Dexter Fowler

William Dexter Fowler, born March 22, 1986, in Atlanta, Georgia, is a former Major League Baseball center fielder who spent 14 seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Angels. He won a bronze medal with the U.S. national team at the 2008 Summer Olympics and a World Series title with the Cubs in 2016. Over the 2010s, he led all MLB players with 72 triples.

Fowler attended Milton High School in Milton, Georgia, where he batted .457 with 14 home runs in 105 at-bats. He turned down offers from Harvard and the University of Miami—having initially committed to Miami—to pursue professional baseball. Before signing with the Rockies, he was exclusively a right-handed hitter.

While a minor leaguer in 2008, Fowler was chosen for the U.S. Olympic team, which defeated Japan 8–4 to claim bronze in Beijing. That same year, he played in the All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium. He was hitting .337 with nine home runs, 61 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers before the Olympics.

The Rockies drafted Fowler in the 14th round of the 2004 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut on September 2, 2008, as a pinch runner in a 6–5 extra-inning win over the San Francisco Giants, though he was picked off first base. His first at-bat came the next day, a flyout to right field. He recorded his first hit—an infield single off Will Ohman—on September 10, 2008, in a 9–5 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

On April 8, 2009, Fowler hit his first career home run on the first pitch of a game against Doug Davis of the Arizona Diamondbacks, becoming the first Rockies player to lead off a game with a homer. On April 27, 2009, he tied a modern-day rookie record by stealing five bases in a 12–7 win over the San Diego Padres. In 2010, he led the majors with 14 triples, finishing with six home runs, 36 RBIs, 73 runs, and 114 hits in 439 at-bats. In 2011, he ranked third in the National League with 15 triples, adding five homers, 45 RBIs, 84 runs, and 128 hits in 481 at-bats. The 2012 season saw career highs: 13 home runs, 53 RBIs, and a .300 average in 454 at-bats, though his home OPS (.880) far exceeded his road OPS (.694).

On December 3, 2013, the Rockies traded Fowler and cash to the Houston Astros for outfielder Brandon Barnes and pitcher Jordan Lyles. He hit .276 in 116 games for Houston in 2014. On January 19, 2015, the Astros sent him to the Chicago Cubs for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily. That season, he batted .250 with 102 runs, 46 RBIs, 17 home runs, and 20 stolen bases. In the 2015 NL wild card game, he collected three hits, three runs, one RBI, one homer, and a steal in a 4–0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Over nine postseason games, he hit .396 with two homers and three RBIs; in Game 4 of the NLCS, he struck out looking as the Cubs were eliminated by the New York Mets.

After reportedly agreeing to a three-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles, Fowler signed a one-year contract with the Cubs on February 25, 2016, with a mutual option for 2017. The Orioles claimed Fowler’s demand for an opt-out clause after one year derailed the deal; Fowler denied ever agreeing to terms, blaming the team and media for misinformation. On May 5, 2016, he earned his first career ejection for arguing a strike-three call by umpire Vic Carapazza. He was selected to his first All-Star Game that year, one of seven Cubs representatives. He finished 2016 with a .276 average, 13 home runs, 48 RBIs, and 84 runs, while swinging at only 19.4% of pitches outside the strike zone—the lowest rate in the majors.

On October 25, 2016, 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; Fowler was the first to appear and bat, and the first to start. In Game 7, he led off with a home run, the first player ever to lead off a World Series Game 7 with a homer.