[legend]

Congrats to Eckstein, a player who defines heart and hustle.

David Eckstein is the “Rudy” of baseball. Like the former Notre Dame football player, who overcame tremendous odds to get into a varsity game, Eckstein has been swimming upstream like a salmon since the day he was born, on his way to the major leagues. If you ever did make a movie about David Eckstein’s life, you would be tempted to have actor Denis Leary play him, because of their facial resemblance. But Leary is far too athletic looking, and tall, to portray the five-foot-seven David Eckstein, the St. Louis Cardinal shortstop that opposing players and managers never fail to describe as “pesky”.

Born in Sanford, Florida in 1975, Eckstein had medical problems at a young age. Eckstein was born with a stomach blockage, and doctors failed to diagnose the problem quickly. Unable to digest any food or keep solids down, Eckstein’s parents, who are both schoolteachers, finally found a physician that was able to perform surgery to correct the trouble. Two of Eckstein’s siblings needed kidney transplants, due to a disease that runs in the family, and Eckstein’s father also has recently needed the procedure. Eckstein was more than willing to donate one of his kidneys to his siblings and dad, but his father would not allow it; all of the family members were able to have the transplants using donated kidneys from other sources.

Eckstein played baseball for Sanford’s Seminole High School, where he was All-State for two years. He made the University of Florida baseball team as a walk-on, later receiving a scholarship. A good student, to say the least, because of his parents’ emphasis on education, David was a three-time Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll selection and is the only Florida player to become a GTE Academic All-American twice. The Red Sox signed Eckstein in the 19th round of the free agent draft in 1997, and David hit .300 at every stop in their farm system until he reached Triple A Pawtucket. When he started slowly there in 2000, Red Sox coaches tried to get him to change his batting style, but when that experiment failed, he went back on his own to his old ways and brought his average up almost 85 points before the season ended. But the Red Sox were not enthralled with the 165 pound second baseman’s abilities, and they let him go in August of that year, opting instead to resign journeyman Lou Merloni in his place. The Angels liked what they had seen of Eckstein though, and they picked him up on waivers. By 2001, David was their full time shortstop.

Eckstein looks as much like a major league player as Nicole Richie looks like a bodybuilder, but despite his small stature, Eckstein has carved out a career in the game for himself. Eckstein sprints to and from his shortstop position, and in the on-deck circle, David windmills his bat like a possessed demon in order to pump himself up for his at-bat. Despite a less-than –average throwing arm, Eckstein makes the plays at short. He hates his odd, over the top, throwing motion so much that he won’t watch video of his plays. In 2001, Eckstein hit .285, stole 25 bases, and scored 82 runs. Attempting to get on base by any means possible, he was hit by a pitch a league-leading 21 times that year, and 27 the next. Eckstein knocked in his career high of 63 runs in 2002, as the Angels went to the playoffs, thanks in part to his 107 runs scored.

In the post-season, David Eckstein hit well in all three series that the Angels played in. He batted .278 as they shocked the Yankees, and .286 as they took out the Twins. In the seven game World Series against the Giants, Eckstein batted .310 with three runs batted in and scored six more as Anaheim took their only title. Eckstein hit .333 against Boston in the 2004 playoffs, but the Angels fell to the Red Sox, and Eckstein was granted free agency as Anaheim made Orlando Cabrera their shortstop the next year, despite David’s popularity with the fans in Southern California. Active in many charitable causes, including several related to kidney disease, Eckstein’s hustle and grit endeared him to the community.
Signing with the Cardinals, Eckstein’s determination made him a fan favorite from the get-go. Eckstein, an All-Star in 2005 and 2006 with the Redbirds, hit .294 his first season in the senior circuit and hit .373 with runners in scoring position, the highest in all of baseball. He batted .385 in the playoff series versus the Padres, but the Cardinals fell to the Astros in the next round, with David hitting .200. Injuries limited Eckstein to 123 games in 2006, but in the World Series against the Tigers he became only the fourth shortstop in history to have four hits in one contest. Battling nagging injuries throughout the playoffs against the Padres and Mets, including being hit on the hand during a bunt attempt, Eckstein was hitless for the first two games as the Cardinal split the pair of contests in Detroit. But David had a couple of base knocks in a 5-0 Chris Carpenter shutout in Game Three, and then added four more as St. Louis overcame a 3-0 deficit to win Game Four by a 5-4 count. In the bottom of the eighth, Eckstein hit his third double of the game off of Tiger reliever Joel Zumaya, who throws the ball routinely at a 100 mile per hour clip. The double knocked in the winning run, and manager Tony La Russa told reporters after the game, “He’s the definition of a clutch performer. A guy with that talent, he's the toughest guy I've ever seen in a uniform.”
The next evening, Eckstein collected two more hits and knocked in a run, as the Cardinals completed their storybook season and clinched the title with a 4-2 win over Detroit. Despite starting off the Fall Classic 0 for eleven, Eckstein went eight for his next eleven and was named the Series MVP!
Nobody in the sport works harder than Eckstein, who is constantly honing his skills. In November of 2002, the White House invited five baseball players to a luncheon with the President. Stars such as Curt Schilling and Todd Helton were there, and they all took their wives. Eckstein was single then (he got married in 2005), so he brought his mother along. After the meal, President Bush sought out David’s mom and told her this. “I might not be the best president, but I will always hold up the integrity of this office. That's why I like your son so much. He plays the game with such integrity”.

[MVB]

I'd a picked Rolen ( who had more hits, a higher BA, and more runs scored), but Eckstein is definitely a nice pick. He plays so hard, I love to see guys like him win it all.