Garrett Bernard Atkins (born December 12, 1979 in Orange, California) has been the third baseman for the Major League Baseball team the Colorado Rockies since 2003. He bats and throws right-handed. As a hitter, Atkins has established himself as a key element to the Colorado Rockies' premier offense, which includes Matt Holliday, and team veteran, Todd Helton. In 2005, his 89 runs batted in led not only the Colorado Rockies, but all major league rookies as well. In 2006, Atkins had a breakout year and ranked in the top ten of nearly all batting categories in the National League, posting a .329 batting average with 120 runs batted in and 117 runs scored. Image File history File linksMetadata Atkins_1. ... The position of the third baseman Third base redirects here. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... August 3 is the 215th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (216th in leap years), with 150 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. ... In baseball statistics, a run batted in (RBI) is given to a batter for each run scored as the result of a batters plate appearance. ... Mark McGwire swinging for the fences. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... For the song by the Smashing Pumpkins, see 1979 (song). ... Nickname: Motto: A Slice of Old Town Charm Location of Orange within Orange County, California. ... The position of the third baseman Third base redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Major league affiliations National League (1993–present) West Division (1993–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 42 Name Colorado Rockies (1993–present) Ballpark Coors Field (1995–present) Mile High Stadium (1993-1994) Major league titles World Series titles (0) None NL Pennants (0) None West Division titles (0) None Wild card... The following are the events of the year 2003 that happened world-wide throughout the sport of baseball. ... Matthew Thomas Holliday was born January 15, 1980 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. ... Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is a Major League Baseball first baseman who has played for the Colorado Rockies since the 1997 season. ...

High school career

Garrett 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. Location of Irvine within Orange County, California. ...

College career

After being drafted by the New York Mets in 1997 out of high school, Atkins elected to attend college instead -- he was recruited by Pepperdine, USC, Oklahoma State, Cal State Fullerton, and UCLA, choosing the latter. At UCLA, he majored in sociology and became the first three-time All-American, establishing himself as the premier freshman hitter in the school's history -- his accomplishments included compiling a 33-game hitting streak and batting cleanup just as many times. He began as a first baseman before converting to third base, where he made 51 starts in '98. However, in 1999, his sophomore campaign, he played first base again and led the team in hits. He was a teammate of the Philadelphia Phillies' Chase Utley and along with him was one of only two Bruins to start every game. Atkins was drafted in 2000 out of UCLA with the Colorado Rockies' fifth-round pick, and this time he chose to accept the offer from an MLB club and begin the process of reaching the majors. For the current season, see 2007 New York Mets season. ... Pepperdine University is located overlooking Malibu, California. ... The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly as Southern Cal),[4] located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA, was founded in 1880, making it Californias oldest private research university. ... Oklahoma State University Logo The Oklahoma State University System comprises of five educational instututes across Oklahoma. ... California State University, Fullerton The California State University, Fullerton, often referred to as Cal State Fullerton, is a part of the California State University System located in Fullerton, California. ... Binomial name Ucla xenogrammus Holleman, 1993 The largemouth triplefin, Ucla xenogrammus, is a fish of the family Tripterygiidae and only member of the genus Ucla, found in the Pacific Ocean from Viet Nam, the Philippines, Palau and the Caroline Islands to Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Christmas Island), and the... Major league affiliations National League (1883–present) East Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 1, 14, 20, 32, 36, 42 Name Philadelphia Phillies (1883–present) Philadelphia Quakers (1882) (Commonly referred to as Blue Jays 1943-1945 despite formal name remaining Phillies) Ballpark Citizens Bank Park (2004–present) Veterans Stadium... Chase Cameron Utley soooooooooooooo sex7yyy (born December 17, 1978) is a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. ...

Personal

His parents are Ron and Diana, and he has a younger sister, Kristan. Atkins is single and although he used to reside in Irvine, CA during the off-season, he moved to the Denver area after the 2006 season. For the past four seasons in spring training, he has lived with teammate Matt Holliday and family, even serving as babysitter to Holliday's two young sons. His hobbies include golf.

2005 season

• In June, Atkins was named the National League Rookie of the Month. He topped all NL rookies in hits (39), at-bats (107) and doubles (9), while compiling a .533 slugging average and .381 on-base percentage. His 26 RBI for the month were second-most in Colorado team history by a rookie, trailing only Todd Helton's 29 in August of 1998. In 2005 Atkins hit .287 with 13 home runs and 89 runs batted in.
• An injury during spring training prior to the 2005 season opened the door for rookie Jeff Baker to play the first 12 games of his big league career.
• The highlight of his young career occurred on June 28, 2005. Atkins hit a game-winning grandslam off Houston Astros relief pitcher Russ Springer in front of a home crowd at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado.

Below are some other accomplishments: 2005 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December- → Deaths in June June 27: Shelby Foote June 27: John T. Walton June 26: Richard Whiteley June 25: John Fiedler June 25: Chet Helms June 24: Paul Winchell June 21: Jaime Cardinal Sin June 20: Jack Kilby... The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the National League, is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada (until 2005 when the Montreal Expos moved to Washington) and the worlds oldest extant professional team sports league. ... In Major League Baseball history, Ty Cobb had a record 4,191 hits by 1928; Pete Rose would surpass it 57 years later, and finish with 4,256 career hits. ... In baseball statistics, an at bat (AB) is used to calculate other data such as batting average. ... In baseball, a double is the act of a batter safely reaching second base by striking the ball and getting to second before being made out, without the benefit of a fielders misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielders choice. ... Barry Bonds holds the MLB record for highest slugging average in a season (.863). ... In baseball statistics, on base percentage (OBP) (sometimes referred to as on base average (OBA)) is a measure of how often a batter gets to first base for any reason other than a fielding error or a fielders choice. ... Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973 in Knoxville, Tennessee) is a Major League Baseball first baseman who has played for the Colorado Rockies since the 1997 season. ... This year in baseball 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 Events January-March January 5 - Don Sutton, a 324-game winner is elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his fifth try. ... Jeffrey Glen Baker (born June 21, 1981 in Bad Kissingen, West Germany) is a player in Major League Baseball who plays with the Colorado Rockies (2005-present). ... Major league affiliations National League (1962–present) Central Division (1994–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 24, 25, 32, 33, 34, 40, 42, 49 Name Houston Astros (1965–present) Houston Colt . ... Russell Paul Springer (born in Alexandria, LA, on November 7, 1968) is a baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros. ... Coors Field, located in Denver, Colorado is the home field of the National Leagues Colorado Rockies. ... : The Mile-High City United States Colorado Denver (coextensive) 154. ...

-- Finished 4th in NL in Rookie of the Year balloting.

-- Unanimous selection at third base on the Topps All-Star Rookie Team

-- Excelled with runners in scoring position, batting .309 with 74 RBI (home: .306, 39 RBI/road: .313, 35 RBI).

-- Led the Rockies and all Major League Rookies with 89 RBI, the fifth highest total by a NL Rookie in the last 26 years.

-- Became the first Rockies' Rookie to lead the club in RBI.

-- Led NL Rookies in total bases with 221.

-- Led NL Rookies in doubles with 31.

-- Led NL Rookies in extra base hits with 45.

-- Led NL Rookies in walks with 45.

-- Longest hitting streak by any Major League Rookie and any Rockie in 2005 (16 games), tying the Rockies' rookie record.

-- Tied for second in NL and tied Rockies’ all-time record with two grand slams.

-- Led Rockies and finished 8th in the NL by putting ball in play on 54.5% of his swings.

-- One of the toughest 20 hitters to strike out in the NL.

-- Tied a Rockies' record with two grand slams, including a game-winner on June 29.

-- Five of his 13 home runs tied the game or gave the Rockies the lead.

-- Led NL third basemen in zone rating (range) and finished sixth in fielding percentage.

-- Committed only one error in his last 40 games and none in his final 25 games.

-- NL Rookie of the Month in June (.364, three home runs, nine doubles, 26 RBI).

-- Batted .314 with 10 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 30 RBI in September/October.

-- Finished tied for third in NL in RBI in June with 26.

-- Finished second in NL and third in majors in RBI in September with 29, tying a Rockies' franchise record for most RBI in a month by a rookie.

-- Hit safely in 32 of his last 36 games, batting .315 with 13 doubles, four home runs and 32 RBI during this stretch.

2006 season

-- Led MLB in runs produced with 208.

-- Led MLB in batting average from three-hole (.353).

-- Finished fourth in the NL and 8th in MLB in batting average (.329).

-- Finished fifth in NL in home batting average (.346) and ninth in NL in road batting average (.313).

-- Finished fifth in the NL and tied for ninth in MLB in RBI (120).

-- Excelled with runners in scoring position, batting .341 with 62 hits (second in MLB and 93 RBI (second in MLB).

-- Only NL player in top 10 in batting average, hits, RBI, runs scored,on base percentage, and slugging percentage.

-- One of four MLB players who batted .320+ with 20+ home runs, 100+ RBI, and 100+ runs scored.

-- One of five MLB players who hit 25+ home runs and more walks than strikeouts.

-- Led Rockies in batting average and RBI.

-- Among top five in MLB in most post-all star offensive categories, including batting average (.354, third), hits (102, tied for first), RBI (62, fifth), on base percentage (.437, second), slugging percentage (.625, fourth), and OPS (1.062, third).

-- Two-time NL Player of the Week winner (4/3-4/8 and 9/26-10/1).

External links

• ESPN - profile and daily updates
• Baseball Reference - statistics and analysis