| Cesar David Izturis (IS-turis)...he
and his wife, Liliana Parra have one son, Cesar Daniel (11/11/99)...his
younger brother, Maicer, is an infielder in the Giants' organization...participated
in the Dodgers' Dash for Hunger Awareness on June 1, 2005 at the
Albertsons in Tujunga, helping to raise $25,000 for the L.A. Regional
Food Bank...signed by Toronto scouts Emilio Carrasquel and Mike
Russell as a free agent on July 3, 1996.
2006 Highlights:
Izturis was acquired from the Dodgers on July 31 for Greg Maddux.
He batted .252 with a home run and 12 RBIs in 32 games for the
Dodgers, and hit .233 in 22 games for the Cubs. He had to be shut
down at the end of the season because of a strained right hamstring.
He did reach base safely in 12 of his final 17 games in which
he had an at-bat.
2005 Highlights:
Was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time
in his career ... Had his season cut short after being diagnosed
with degenerative arthritis in his right elbow, which required
season-ending Tommy John surgery on Sept. 16...the procedure was
performed by Dr. Frank Jobe and and Dr. Ralph Gambardella ...
Had the highest hit total of any Dodger through the month of May
since 1969 according to STATS, Inc., as he compiled 75 hits in
the season's first two months, three more than Willie Davis (72
in 1971) Joined teammate Jeff Kent as the seventh Dodger All-Star
double play combo, joining Davey Lopes and Bill Russell (1980),
Jim Lefebvre and Maury Wills (1966), Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee
Reese (1949-52), Reese and Eddie Stanky (1947), Reese and Billy
Herman (1942) and Pete Coscarart and Leo Durocher (1940) ... His
selection to the All-Star team was the first by a Dodger shortstop
since Jose Offerman in 1995 ... On May 4, played in his 473rd
game at shortstop for the Dodgers, passing Alfredo Griffi n for
fourth place on the all-time L.A. Dodger list...will begin 2006
13 games behind Offerman (571) for third place ... Had two stints
on the disabled list causing him to miss 48 games: June 30-July
15 (strained right hamstring) and Aug. 23 - end of the season
(sprained lower back and right elbow surgery) ... Finished the
season with a .257 average in 106 games...that was his lowest
total of games played since his rookie season in 2001 ... Batted
.303 (33-for-109) as a right-handed hitter...hit .302 (38-for-126)
during day games ... Hit his first career leadoff homer on April
5 at San Francisco, marking the first time a Dodger did so on
Opening Day since Steve Sax (April 4, 1988)...batted leadoff in
95 games and started in the No. 2 spot in the order 10 times ...
At the time of his first injury, ranked fourth in the National
League with 28 multi-hit games, including two or more hits in
six of the first seven games of the year...was tied for the league
lead in that category as late as June 20 ... As late as June 3,
led the Major Leagues with 77 hits and 28 multi-hit games while
ranking fourth in the NL with a .339 batting average ... Finished
second on the Dodgers with 35 multi-hit games ... Registered his
500th career hit on April 26 vs. Arizona off Javier Vazquez ...
Tied his career high with five hits on May 17 vs. Florida, giving
him a Major League-leading 20 multi-hit games and raising his
average to .339 for the season...the five hits equaled a Dodger
season-high ... Upon first release of NL All-Star balloting results,
was ranked sixth among shortstops but quickly catapulted into
first place for most of the voting process before finishing second
overall at shortstop with 1,659,010 votes ... Was the center of
an international campaign in the U.S. and in his native Venezuela,
where he was featured in nearly every major newspaper in that
country during the voting period ... Had a season-high 10-game
hitting streak from April 18-27, during which he hit .346 (16-for-46)
... On July 28 vs. Cincinnati, hit his second career leadoff home
run, snapping an 83-game homerless streak for him ... Tied for
second place in the National League in hits (34) in April, ranked
second in the Major Leagues in hits (41) in May ... At the time
of his season-ending injury, ranked sixth in the NL having missed
on just 8.8 percent of his swings...at that time, also ranked
seventh in the league in percentage of swings put into play (54.4)
... Batted .343 (24-for-70) in close and late situations (those
that take place in a tied or one-run game in the seventh inning
or later)...had 17 hits in his first 28 close and late situations
(.607) to lead the Major Leagues at the time ... The defending
Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner posted a .977 fielding percentage,
committing 11 errors on the season. |
