In an era where it has become increasingly difficult for a player to spend an entire career with one team, Andre Ethier is an exception, spending all 12 of his Major League seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Originally drafted by the Oakland Athletics, Ethier was traded to the Dodgers in December 2005 and he would make his MLB debut with the team the following year. The two-time All-Star was part of eight playoff teams, won Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards, and finished his career batting .285/.359/.463 while having appeared in 1,455 games.
During his playing career, Ethier proved to be a clutch hitter and made for several highlights.
Now almost five years removed from last playing, Ethier reflected on some of his career accomplishments and cited his first home run — which came against the San Diego Padres — as his favorite, via SportsNet LA:
“I’m not going to say there’s so many. There were a lot, but not that many. Someone sent me a video of the first one I hit at Dodger Stadium, and I can remember that. I can’t remember a lot of hits from early on in my career, but I do remember that home run. The night before was my Major League debut in Arizona, and what an unbelievable moment to have in front of my family and the city I grew up in.
“And then next night, back at home in L.A. for the first time, getting introduced to the home crowd, and to have a home run in that game was the big, deep breath I was allowed to have and be like, ‘Wow. OK, now I’ve officially made it. I had my first hit the night before, now my first home run. Welcome to the big leagues, welcome to the Dodgers.’ I can honestly say sitting here, I never looked back. Twelve years later, kept that uniform on and stayed in that same position.”
One day after tallying his first career hit in his MLB debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, Ethier was in the Dodgers’ lineup for their series opener against the Padres on May 3, 2006, batting seventh and playing left field.
He went 1-for-3 with a walk in the contest, homering off Dewon Brazelton with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. San Diego hung on for an 11-5 victory, but the moment was special for Ethier and one that he will never forget.
Ethier misses Dodger Stadium outfield & seeing Dodgers fans
Also in his interview with SportsNet LA, Ethier revealed that one of the things he misses most from his playing days is standing in the Dodger Stadium outfield and seeing the thousands of Dodgers fans around him.
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