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William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976 in Waco, Texas) is a Major League Baseball player for the Houston Astros. His official listed height is six feet, one inch, and his weight is 220 pounds (100 kg). Berkman is a switch-hitting outfielder/first baseman who throws left-handed. He is also known as \"Big Puma\" or \"Fat Elvis\".
Amateur career
Lance Berkman attended high school in Austin, TX and New Braunfels, TX. A promising first baseman, he attended Rice University, where he was a member of Will Rice College. A star from 1995-97, Berkman set single-season and career records in runs (109, 233); home runs (41, 67); RBI (134, 272); total bases (263, 572); and slugging percentage (1.031, .772). He is second all-time with a .385 career batting average. His junior season of 1997 was one of the most productive in NCAA history, when he hit a Rice-record .431 and earned national Player of the Year honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers\' Association while leading the Owls to their first College World Series appearance. A consensus all-American, he was selected with the 16th pick in the first round of the 1997 draft.
Minor League Career
After the Astros drafted Berkman, the team assigned him to play with their \"A\" minor league affiliate, Kissimmee. In only 53 games, he hit .293 with 12 HR and 35 RBI . In 1998, his second minor league season, he was promoted to class \"AA\" Jackson. His potential was beginning to show, as he hit .306 and clubbed 24 HR with 89 RBI over 122 games. The Astros took notice, and, they granted him a mid-season promotion to \"AAA\" New Orleans Zephyrs. He played 17 games in New Orleans, and 1998 would prove to be his last full season in the minor leagues. In 1999, Berkman was midway through a great season in New Orleans when he was called up to the parent club, the Houston Astros. Prior to the promotion, he had been hitting a robust .323, although he only had 8 HR and 49 RBI through 64 games. Before being called up to the Majors, he was the starting right fielder in the 1999 MLB All-Star Futures Game.
Major League Career
Throughout his entire high school, college, and minor league career, Berkman played first base. Because Jeff Bagwell was already entrenched at first, Berkman agreed to play outfield to get into the starting lineup. His first stint with the Astros ended with 34 games played, a .237 batting average, 4 HR and 15 RBI. The slow start did not discourage him, although he started the 2000 season back in AAA New Orleans.
The demotion proved brief, however; 31 games into the season, Houston again requested his services, and Berkman showed the club why they had used their first round pick on him. Moving from left field to right field, he hit .297, 21 HR and 67 RBI. This firmly established him in the Astros lineup, and he has been a starter ever since.
2001 was a tremendous season for Berkman, who hit .331 (4th in the NL), posted a .430 On-base percentage (5th in the NL), and drove in 126 runs (7th in the league). He also scored 110 runs and hit 34 home runs, while his 55 doubles led the league. 2001 also marked his first All-Star appearance (he would repeat in 2002, 2004, and 2006) and he was 5th in Most Valuable Player voting.
With the Astros shuffling their roster around before the 2002 season, Berkman agreed to play center field. Although he lacks the range of most center fielders, he read balls well in the outfield and made very few mistakes. 2002 saw his batting average drop to .292, although he kept his on-base percentage high at .405. His power output increased also, resulting in 42 home runs. Berkman scored 106 runs and drove in 128, good enough to lead the league. As a result, he was 3rd in the NL in the Most Valuable Player voting for 2002.
2003 brought about Berkman\'s worst season since becoming a regular. His batting average dipped to .288, although his on-base percentage was still high at .412. He hit 25 home runs, and only drove in 93 runs, scoring 110 himself. In the field, he played all but one game in Left field.
The next season, 2004, saw him rebound at the plate. His average was up to .316, and his OBP was .450, having walked 127 times. He hit 30 home runs, drove in 106, and scored 104 runs. He also hit 40 doubles and appeared in 160 games, the most so far in his career for a single season. Berkman made the All-Star team, and was runner up in the 2004 Home Run Derby with 21 homers. In May, his .785 slugging average and 24 RBI won him the National League Player of the Month for the first time in his career. Defensively, Berkman split 2004 between left and right field.
In 2005, Berkman moved to first base when Jeff Bagwell was put on the DL. Even though Berkman himself spent much time on the DL, he ended up with a respectable 24 home runs and 82 RBIs. He played a crucial role in Game 4 of the Astros\' NL Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. In perhaps the finest moment of his professional career, Berkman hit a grand slam in the 8th inning. That brought the score to 6-5 in favor of the Braves, but the game was tied in the next inning on a 2-out solo home run by Brad Ausmus. The teams then battled for 9 more innings in what became the longest game in Major League Baseball playoff history, with the Astros eventually winning the game (and the series) in the bottom of the 18th inning on a Chris Burke home run.
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