Dexter Fowler
Born: March 22, 1986
Birthplace: Atlanta, GA
Zodiac Sign: Aries
William Dexter Fowler is an American professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, and Chicago Cubs. He represented the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics as a member of the United States national baseball team.
Fowler was born in Atlanta, and attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia. At Milton, Fowler hit .457 with 14 home runs in 105 at-bats. Fowler rejected offers from Harvard and the University of Miami in order to play major league baseball, after having originally committed to Miami. Before signing with the Rockies, Fowler was exclusively a right-handed hitter.
As a minor leaguer during the 2008 season, Fowler was selected to represent the United States in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. He and the U.S. team ended up winning the bronze medal in the Olympics by defeating Japan, 8-4, in the bronze medal game.
Fowler was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 14th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. In 2008, he was selected by Major League Baseball to play in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium.
On December 3, 2013, Fowler was traded, along with a player to be named later to the Houston Astros for outfielder Brandon Barnes and pitcher Jordan Lyles. The Rockies eventually sent cash to the Astros to complete the deal instead of the player to be named later. He hit .276 in 116 games for the Astros during the 2014 season.
Chicago Cubs
On January 19, 2015, Fowler was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily. He ended the 2015 season with a .250 average with 102 runs scored, 46 RBIs, 17 HRs, and 20 stolen bases. In the 2015 National League wild card game, Fowler helped the Cubs to a 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates with three hits, three runs scored, one RBI, a home run, and a stolen base.
With the Cubs finishing the 2015 season with a 97-65 record, the team entered the postseason for the first time after 7 years. In 9 postseason games, Fowler batted .396 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. In Game 4 of the 2015 NLCS against the New York Mets, he was the final batter to strike out looking as the Cubs were eliminated from the postseason.
Fowler signed a one-year contract with the Cubs that included a mutual option for the 2017 season on February 25, 2016, despite reportedly agreeing to a three-year contract with the Baltimore Orioles earlier that week. The Orioles claimed that Fowler's insistence on an opt-out clause after one year was the holdup on the deal and that they were blind sided when he signed with the Cubs. Fowler on the other hand insisted he never had agreed to a deal with the Orioles and he and his agent blamed the team and the media for leaking incorrect information.
Fowler earned his first career MLB ejection for arguing a strike three call by umpire Vic Carapazza on May 5, 2016. Fowler was selected to his first All Star game in 2016 representing the Cubs along with six other teammates.
Fowler finished the year batting with a .276 average hitting 13 home runs and 48 RBIs and 84 runs scored. He swung at only 19.4% of pitches outside the strike zone (the lowest percentage in the majors).
On October 25, 2016, Dexter Fowler along with teammates Jason Heyward, Addison Russell, and Carl Edwards Jr. became the first African-Americans to play for the Cubs in a World Series game. Additionally, Fowler was the first African-American to appear and to bat for the Cubs in a World Series. Fowler is the first African-American to start for the Cubs in a World Series.
Fowler led off Game 7 of the World Series with a home run, becoming the first player in history to lead off a World Series Game 7 with a home run. The Cubs won the game 8–7 in 10 innings, giving the team their first championship in 108 years. On November 5, Fowler declined his mutual option for the 2017 season and became a free agent.
On December 9, 2016, Fowler and the St. Louis Cardinals agreed to a five-year, $82.5 million deal. He hit his first home-run and RBI as a Cardinal against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Gerrit Cole on April 19, 2017. Fowler finished his first season in St. Louis with a .264 batting average, 18 home runs, and 64 RBIs in 118 games. Source.