Fred Lewis
Lewis with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Left fielder
Born: (1980-12-09) December 9, 1980
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: September 1, 2006, for the San Francisco Giants
NPB: March 29, 2013, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
Last appearance
MLB: October 2, 2012, for the New York Mets
NPB: August 16, 2013, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp
MLB statistics
Batting average.266
Home runs27
Runs batted in136
NPB statistics
Batting average.268
Home runs4
Runs batted in20
Teams

Frederick Deshaun Lewis (born December 9, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He made his debut on September 1, 2006, with the San Francisco Giants. He is the cousin of former Major League outfielder Matt Lawton. He lived in Chatham, New Jersey for a brief time before moving to Toronto.

High school and college

Lewis graduated from Stone High School in Wiggins, Mississippi in 1999, where he was a three sport star in basketball, football, and baseball. He went on to attend Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where he played both football and baseball.

After graduating in 2001, he was drafted in the 20th round (585th overall) by the Montreal Expos, but opted not to sign, instead attending Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to play baseball. While attending Southern University, Lewis flipped a truck he was driving on a rainy night, and three of the occupants in the car were killed.[1]

Professional career

Minor leagues

Lewis was drafted in the second round (66th overall), and was sent to the short season-A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. While there, earned Northwest League All-Star honors, leading the league with a .322 batting average, while finishing 5th for both hits (77) and on-base percentage(.396). Lewis also was named co-Player of Month for July, along with Dan Ortmeier and Greg Bruso.

Lewis spent all of 2003 with the Hagerstown Suns, where he finished the season second in the Giants organization with 30 stolen bases. He also led the team with 61 runs scored, while ranking 3rd in games (114) and doubles(17). Lewis finished the season with a .250 batting average, but as a result of leading the team in walks with 68, wound up with a .361 on-base percentage.

Lewis starred on the Norwich Navigators in Norwich, Connecticut, where it was customary for fans to shout his name while he was at bat, on deck, running in from the field or anywhere else in view. Lewis would choose the loudest fans to join him in Fred Lewis' Pancake Breakfasts.

Lewis playing for the San Francisco Giants in 2009

Major leagues

San Francisco Giants

Lewis was a September call-up in 2006, making his debut on September 1 at Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs; he had a base hit in each of his first three at bats. Lewis finished the year 5–11 with 2 RBI.

Lewis made his first appearance on a Major League 25-man roster on May 6, 2007, and hit for the cycle on May 13, Mother's Day, in only his 16th game in the majors at Colorado.[2] Lewis doubled leading off the game, then hit a three-run opposite-field home run in the fourth inning (both against Taylor Buchholz), followed by an RBI triple in the fifth (against Tom Martin) and a single leading off the seventh inning (against Denny Bautista). Lewis' cycle was the 22nd in Giants franchise history. Lewis is one of only a handful of Major League baseball players to hit his first homer as part of a cycle.

On June 1, Lewis hit his first MLB grand slam against the Philadelphia Phillies. About a month later, on July 4, Lewis hit another grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first player in San Francisco Giants history to hit two grand slams in his rookie season.[3]

On April 26, 2008, Lewis hit the 46th Splash Hit at AT&T Park.[4] On July 27, 2008, Lewis became the first left-handed batter to get four hits against Randy Johnson in a game.[5] In the first at-bat in this game, a fog horn went off as Johnson was releasing his pitch, causing him to throw an eephus which fell for a strike.[5][6] Lewis led the majors in steals of home in 2008 with 2, but was also caught twice while attempting to steal home.[7]

Toronto Blue Jays

On April 16, 2010, Lewis was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays.[8] Lewis had a somewhat successful stay with Toronto, batting first in the batting order on a regular basis with a .276 batting average.

On December 3, 2010, the Blue Jays declined to tender a contract to Lewis prior to the non-tender deadline, thereby making him a free agent.[9]

Cincinnati Reds

Lewis with the Cincinnati Reds in 2011

On January 10, 2011, it was announced that Lewis signed with the Cincinnati Reds to a 1-year $900,000 deal.[10] He elected free agency on October 27.

Cleveland Indians

Lewis signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 19, 2012, which included an invitation to the Indians' spring training camp. On April 2, Lewis was released by the Indians.

New York Mets

Lewis batting for the New York Mets in 2012

On April 25, 2012, Lewis signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets. On September 3, 2012, the Mets selected the contract of Lewis as rosters expanded in September. He posted a .150/.320/.150 in 25 plate appearances over 18 games and was then outrighted off the 40-man roster on October 16, 2012, and opted to become a free agent.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

On November 9, 2012, Lewis signed a one-year, $400,000 deal with a club option for 2014 with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball. The deal included a $150,000 signing bonus.[11]

Independent baseball

Lewis signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2014 season. He was then traded to the Bridgeport Bluefish. Lewis signed with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for the 2015 season.[12] He resigned with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on April 8, 2016.

Personal life

Lewis was named after Hurricane Frederic which hit his home state the year before he was born.[13]

He is a second cousin of Matt Lawton.[13]

In November 2001, Lewis was driving a truck in a storm on U.S. Route 49 in Mississippi when it hydroplaned and crashed into a ditch. Three passengers, two of them Lewis' cousins, died in the accident.[13]

Lewis' son, Kaleb, was born in 2002 or 2003.[14]

In 2019, Lewis opened a daiquiri shop in Gulfport, Mississippi.[15]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fred Lewis.

References

  1. ↑ Griffin, Richard (2010-04-20). "Jays' Lewis a true survivor". The Toronto Star.
  2. ↑ Nemac, David. (2007). "The Baseball Chronicle", p. 696. Publications International, Ltd, Lincolnwood, Illinois.
  3. ↑ Haft, Chris (2007-05-13). "Giants rookie Lewis hits for the cycle". MLB.com.
  4. ↑ "Giants Splash Hits". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 "A Brief History of the Eephus pitch". New York Times. 30 July 2008. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  6. ↑ "Randy Johnson Throws an Eephus Pitch". YouTube. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  7. ↑ "2008 Major League Baseball Baserunning/Misc". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  8. ↑ Sanchez, Jesse (2010-04-16). "Giants trade Lewis to Blue Jays". San Francisco Giants. Retrieved 2010-12-19.
  9. ↑ "Blue Jays decline contracts for Lewis, Accardo | bluejays.com: News". Archived from the original on 2010-12-05. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
  10. ↑ "Reds Sign Fred Lewis". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved 2019-05-16.
  11. ↑ "Hiroshima Carp sign Fred Lewis to a one-year deal with a club option for 2014". Yakyu Baka. November 9, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Bluefish Acquire MLB Veteran OF Fred Lewis". APBL. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  13. 1 2 3 Nelson, Amy K. "OTL: After The Storm". Outside the Lines. ESPN. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  14. ↑ Baggarly, Andrew (29 May 2007). "Giants' Rookie has style, aims for substance". The Mercury News. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  15. ↑ Fuentes, Andrés (June 13, 2021). "Former MLB player lives out dream with Gulfport business". WTOK-TV. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
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