Professional career Andy Dirks

1 professional career

1.1 detroit tigers

1.1.1 minor leagues
1.1.2 2011 season
1.1.3 2012 season
1.1.4 2013 season
1.1.5 2014 season


1.2 toronto blue jays

professional career
detroit tigers
minor leagues

dirks drafted tigers in eighth round of 2008 major league baseball draft. joined west michigan whitecaps, injured june 24 september 3 because of broken right hand. in august, had rehab stint gulf coast league tigers, appearing in ten games , posting .412 batting average. dirks played in 3 games west michigan. got 1 hit in ten at–bats, resulting in batting average of .100.

dirks began 2009 season lakeland flying tigers. recognized florida state league s player of week period of may 4–10, in recognition of .714 batting average , 7 rbi in league during stretch. promoted erie seawolves (detroit s aa affiliate , member of eastern league) on may 8 , played them rest of year. dirks did not play august 18–27 because had suffered sprained left wrist.

dirks started 2010 erie , performance there led him being honored eastern league all–star. on august 3, promoted triple-a toledo mud hens of international league. right hamstring strain kept dirks out of action august 20–30 , finished year having appeared in 98 games erie , 22 toledo. member of 2010 seawolves, batted .278 11 home runs, 46 runs batted in, , 19 stolen bases. additionally, 16 outfield assists player in eastern league. during shorter stint mud hens, dirks put .375 batting average, knocked 4 homers , plated 17 runners.

at end of 2010 season, dirks received detroit tigers minor league player of year award. appeared in 46 games member of toros del este, team in dominican winter league. batted .315 este , 7 triples in league.

dirks began 2011 season member of toledo team. performance there earned him honor of international league player of week period of april 25 – may 1, had .433 average , drove in 5 runs during span. named top minor league player in tigers organization month of april, month in hit 6 home runs, credited 24 runs batted in, , had batting average of .330 on span of 24 contests.

2011 season

dirk slides home plate during game against baltimore orioles on august 12, 2011.

dirks called majors first time on may 13, 2011. made debut on may 16, 2011 going 1-for-2 walk during game against toronto blue jays. hit first major league home run on may 23, 2011 @ comerica park against tampa bay rays , pitcher jeremy hellickson.

dirks set career best four–hit performance against baltimore orioles on august 12. 4 runs drove in on september 4 against chicago white sox in young career. sent down mud hens on august 19. after hitting .308 in brief stint toledo, dirks brought major league roster on september 1. overall, batted .325 in 41 games mud hens , .251 in 78 appearances tigers during 2011 season. homered 7 times , drove in 28 runners during time tigers. on defensive side, dirks played left field detroit in 38 games, right field in 22 games , center field in 16 games.

the tigers made playoffs division champions in 2011 , advanced american league championship series (alcs), faced texas rangers. while in right field during eleventh inning of game 2 of alcs, dirks unable catch fly ball off bat of adrián beltré, ball deflected off of dirks s glove. not charged error on play, rangers did go on score winning runs later in inning. rangers win series in 6 games.

dirks again played este in dominican winter league following season. in 16 games, batted .262. este did not make playoffs, dirks joined leones del escogido dominican winter league postseason. performance leones, included 2 game–winning base hits, helped them win both winter league championship , caribbean series. result of heroics, dirks become of celebrity in dominican republic.

2012 season

to begin 2012 season, dirks on opening roster tigers first time in career. however, in june, put on disabled list due right achilles tendinitis. dirks did not return major leagues until called on august 3. finished season .322 average, 8 home runs , 35 runs batted in 88 appearances tigers. on defense, dirks spent majority of time (59 games) in left field. saw action in right field, played 2 innings in center field , in starting lineup designated hitter ten times. dirks started in every batting lineup slot except fourth one. though expected part of platoon, made several starts against left-handed pitchers , hit respectable .274 against southpaws. pinch–hit 8 times in 2012, going 3 7 (.429) walk. posted .347 batting average @ detroit s home stadium (comerica park) , batted .299 on road. 5 of 8 home runs hit during away games.

2013 season

andy primary left fielder tigers in 2013, collecting career-high 438 at-bats in 131 games. rested against left-handed pitching in favor of matt tuiasosopo, right-handed batter. on season, andy hit .256 average 9 home runs , 37 rbi. on september 21, tigers defeated chicago white sox, 7-6, after trailing 6-0 in ninth inning. marked team s largest ninth inning comeback since 1947 tigers accomplished same feat in 7–6 win on washington senators. andy had key blow in tigers 6-run ninth, pinch-hit 3-run homer draw score 6-5.

following 2013 season, dirks named finalist gold glove award left field position alongside alex gordon , yoenis céspedes. (the award went gordon.) among qualified lf (525 defensive innings), dirks finished seventh in fielding percentage @ .991, committing 2 errors (1 throwing, 1 fielding). additionally, fourth in putouts (211) , sixth in outfield assists (7). sabermetric statistics fangraphs show dirks second in ultimate zone rating (9.4). dirks named fifth best left fielder in majors fielding bible based on voting ten-member expert panel.

2014 season

expected tigers primary left fielder in 2014, announced in spring training andy had undergo surgery repair lower issue. on july 8, 2014, tigers announced dirks begin rehabilitation assignment high class lakeland flying tigers. after week of game action, announced tigers recalled dirks rehab assignment due lower muscular inflammation increased activity, , keep him on disabled list. dirks went 5-for-16 double , rbi on 6 games lakeland. on july 31, tigers announced dirks resume rehab assignment, time low class west michigan whitecaps.

toronto blue jays

on october 31, 2014, dirks claimed off waivers toronto blue jays. on december 2, dirks non-tendered blue jays, making him free agent. on january 15, 2015, blue jays re-signed him minor league contract. released triple-a buffalo bisons on april 23 after having season-ending surgery.