Troy Tulowitzki

Troy Trevor Tulowitzki (born on October 10, 1984, in Santa Clara, California), nicknamed "Tulo," is a Major League Baseball shortstop for the Colorado Rockies.

Tulowitzki's arm, range and instincts at shortstop are highly regarded. Furthermore, his size, ability and leadership skills have garnered him comparisons to Cal Ripken, Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter.

Tulowitzki graduated from Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, California. He earned four varsity letters in baseball and two in basketball. He was twice named second team All-State in baseball and was a 3-time team MVP. As a junior, Tulowitzki had a batting average of .536. He also went 15-1 on the mound. As a senior, he batted .519 with 24 home runs. In basketball, Tulowitzki won league MVP, where he was second team All-State and team MVP, averaging 22.6 points per game during his senior year. He was named Fremont High Athlete of the Year in 2002.

College Career

Long Beach State

A sure-handed starting shortstop for three seasons at Long Beach State, Tulowitzki had a .962 career fielding percentage. Offensively, in 155 career games, he had a career batting average of .310, with 20 career homers, 117 career RBI, 37 career doubles and a .491 career slugging percentage. He also accumulated 31 multi-hit games in his collegiate career. Baseball America rated him as having the top arm and as the best defensive shortstop in the Big West Conference. Tulowitzki was a two-time All-Big West selection (second team in 2003 and first team in 2004) and a two-time All-Regional Tournament selection, earning Most Outstanding Player (MOP) honors in 2004. He was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, with the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft.


MLB

2006 Season

Tulowitzki made his Major League Baseball debut with the Colorado Rockies on August 30, 2006, in an 11-3 home loss against the New York Mets. He had four at-bats and went hitless with three strikeouts. Tulowitzki made it to the big leagues after playing just 126 minor league games. He collected his first Major League hit, an infield single off of Óliver Pérez of the Mets, in a 8-4 home win over New York on August 31, 2006. Tulowitzki hit his first MLB home run on September 4, 2006, off of Woody Williams of the San Diego Padres, in a 7-5 road loss against San Diego. He posted a .240 batting average with one home run and six RBI in 25 games during the 2006 season.


2008 Season

On January 23, 2008, Tulowitzki signed a six-year, $31-million contract extension with the Rockies. The deal, which also included a club option for 2014, was the largest-ever contract for a player with less than two years experience until Braun signed an eight-year, $45-million contract extension with the Brewers on May 15, 2008.

On April 29, 2008, in a 3-2 road win over the San Francisco Giants, Tulowitzki tore a left quadriceps tendon during a defensive play in the first inning of the game. He wasn't originally in the starting lineup for the game; however, he was later put in at the last minute after utility player Jeff Baker broke a blood vessel in his throwing hand during pregame warmups. On June 11, Tulowitzki played his first rehab game since the injury, as he started at shortstop in a minor league game for the Modesto Nuts - a high-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. He returned to the Rockies, starting at shortstop, on June 20, in a 7-2 home loss against the New York Mets. Tulowitzki went hitless in four at-bats and committed no fielding errors in the game. Colorado optioned second baseman Doug Bernier (who made his MLB debut with the team on June 17) to Triple-A before the game in order to open a roster spot for Tulowitzki.

On July 5, 2008, Tulowitzki went back on the disabled list after cutting his right palm in the previous day's 18-17 home win over the Florida Marlins. The injury occurred in the bottom of the seventh inning when Tulowitzki slammed a maple bat into the ground in frustration. The incident took place after he was taken out of the game in that same inning; however, he noted that the frustration leading up to his injury wasn't due to being taken out, saying, "I was a little bit frustrated, not at the move. If anything, I thought it was the right move. I came in the hallway, grabbed a bat, hit it on the ground and the bat exploded in my hand and cut open my palm running up to my index finger." The cut required 16 stitches, but no damage was done to any tendons or nerves. Tulowitzki returned to the Rockies lineup, starting at shortstop, on July 21, 2008, in a 16-10 home loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He recorded a career-high five hits during the game, as he went 5-for-5 with one RBI. Also since returning from July 21st he has had 6 multi-hit games in his past 8 games (updated through July 29th). During the season in games prior to July 21st, Tulowitzki only had six multi-hit games in the whole season (38 games played, prior to July 21st). Tulowitzki ended the 2008 season with a .263 AVG, 8 home runs and 46 RBIs in 101 games.


2009 Season

On August 10, 2009, Tulowitzki hit for the cycle, as part of an 11-5 home win over the Chicago Cubs. He also had a career-high seven RBI, which was tied for the third-most RBI in MLB history in a game for a player who hit for the cycle. Tulowitzki became the fifth Rockies player to hit for the cycle and the second player in MLB history to hit for the cycle and record an unassisted triple play during a career.

Tulowitzki's favorite players growing up were Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Jeter. Tulowitzki's jersey number in college was No. 5, due to his admiration of Garciaparra, and his jersey number for the Rockies is No. 2, due to his admiration of Jeter.

In a television interview with ESPN, Tulowitzki stated that his favorite team growing up was the Oakland Athletics, and that his favorite musical artist is Jay-Z.