Carlos Lee

Lore & Background

Lee was traded to the Miami Marlins on July 4, 2012, for minor leaguers Matt Dominguez and Rob Rasmussen. He played his first game as a Marlin the next day against the Milwaukee Brewers, going 2-for-4 with a run in a win. He hit his first home run as a Marlin, a grand slam, on July 17 against the Chicago Cubs. In 81 games for the Marlins, he hit .243 with 4 home runs in 338 plate appearances.

In Their Own Story

The March air in Miami hangs thick and warm, the kind that makes the grass at Marlins Park glisten like it's been oiled. Lee is already in the cage, bare-handed, just a plastic tee and a dozen balls. The sound is different here — closer, wetter, the crack of the bat echoing off the concrete walls of the dugout. A young infielder watches from the railing, trying to read the angle of Lee's hips. Lee doesn't look up. He adjusts his grip, takes one more swing, and the ball rockets out over the chain-link fence into the parking lot. He walks over, retrieves it, and tosses it back. "Same thing tomorrow," he says, not unkindly. The sun is already climbing over the water, turning the outfield wall to gold. Another day in the grind, another day the hammer comes out.

Reader's Guide

Lee's Marlins tenure occurred in the 2012 season, not the mid-2010s. He was 36 years old at the time of the trade. He had previously played for the White Sox (American League) and the Brewers, Rangers, and Astros (National League, though the Rangers are an AL team). He was not drafted by Houston; he debuted with the White Sox in 1999.

Did You Know?

• Lee hit a grand slam as his first home run with the Marlins.
• He had 17 career grand slams, tied for seventh in MLB history with Jimmie Foxx and Ted Williams.
• His seven grand slams with the Astros is a club record he shares with Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman.