Lance Berkman named 2002 Graduate of the Year
⋅ NBC
Following in the path of those NBC Graduates of the Year who’ve come before him, Lance Berkman took a successful national tournament performance and turned it into a promising professional career.
He is definitely a player on the rise. After hitting .331 in 2001 with 34 home runs and 126 RBI in 577 at-bats, Berkman looks to have a chance at bettering his numbers through the second half of the 2002 season.
Berkman, who has represented the Houston Astros the past two years at the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, played first base for the Hays Larks in the 1995 NBC World Series.
Born William Lance Berkman on Feb. 10, 1976, in Waco, Texas, he finished the 2001 season among the league leaders in 13 categories and was voted the Houston Astros Most Valuable Player by the Houston
Chapter of the Baseball Writer’s Association of America. Berkman also finished fifth in the National League MVP voting in 2001 and became the first switch hitter in Major League history (13th all-time) to have 50 doubles and 30 home runs in a single season.
At 26, Berkman is beginning to blossom as a power-hitter in the National League. Many long time NBC fans will remember the dramatic home runs Berkman hit in the 1995 NBC World Series, when the Larks finished second only to Team USA.
Berkman took on the persona of a man pos-sessed. Each time he came to the plate with men on base his teammates expected him to hit a home run. Despite this added pressure, Berkman hit over .300 with 12 homers and 56 RBI in his one summer with the Larks. Because of his outstanding performance, Berkman was rewarded with the MVP trophy and the immediate attention of the professional scouts in attendance. Following his stellar performance in the NBC World Series, Berkman went on to lead the nation in home runs with 41 while a junior at Rice University in 1997. That same year he was named the College Baseball Player of the Year by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. He was subsequently picked by the Astros in the first round of the amateur draft.
Berkman played first base with the Larks, but was moved to the outfield once he began playing in the minor leagues. In 1999, he was selected to play in the Futures Game, a showcase of the top prospects in all of Minor League baseball.
Now the starting center fielder for the Astros, Berkman recently made his second All-Star appearance. He is very involved with the Houston community. He sponsors “Berkman’s Bunch,” an organization that allows him to provide game tickets and promotional items to under-privileged youth in the Houston area. He also schedules personal visits with the youth
