David Eckstein Named Florida’s 2015 SEC Baseball Legend
Wednesday, May 6, 2015 | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Featuring former standouts from Southeastern Conference member institutions, the SEC Baseball Legends Presented by AT&T will once again be honored at the 2015 SEC Baseball Tournament May 19-24 at the Hoover Met in Hoover, Ala.
“The SEC Baseball Legends Presented by AT&T allows us to honor the deep tradition and history of baseball in our league,” said SEC Commissioner Mike Slive. “We are grateful to our friends at AT&T for helping to continue to make this program possible.”
The 2015 class features Andy Phillips, Alabama; David Eckstein, Florida; Mark Johnson, Texas A&M and Larry Schmittou, Vanderbilt.
Four legends are recognized each year, with representatives from Arkansas, Georgia, Auburn and Kentucky set to be honored in 2016.
The 2014 class featured Phil Garner, Tennessee; Jake Gibbs, Ole Miss; Jay Powell, Mississippi State and Bobby Richardson, South Carolina, while the 2013 class honored Hal Baird, Auburn; Terry Shumpert, Kentucky; Skip Bertman, LSU; and Gene McArtor, Missouri. The inaugural class in 2012 included: Dr. Jeffrey Laubenthal, Alabama; Kevin McReynolds, Arkansas; Brad Wilkerson, Florida and Rev. Reggie Andrews, Georgia.
“AT&T is proud to be the presenting sponsor of the SEC Baseball Legends program,” said Jamie Kerr, Director, AT&T Corporate Sponsorships. “We're happy to help honor these great coaches and former student-athletes for their feats on and off the field.”
Each legend will be recognized individually throughout the two quarterfinal matchups on Friday and will have on-field recognition and an awards presentation by Commissioner Slive on Saturday, May 23, during the semifinals of the SEC Tournament. Fans will have an opportunity for autographs and photos with the honorees at the AT&T Legends Pavilion immediately following. The Legends will also participate in the annual SEC Youth Clinic on Friday morning.
While attending Florida, Eckstein became the only two-time Academic All-American in Gator baseball history (1996, 1997) and earned first-team All-America recognition in 1996 and third-team honors in 1997 from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA). A two-time All-Southeastern Conference selection (1995, 1996) and three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll (1995-97) recipient, he finished his career among the UF career top 10 in 11 categories.
Eckstein was a key component of the 1996 Florida squad that captured the SEC's Eastern Division and regular-season titles on its way to the NCAA East Regional championship and a berth at the NCAA College World Series, where the Gators finished third. He sported a .338 batting average that year with 60 RBI and nine home runs and set single-season school records for hits (102, since broken) and at bats (302, still stands). Eckstein hit for the cycle against Georgia State on Feb. 10, the first UF player to turn the trick since 1984, and also tied the previous high-water mark of nine RBI in that outing. He established a school record with four doubles versus Bethune-Cookman on April 10 and swiped four bases in a 12-9 victory over NC State during the East Regional.
Over his four years donning the Orange and Blue, Eckstein played in 199 games and made 190 starts. His career average was .340 and he still ranks among the top 10 in fielding assists (675, first), double plays (142, tied for third), hits (276, fourth), stolen bases (93, second), hit by pitches (41, third), runs scored (222, third), doubles (51, tied for sixth) at bats (812, tied for eighth), total bases (412, ninth), and triples (8, tied for 10th). In addition, he led off the first inning with a homer eight times in his collegiate career. The Gators made three NCAA Tournament appearances during Eckstein's tenure.
Eckstein enjoyed a 10-year Major League career and was the Most Valuable Player of the 2006 World Series after helping the St. Louis Cardinals to a five-game triumph over the Detroit Tigers. He also won a title in 2002 as a member of the Anaheim Angels and played for the Angels (2001-04), Cardinals (2005-07), Toronto Blue Jays (2008), Arizona Diamondbacks (2008) and San Diego Padres (2009-10).
No. 9 Florida (36-13/15-9 SEC) heads to Nashville for a three-game series against league leader No. 8 Vanderbilt (35-14/17-7 SEC) that starts on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. from Hawkins Field. The game can be heard on the Gator IMG Sports Network with Jeff Cardozo and Steve Russell and will be carried on ESPNU with Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson, as well as through participating TV providers on WatchESPN.
