Lyle Overbay
From BR Bullpen
Lyle Stefan Overbay
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 6' 2", Weight 215 lb.
- School University of Nevada, Reno
- Debut September 19, 2001
- Born January 28, 1977 in Centralia, WA USA
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[edit] Biographical Information
[edit] Collegiate career and draft
Lyle Overbay is the regular first baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. Currently (as of 2006) 29 years old, he played for the University of Nevada, Reno and hit .338 with 85 RBI as a college junior, finishing second in the Big West Conference in RBI and making the All-Conference team as an outfielder. The next year was even better - he led the Big West in average (.420) and doubles (24), drove in 88 (one behind leader Don Price), hit 15 homers and slugged .728. He again made the All-Conference team. He was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 18th round at the age of 22 in the 1999 amateur draft.
[edit] Pioneer League standout
Overbay broke in with the Missoula Osprey in 1999 and torched the Pioneer League. He led the loop in at-bats (306), hits (105), total bases (180), extra-base hits (44), doubles (25), RBI (101 in 75 games), double-play grounders (14), putouts at first base (641) and fielding at first (.986). He was third in batting average (.343), had an OBP around .419 and slugged .588. He made the PL All-Star team at first base and was named the league's MVP, but was not picked as one of the top 10 prospects according to Baseball America.
[edit] Working his way up the ladder
In 2000, Lyle hit .332/.398/.498 for the South Bend Silver Hawks and was promoted to the El Paso Diablos of the AA Texas League, where his line read .352/.420/.533. Overall, he scored 90 runs, drove in 96 and cracked 35 doubles. His .342 average was the 10th-highest in all of the minors.
By 2001, Overbay returned to El Paso and slammed the ball around, hitting .352/.423/.528 with 49 doubles and 100 RBI and being named the Diamondbacks Minor League Player of the Year and Baseball America named him the 8th-best prospect in the league. He led the Texas League in average, hits (187), doubles, sacrifice flies (8, tied with Ken Harvey), intentional walks (11, tied with Jason Lane) and OBP. He made the TL All-Star team at first base though Lane was named MVP. He got a September call-up to Arizona and went 1 for 2. He led all of the minors in doubles and hits that year and tied for second in average.
Lyle kept on crushing the ball in 2002, setting franchise records for average and RBI (109) by hitting .343/.396/.528 for the AAA Tucson Sidewinders with 40 doubles. He played in the Triple-A All-Star Game and the Futures Game. He lost the Pacific Coast League batting title to Rick Short and tied Larry Sutton for the lead in doubles (40). His 87 assists led first basemen. He made the league All-Star team and got another late call-up to Arizona, going 1 for 10.
[edit] To the majors
In 2003, he appeared in another 35 games for Tucson, hitting .286/.419/.479 and finished the year with the Diamondbacks for 86 games, hitting .276 without much power. It was his first pro season under .330. He was then included in an eight-player trade to the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers made him a regular. In 2004, he played virtually every game, hitting .301 with 81 walks and 16 home runs, and led the National League with 53 doubles. That many doubles puts him in the top 30 performances of all time for two-baggers in a single season. In 2005, he hit .276 with 78 walks, 19 home runs, 34 doubles, and 72 RBI.
He was traded by Milwaukee to Toronto in December of 2005 for prospects David Bush, Gabe Gross and Zach Jackson. He continued his solid hitting for the Blue Jays in 2006, compiling a line of .312/.372/.508 in 157 games. He topped 20 home runs and 90 RBI for the first time.
Overbay broke his hand on a pitch from John Danks in 2007 and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
The most similar player through 2007, based on similarity scores is Nick Johnson.
Quote: "As soon as Prince Fielder was ready, I knew they'd probably move me." - Lyle Overbay talking about his tenure with the Milwaukee Brewers.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 1999 MVP Pioneer League Missoula Osprey
- NL Doubles Leader (2004)
- 20-Home Run Seasons: 2 (2006 & 2010)
