A Gold Glover, a Silver Slugger, an All-Star, a former top ten third basemen, and an injury-prone stud. These characteristics all describe the 34 year old Eric Chavez. In 1996, the Oakland Athletics used their number tenth overall pick in the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft to take the third basemen from Mount Carmel High School in San Diego, California. The Athletics were hoping Chavez would turn into their future every day starting third basemen. Not long after he became just that. On September 8th, 1998, a star was born. Eric made his Major League debut against the Baltimore Orioles pinch-hitting and striking out. He only appeared in 16 games that season hitting .311 with a triple. From 2000 to 2005, Chavez hit a consistent .270 to .280. His offensive production started to decline in 2006 and even more in 2007. In 2004, the A's signed Chavez to a 6 year, $66 million contract. Through his ten seasons with Oakland he posted a .266 average with 227 home runs and 762 runs batted in.
2008 was a tough year for Chavez and the A's. Chavez began the year on the disabled list with back problems. Oakland really struggled without him and on May 29th, Eric was activated from the DL. A little more than a month later, Chavez was put back onto the DL, only this time it being right shoulder inflammation. The A's finished 75-86 and 24 and a half games back of the Angels.
Then, in 2009, Chavez was placed on the DL again with back pains. This time however, he did not come back, and was forced to miss the rest of the year. The Athletics again struggled without a key contributor and finished one game worse than they did the previous year.
Battling these injuries, Chavez was not the same player in 2010 and the Athletics let him walk as he became a free agent. At 32 years old, the New York Yankees took a flyer on Chavez signing him to a minor league contract and an invitation to spring training. The Yankees signed him to a Major League contract in late March and he made the team after spring training. He impressed manager Joe Girardi and teammates. However, on May 5th, he broke a bone in his foot rounding second base. He would again be sidelined being placed on the DL. He would return on July 26th. Eric batted .263 in 58 games for the Yankees that year. The Yankees felt that he was a good compliment to Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez at first and third base. They decided to re-sign Chavez for one more season after the 2011 season.
This season in 2012, Chavez has been a huge help for the Yankees coming off the bench and having spot starts filling in for Tex and A-Rod. He did spend seven days on the DL with a concussion but for the first time in a long time, Eric Chavez has been healthy and productive. On July 24th of this year, Alex Rodriguez broke his hand after being hit by a pitch and was placed on the DL. He is expected to miss six to eight weeks. During his time on the DL, Eric Chavez has been more than a fill in for the Yankees. He has been a force and is helping the Yankees keep their division lead over Baltimore. Chavez stepped into the starting lineup and has caught fire, especially of late. He is batting .284 with 11 home runs and 28 RBI's. In 94 games, Alex was batting .276 with 15 homers and 44 RBI's. Not only has Chavez helped the Yankees offensively, he has made them better defensively.
Lately, Chavez has been the Yankees best hitter. Eric has at least two hit in five of his last seven games. He has also hit three home runs over that span. Against Detroit in this last series, he went 9-for-16. That is a remarkable .563. Today, he propelled the Yankees to a victory hitting back-to-back home runs with Mark Teixeira in the eighth inning. That home run by Chavez is the first home run by a Yankees third basemen since 2009. That stat shows how much Alex Rodriguez has shown up in the clutch. If A-Rod was in today's game, would the Yankees have won? That is a question no one will ever know. But what we do know is that Eric Chavez has had a resurgence and is playing like its 2001. He is one of the big reasons why the Yankees have been winning and if he can stay healthy I would not be surprised if he gets a lot of playing time. He will be a major factor the rest of this season and in the playoffs. Eric Chavez is back ladies and gentlemen and teams will have to start being careful when pitching to him.
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