles (50), slugging percentage (.662), total bases (393) and on-base percentage plus slugging percentage (1.080). He also had a .418 on-base percentage, scored 120 runs, hit 45 home runs, knocked in 107 runs and stole 15 bases. He was selected to the All-Star team, won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award and finished third in the MVP balloting. 

Lee’s accomplishments weren’t limited to 2005. He was an All-Star in 2007 and won Gold Gloves in 2003 and 2007 and was named to the United States roster for the 2006 World Baseball Classic, where he was the first player to hit a home run for Team USA. 

In 2003, Lee won a World Series Championship with the Florida Marlins. His spectacular grab and unassisted putout on a hard hit, one-hop line drive off the bat of Hideki Matsui halted a New York Yankees’ rally and ended Game 5 with a Marlins victory. The Marlins won Game 6 and the series.  

What sets Lee apart from other first basemen is his defense. He is agile around the bag and a master at smothering errant throws. He saves his infielder’s plenty of errors and his pitchers several runs each month. 

The knock against Lee has always been that he doesn’t display any obvious passion while he’s playing the game. However, once you understand his up-bringing, it becomes obvious his playing style is being misread. Few players are as serious about practicing, playing and improving. His stoic style comes from his summer days as a youth in Japan where he learned about the country’s culture and love for the game of baseball. 

Lee points to the maturity and self-confidence he gained attending an international elementary school with students from across the globe that nurtured and influenced his philosophy of life.  

Like his father, Leon Lee, who learned to speak Japanese and understand the country’s ways and respect for baseball during his playing days in the Japanese League, the younger Lee was quiet and observant as he soaked up the knowledge around him. 

“That took the blinders off,” Derrek Lee would say. “I learned young how to get along with different people and how to communicate with them.” 

Leon Lee came to Japan following in the footsteps of his older brother Leron Lee. Together they became legendary icons of Japanese baseball. Leon Lee made it as far as Triple-A for the St. Louis Cardinals before spending 10 years in the Japanese League, compiling a .308 lifetime average, 1,436 hits and 268 home runs. Leron Lee was the Cardinals No. 1 draft choice in 1966. He played eight seasons in the major leagues before going overseas and playing another 10 years in the Japanese League, highlighted by a Triple Crown performance in his first season. 

In comparison to other Sacramento-area players, Derrek Lee ranks first in doubles (415), second in runs scored (1,026), third in home runs (312) and runs batted in (1,019), fourth in games played (1,829), fifth in batting average (.282), hits (1843) and at-bats (6,527) and 10^th in stolen bases (102). 

 Career Statistics -- Derrek Lee