Chris Dickerson

#21 / Left Field / Cincinnati Reds

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Bats: L

Throws: L

Born: Apr 10, 1982

Fast Facts:

• Chris Dickerson was born in Hollywood, California and attended Notre Dame High School where he was teammates with current Cardinals IF/OF Brendan Ryan.  Other notable alumni include current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen, phormer GM Pat Gillick, Pitt basketball coach Jamie Dixon, a bevvy of young actresses like Rachel Bilsson, Kirsten Dunst, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Staci Keenan, as well as two members of Jane's Addiction (Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins), and Jerry Mathers as the Beaver!
  
• Dickerson was drafted out of high school in the 32nd round by the New York Yankees but did not sign.  Instead he went on the University of Nevada.  He was teammates there with the Padres Kevin Kouzmanoff and Yankees pitcher Darrell Rasner.  Other notable alumns include former Red Corky Miller and former Reds-killer Lyle Overbay.
  
• He had a fine college career, showing a strong propensity for getting on base and even a small amount of power.  He was named to the Western Athletic Conference All Star team in 2001, as a freshman.
• His college success helped him get drafted again, this time in the 16th round of the 2003 draft by the Reds.
  

• Dickerson played in Billings in 2003 and showed the two signs that would epitomize his minor league career - a good ability to get on base and a struggle to make contact.
  
• He spent the next 5 years working his way up through the minors, getting on base frequently and striking out just as much.  He was never presented as an overwhelming prospect, but he did make the Midwest League All Star team in 2004 and was the Florida State League All Star Game MVP in 2005.
  
• He hit for the cycle in Louisville on July 26, 2007, getting the double with two outs in the 9th.  At this point Red Reporters started anticipating a potential call up in September.  But for reasons unknown to us all, it didn't happen.
  
• Despite not making the team out of Spring Training in 2008, Dusty fell into some serious like with Dickerson, which boded well for his future opportunities with the team.
  
• He finally made his MLB debut on August 12, 2008 after Adam Dunn was traded to the Diamondbacks.  He led off the game with a walk and then let HAVOC take over.  Dickerson stole 2nd and advanced to 3rd on a throwing error.  Red Reporters were impressed, to say the least.  He eventually scored on a home run by Brandon Phillips.  Small ball wins the day again!
  
• Dickerson was white hot (that's racist!) right out of the gate and put up an impressive .304/.413/.608 in 31 big league games.  It prompted people to register with Red Reporter just to question the veracity of his existence.
  
• His season was cut short by a stress fracture in his heel that required surgery.  This didn't help his manager feel confident about using him as a starter everyday this season:
  

  "I like what I see in Dickerson but you look at his track record with injuries . . . that what makes you apprehensive. He's had four operations on one knee, two on the other, his shoulder and ankle. I like what I see but he's got to stay healthy."

• Even with these concerns, Dickerson looks like a good bet to make the roster out of Spring Training and potentially get some regular starts in LF.
  
• Chris is a cousin of Hall of Fame Running Back Eric Dickerson.
  
• He has taken a serious role in promoting green living within the sports world with the site We Play Green that he started with Jack Cassell of the Cleveland Indians.  This is what Dickerson has to say about why he started the site:
  
  

  "I feel like I am at that point in my life where it is time to do something positive, not for myself, not for a select group of people but rather try my hand at the global community. This isn’t the result of an overnight epiphany of self guilt as to where I am in my life and what good I have done for the world as of late but I feel like this should be a general concern for all of us. If I can help kick start this movement on a small scale, I am optimistic that these concerns can be turned into everyday public action. I want to be the one to step up to the plate and make the issue of Global Warming a concern that doesn’t just reside in the back of our minds, but it is brought to the forefront of our reality. Although everyone is aware, I feel there needs to be a sense of urgency among all Americans. This is not only something that affects us, but will be felt by generations and generations to come."

  The site has already received lots of press and now has 36 athletes signed up to help do their part to increase environmental awareness.
  
• He's been doing a series of videos from Spring Training for USA Today this year.  Here he checks out some of the action from the beaches: