Andre Ethier was born on April 10, 1982, in Phoenix, Ariz. He was part of a baseball family, as his grandfather played in the Minors while his father played collegiately for Yavapai College.
After a stellar high school career, Ethier was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 37th round of the 2001 MLB Draft. He did not sign and decided to enroll at Arizona State University with the intention of playing baseball for the Sun Devils.
At the end of his rookie year, Ethier transferred to Chandler-Gilbert Community College from the advice of the Sun Devils coaching staff.
Taking advantage of his increased opportunities, Ethier thrived against the lower competition and eventually returned to ASU for his junior year. In between stops, Ethier played with the Keene Swamp Bats in the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Ethier’s second stint with the Sun Devils proved to be much more successful, as he finished his junior campaign in the midst of a 23-game hitting streak en route to Pacific-10 Conference All-Star honors.
Ethier opted to forego his senior season with the hope of turning pro. He was again selected by the Athletics — this time in the second round of the 2003 MLB Draft.
Minor League career
Ethier split the 2003 season with the Athletics’ Low-A and Single-A affiliates. He hit a solid .296/.373/.389 between the two teams with 16 extra-base hits and 18 RBI in 50 games.
Ethier was promoted to High-A Modesto in 2004 before climbing up the ladder to Double-A and Triple-A during the 2005 season. He ended the year with a brief stint in the Arizona Fall League, appearing in 23 games for the Phoenix Desert Dogs.
On Dec. 13, 2005, the Athletics traded Ethier to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Milton Bradley and Antonio Perez.
Dodgers career
Having never appeared in a Major League game with the Athletics, Ethier was given a fresh opportunity in L.A. He appeared in 126 games during the 2006 season, hitting an impressive .308/.365/.477 with 11 home runs and 55 RBI over 441 plate appearances.
Ethier finished fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting and looked to avoid a sophomore slump the following season. He managed to do so, posting an .802 on-base plus slugging with 32 doubles, 13 home runs and 64 RBI in 153 games.
Ethier finished the decade with a bang, recording a 132 OPS+ in both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The latter saw him set career-highs with 31 home runs and 106 RBI en route to a sixth place finish in NL MVP voting and his first Silver Slugger Award.
After years of falling under the radar, Ethier was finally recognized with back-to-back All-Star appearances during the 2010-11 seasons. He also earned his first career Gold Glove Award in 2011 after not committing an error in 1,091.1 defensive innings.
Ethier continued producing at an above Major League-average level in 2012-13, but saw his numbers drop across the board during the 2014 season. In 130 games that year, he managed to hit only four home runs across 341 at-bats.
Ethier enjoyed a resurgent 2015 campaign, posting the best OPS+ of his career (137) with 20 doubles, seven triples, 14 home runs and 53 RBI in 445 plate appearances.
Injuries limited Ethier to a combined 38 games during the 2016 and 2017 seasons. He was able to make it back for the Dodgers’ postseason run in 2017, earning spots on all three of the club’s rosters.
Ethier collected four hits in 15 at-bats across the three series, including two in the Dodgers’ matchup against the Houston Astros in the Fall Classic.
Ethier’s final Major League at-bat took place in the sixth inning of Game 7, when he drove in the Dodgers’ lone run of the game with an RBI single.
Though Ethier intended on continuing his career in 2018, he never received a worthwhile contract offer in free agency and formally announced his retirement later that summer.
Ethier retired with a Dodgers franchise record of 51 postseason games played, though that was broken by Yasiel Puig as he reached 58 in 2018.
The Dodgers honored Ethier with a pregame ceremony before their contest against the Astros on Aug. 3, 2018.
